report on social activity

2014-2015

XIME-SUPA 3

It is a sin that one's faeces exposed to other's eyes. It is a big sin that one's faeces in the open space transmitting diseases to others and polluting our environment.

S. Damodaran, Founder, Gramalaya

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

At the completion of my SUPA Project, I feel obliged to

express my heartfelt gratitude towards all those who have made this possible.

I would like to profoundly thank Mr. S.Damodaran

Founder, Gramalaya for accepting my request to work as a volunteer with them and

also help me throughout the project, guiding me whenever it was necessary. I would

also like to thank the staffs of Gramalaya for being so supportive and encouraging

throughout the project. The experience was truly an eye opener for me. A Special

Thanks to Mrs. S.Amritha who mentored me throughout this project and Mr.

Platosen Samarasam for directing me to work with Gramalaya Tiruchirappalli.

I would like to thank Prof. J. Philip President, XIME for

instituting this one of a kind Socially Useful Productive Activity (SUPA) Program

which gave us a varied exposure which we had never imagined. I also thank Prof. S.D

Tyagaraj Dean, XIME and Mr. John Ben SUPA coordinator, XIME for their

constant support and guidance.

I am thankful and fortunate enough to work with such

dedicated and knowledgeable people who enlightened me about the slums in Trichy. I

thank XIME for giving me an opportunity to do such a benevolent activity in my

academic life and to serve and understand the way an NGO works. They made me

understand the importance of such an activity and constantly encouraged and

motivated me to do it.

Above all, I thank Almighty God for providing me this

chance to see and understand the realities of life and also for giving me a tiny role to

bring about a change in the lives of the less privileged children in the society.

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Table of contents

Particulars Page No

Executive Summary 6

Introduction 7

Project Objectives 8

Methodologies 13

Findings & Analysis

Toilet Inspection And Areas Visit

Dengue Fever Awareness Program

Sanitation Awareness Program

Microfinance Operations In Self Help Groups (SHG’s)

14

23

24

25

Recommendations 26

Conclusion 27

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This project report has been prepared based on the three week Socially Useful Productive

Activity done at an NGO at Tiruchirappalli. Details of the work are as follows:

Date: 24th December, 2014 to 17th January, 2015

Duration: 20 days

NGO: Gramalaya

Place: Tiruchirappalli

As volunteer my work with Gramalaya are as follows:

Toilets inspection and area visits:

There are about 186 public toilets maintained by Gramalaya. Out of which 13 toilets

and the respective areas was surveyed by me. The issues and solutions for the

problems faced by the people were submitted to Gramalaya.

Dengue fever awareness program:

About 5 slums were taken and where dengue fever has already affected people and an

awareness program to prevent dengue fever was given to people by approaching all

the families in each slum.

Sanitation awareness program:

There were toilets which were not properly used by the people in the area and lots of

people defecating in open space. So the areas where this was happening we gave

sanitation awareness by going all the houses in the area where most of the houses

doesn’t have toilet.

Microfinance operations in self help groups (SHG’s):

The microfinance in SHGs and the operations of it was taught by the leader of wave

federation (The group governing all the SHGs under Gramalaya) and also we were

asked to intimate and make the defaulters in the SHGs aware of the consequences of

not repaying the loan promptly and the benefits if they repay it promptly.

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INTRODUCTION

SUPA – Socially Useful and Productive Activity is an opportunity given to each

student of Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship (XIME), Bangalore to

work towards the benefit of the underprivileged of our society and fulfill a part of his/her

social responsibility. It helps us to renew the humanity in us.

This program also aims at developing a lifelong commitment on our part to

contribute passionately and positively to the millions of underprivileged section of the society

in all manners possible and help in nation-building in a broad sense.

I decided to be a part of a grass root level organization that empowers the

underprivileged society. Keeping these objectives in view, I decided to work with Gramalaya

Tiruchirappalli, a non-profit organization whose activities are Health and hygiene education,

promotion of Self-help Groups among rural, urban and tribal women, construction of low-

cost latrines and safe water supply through micro-credit.

