Utthan Development Networking and Advocacy Effort Promoting gender equity, women’s empowerment, communal harmony Coordinators : Bala, Chandrika

Background  Bhal Region in Ahmedabad Issues :  Shortage of drinking water  Large wasteland areas(50% uncultivable)  Government Indifference  Exploitative socio-economic structure  Poor health and education  Migration

Gujarat State Map

NGO  Utthan started in 1981 From ASAG, an action committee evolved a plan for development of Bhal Region for the government Utthan started from the ASAG committee  Bridging information gap between village people is the step towards solving major problems and developing equitable society

Two tiered NGO structure  Utthan