Gramalaya was established in 1987 with a group of committed youths in the field of

rural development. Gramalaya has got its legal entity by registering under the Indian Trust

Act of 1882 with a registration No.72/87 on 11.6.1987. The ultimate goal of Gramalaya is to

work for the amelioration of socially downtrodden people under the integrated rural

development approach.

Since 1987, Gramalaya has been operating in Thottiyam and Thathaiengarpet and

Thuraiyur Block in the rural areas and in the slums of Tiruchirappalli City Corporation in

Tiruchirappalli District. Health and hygiene education, promotion of Self-help Groups among

rural, urban and tribal women, construction of low-cost latrines and safe water supply

through micro-credit are the major activities of Gramalaya.

Core Values

Emancipation through Entrustment, Entitlement and Empowerment

Gramalaya ensures that all its projects reflect the above core values that encourage

people to be emancipated from the cycle of poverty and deprivation through participation.

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Thus, communities are entrusted to work on the project by being part of its implementation

process and its continued success.

Guiding Principles

Encouraging innovativeness and creativity

Enabling a learning environment

Evolving exit strategy and sustainability

Encouraging community ownership

Ensuring Accountability and Transparency

Enhancing people’s co-operation and participation

Vision

Gramalaya envisions a society in which all people will have equal rights and access to

protected water, sanitation, health and improved income status without gender discrimination.

Mission

Gramalaya is an NGO dedicated to promoting Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and overall

improvement of the rural, urban, coastal and tribal population in India. Thus, Gramalaya is

working for the empowerment of marginalized communities, especially the women and

children.

Urban Sanitation programme

NAMAKKU NAME THITTAM (We and for ourselves) was a project which has been

devised under the Programme of the Tamilnadu State Government. Apart from intensive

health and hygiene education programme with IEC (Information, Education and

Communication) components, 25 community latrines were constructed in the selected slums

of Tiruchirappalli Corporation. The project area of Gramalaya has been confined to 8 slums

in East Boulevard Road from Kalpalayam near Gandhi Market up to East Devadanam near

the Cauvery River. Tiruchirappalli City is situated at the heart of Tamil Nadu in South India

and was upgraded into a Corporation in 1996.

At the commencement of the project period, a detailed Base line survey was

conducted in the eight selected slums in Tiruchirappalli Corporation covering 1133 families.

The baseline survey, revealed that the beneficiaries in the target areas are lacked drinking

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water and sanitation facilities and basic amenities such as the safe shelter for living etc.,

Absence of good personal hygiene such as hand washing after defecation, using soap or

cleaning agents, usage of latrines, food and domestic hygiene are the other major problems

which were identified through the survey. Based on the prioritization of problems, success

indicators were fixed for a three year phasing period with the project components like

providing safe drinking water, construction of community and individual latrines, health and

hygiene education among the target communities and formation of community based

organizations towards sustainability of the project.

A holistic approach towards better health and sanitation was chalked out for imparting

improved hygiene practices among the target communities. Hygiene education includes seven

components of sanitation for ensuring better quality of life and total environmental sanitation

in the project area. Door to door hygiene education through flip charts, flash cards and IEC

materials is regularly provided on a systematic approach by the health workers from

Gramalaya.

Under the programme, Gramalaya has installed four hand pumps, constructed 8

community latrines with child friendly toilet facilities, renovated 4 community latrines in

three slums, and constructed 252 household toilets with the help of 42 Women Self-Help

Groups formed in the target area. Currently, Gramalaya is working in all the 186 slums in the

City corporation limit where Water Aid, UK and Trichy City Corporation are supporting as

collaborating agencies. In all the 186 slums, AWASH Committees are formed to look after

the hygiene and sanitation of the slum areas. In addition to these, Gramalaya in association

with Water Partners International, USA extended credit support to women self-help groups

for construction of low-cost household toilets and water connections to individual families.

This Water Credit concept is one of the innovative projects of Gramalaya which is actively

supported by Water Partners International through its India office and Micro-finance

institutions like GUARDIAN, Tiruchirappalli.

Wherever, the communal latrines are provided to the communities, the women self-

help groups of the respective area through the SHE - Team and the AWASH Committees are

maintaining as pay and use latrines. The maintenance of the community assets such as the

communal toilets provided employment opportunities, management skills and advocacy

works. People from other slums and districts visited the successfully managed community

toilets and learnt from the models created by the project beneficiaries. There is a sense of

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belongings developed among the target people in treating the community assets like their

own and working for the maintenance and safe keeping of community assets. Earlier, it was

treated as the assets not belonging to them and abandoned by both the concerned authorities

and by the local people. Now, the local people care for, protect and maintain community

assets created under Gramalaya – Water Aid project. People (especially the women) are able

to manage and maintain the community toilets neatly and cleanly. They speak and discuss

and find solutions for their own problems at the SHG meetings. The functioning of the SHE

Team and AWASH Committees and the participation of the members are very much

appreciated. There is a change noticed in the habits on hygienic practices. Thus community

participation has played a great role on the success of the project. Currently, the SHGs and

AWASH communities are monitored by wave federation. The wave federation consists of

elected members from each slum.

Because of the great contribution of Gramalaya, Trichy city has been ranked as the

sixth cleanest city in India.

APPROACH

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Triad Strategy

Many international organizations, Government and Non-Governmental organizations

are working for the promotion of water and sanitation activities in the rural, urban including

coastal and tribal areas. Gramalaya is one such organizations working for water and

sanitation initiatives in India, especially in Tiruchirappalli region of Tamil Nadu. Gramalaya

believes that health development would accelerate the income of the people thereby

economic development would take place and economic development would result in social

development. Gramalaya’s triad strategy emphasizes health improvement that leads to

economic development and economic development help the communities to achieve social

development whereby the communities are entrusted, entitled and empowered.

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PROJECT OBJECTIVES

To work with an NGO for a duration of 20 days:

Started working for Gramalaya from 24th

December and met the founder. The

tasks were assigned for me and mentor was also facilitating during my work with

Gramalaya.

To inspect toilets and their respective areas:

Since the monitoring of the 186 toilets of Gramalaya was difficult. They

designated the toilets to the wave federation. In order to know the status of the areas

and their problems we were asked to survey the area and inspect the toilets. The report

of the inspection is to be submitted weekly.

To provide dengue fever awareness program:

There has been an outbreak of dengue fever in the slum areas and in order to

retaliate it we were asked to provide dengue fever awareness program to the people in

the affected slums.

To provide sanitation awareness program:

In areas were the sanitation and cleanliness of the area is at stake we were

asked to provide sanitation awareness program.

To learn Microfinance operations in self help groups (SHG’s) and awareness for

prompt repayment of loan:

Know about how a SHG works and monitor all the SHGs in the slums visited

and also provide awareness of prompt repayment of loan.

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METHODOLOGIES

The work is mainly related to working with the people. The following are the

methodologies we followed:

Talk with the mentor and get to know about the area before going for a visit.

Prepare the questions to be asked to the people maintaining the toilet before visit.

Talk with the people who face the problem for collection and analysis of the problems

in the area.

For awareness programs, we went to each and every household and told them about

their responsibilities.

Select a person who has greater influence in the area and take help from them for

establishing good awareness program.

The questionnaire for toilet inspection:

How many groups manage the toilet?

How many times they clean the toilet?

How much do they collect per use?

What is the Revenue of the toilet?

What are wages for the persons collecting money and cleaning?

Do they have any issues in the toilet? If so, mention it?

Do the people in the area use toilets properly? If not, mention the issues?

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FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

TOILET INSPECTION AND AREAS VISIT

We were asked to visit 13 slums and examine the public toilets in that place and find

the problems and provide suggestions to them. Also was asked to submit the report to

Gramalaya. The toilets and the areas visited are given below.

IRUTHAIYAPURAM THOPPU:

The toilets are managed by the 3 SHGs in the area. They collect ₹2 per use as charge

for maintenance and the total revenue is about ₹1000 per day. The wage for person sitting is

₹100 and for cleaning twice a day the wage is ₹100. There are currently no issues in this

toilet. The toilets are in good condition and it has been cleaned and maintained regularly. The

people in the area properly use the toilet and also the surroundings are clean in this area.

JAGANATHAPURAM:



₹100 and for cleaning once a day the wage is ₹50.One of the latrines is clogged and there is a

need of installing a new latrine. There has been leakage in the overhead water tank and also

formation of large cracks on the surface of the water tank. The surrounding area near toilet is

unclean with children defecating in open space. The solution to this is building new children

toilets in that area and also the leakage from the tank can be solved with renovation of the

overhead tank.

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KALAIVANNAR STREET:



₹100 and for cleaning once a day the wage is ₹50. There are currently no issues in this toilet.

The toilets are in good condition and it has been cleaned and maintained regularly. The


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MALIGAPURAM:






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KEERAI THOTAM:

The toilets in the area are managed by 2 SHGs. The toilet is used only by 26 families

in that slum. Since it is used by less number of people the revenue is only ₹50 per day and

they clean the toilet only once in a week. So the toilets were not clean when I inspected it.

The people in that place say that there is no enough money to maintain the toilet and also

complained about the drinking water supply and drainage is very close. So the only way to

solve the problem of drinking water is to change it to some other place to avoid any health

issues for the people and also for proper maintenance of the toilet the cleaning products

should be provided to the toilet free of cost from the city corporation.

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TOWN STATION:

The toilet in this area has been under renovation and the people are using the toilet

which is in the area adjacent to it. The people feel that if the toilet should be renovated

quickly else the area may become unclean. The renovation is nearly completed and it is said

to be opened by the counselor on 26, January 2015.

UPPILIYA THERU:



₹100 and for cleaning twice a day the wage is ₹50. There are currently no issues in this toilet.



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KALMANDHAI:

Kalmandhai is the first slum in India to be completely sanitized. The toilets are managed by

the 5 SHGs in the area. They collect ₹2 per use as charge for maintenance and the total

revenue is about ₹900 per day. The wage for person sitting is ₹100 and for cleaning twice a

day the wage is ₹50. There are currently no issues in this toilet. The toilets are in good

condition and it has been cleaned and maintained regularly. The people in the area properly

use the toilet and also the surroundings are clean in this area. They also requested to renovate

the path way which is full of rock and mud which may be soiled by the children.

SATHYAMOORTHY NAGAR:





people in the area properly use the toilet and also the surroundings are clean in this area. The

only problem is that a tap has been broken and needed to be replaced. The person in-charge

of the toilets said a new tap will be fit within two days.

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KAMARAJ NAGAR:

The toilets were closed down because of some motor and drainage problem at

the beginning. Even when all these problems were looked after, the toilets still remain

closed because of the conflict among the groups, as who should look after the toilet.

As a result people in this area use the toilets in the nearby area and also the

surrounding is very unclean. So in order to solve the problem we organized a meeting

with all the members and city corporation officers to unite the SHGs in the area to

work for the proper sanitation in the area and the response of the meeting was that the

toilets will be opened after a month with all necessary renovation done.

SRINIVASA NAGAR:



₹100 and for cleaning twice a day the wage is ₹50. There are currently no issues in this toilet.


people in the area properly use the toilet. The toilet tank is leaking and needs some

renovation. The surroundings area is unclean with garbage. So we requested the city

corporation to clean the surrounding area and to renovate the leaking tank.

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KAMALA NEHRU NAGAR ISP:



₹100 and for cleaning twice a day the wage is ₹50. The toilets are in good condition and it

has been cleaned and maintained regularly. The people in the area properly use the toilet and

also the surroundings are clean in this area. The septic tank passage is broken in some places

because of rats and there is need for renovation. People from nearby areas also use this toilet

(living in streets behind the toilet). They had to use the way behind the toilet which is the

only possible way for reaching the toilet. This path is full of wild grass and other unwanted

plants filled with many insects. So people find it difficult and threatening and difficult to use

this path, especially at night. There can be clearance of wild grass and provide a proper path

to solve this problem.

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UKKADAI MALAI:

The toilets are managed by 3 SHGs in the area. The revenue is very low and

the cleaning of the toilet is done once in two days. There is a combined electricity

connection for the nearby hall and the toilet. So the motor and lights can only be

switched on when there are people in the Hall. Hence, a separate power supply is

required. There is a lot of seepage in the water tank and leakage from the tank. All the

taps, bulbs and locks are being stolen by the local people from the toilet. People find it

difficult to use toilet during night. The toilet for kids is not functioning. One of the

toilets doesn’t have a door. The sewage pipe is broken and is leaking outside. There is

lot of garbage near the toilet which is cleaned regularly by corporation but still people

throw garbage near the toilet.

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Dengue fever awareness program

We conducted dengue fever awareness program to the people in the slums where the

outbreak has already occurred with the help of Trichy City Corporation. We educated people

not to store water in any plastic, vessels or any other utensils for more than a day. We

inspected each and every house whether they have water stored more than a day and if it was

then we requested them throw the water and clean the container. The people responded in a

positive way and everyone cleaned their vessel containing water for more than three days.

The people expressed their view that the water provided by corporation was not clear and

looked contaminated. When we enquired this with the city corporation officer, he said there

was a problem with water from source and it would take two to three months to rectify it. We

found out that people are more aware of dengue now and also cooperated with us. They told

us how much the slums have changed after the reforms by Gramalaya.

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Sanitation awareness program

We came across toilets were not used and the surroundings unclean. So we

investigated and held a meeting with the SHGs in that area and their argument is that people

are not listening and defecating in open space and if they insist them to use the toilet without

giving any money. In order to educate people the importance of sanitation a group of 4

volunteers went around the area to each family and insisted them to use the toilets and also

gave them a vision to provide healthy environment to their future generations. The response

for the program was well received among the people. Also we found that frequent awareness

program once a month is needed to change the people to completely use toilets.

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Microfinance operations in self help groups (SHG’s)

The microfinance operation of the SHGs was explained by the leader of wave

federation and we found how the SHGs under Gramalaya work. The SHG’s consists of 12 to

20 women of the same area and start a microfinance group. The women in the SHG’s have to

pay ₹100 as saving and ₹10 as rent for the month where the rent is used for the expenses

incurred by the group in the month. The SHG’s deposit the savings of all the members in a

single bank account and they also take loan with an interest rate of 10%. There is also facility

to take loan in the group in case of emergency needs of a member which is taken from the

savings of the members and the interest rate of the loan is 24%. Since the group members are

neighbors from the same area the needs and the repayment of loan is proper.

After the understanding of SHGs, we were sent to the SHGs who have not repaid the loan

from the bank due to financial problem of the members in the group. So we educated them

the consequences of not repaying the loan promptly and also the benefits of repaying the loan

promptly. The SHGs understood the concept and the next they repaid all the dues and

thanked us for educating them about the consequences and benefits.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

The toilets in the urban slums have been properly maintained but need some

renovation which has to be looked after by Gramalaya.

The people in the slums get a contaminated drinking water which needs immediate

action from the corporation and I recommend Gramalaya to interfere and help people

with the drinking water supply.

Still after enough awareness programs there are areas where people defecate in open

space, so there is a need for continuous awareness to change the minds of the people.

The SHGs are operating properly and there are some conflicts in groups which should

be resolved by Gramalaya for better growth of the people in that area.

The Gramalaya is an institution only working in Trichy region which can be expanded

to other cities of Tamilnadu for the betterment of India.

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CONCLUSION

SUPA was an unforgettable experience which I would hold close to my heart for many years

to come. It was an immense learning experience and it gave me great insights into working of

an organization, which was oriented into aiding the poor and underprivileged tenements of

the society.

In the first place, I’m indebted to XIME for having provided an opportunity to experience life

amongst the real and unknown faces of India. It was indeed an eye opener to visit the slums

in Tamilnadu and understand the mentality of the people there. It was very shocking and

surprising to see people without proper infrastructure. The tough way of people living there

gave me an insight to contribute my efforts for the development of the people. Ten years

from now, hopefully Gramalaya has achieved sanitation for all in Tiruchirappalli city and

contributes for the development of India.

I got a chance to meet different people and was indeed moved by the fact that they were

dedicated to the job and wanted to create a change in the lives of slum people. The

organization also gave me the freedom to use my managerial skills to make recommendations

for improving the overall working. The journey of 20 days taught me lessons in life which no

text book can teach. My commitment to the society will not end with this report. I have taken

a resolve to devote time for social causes.

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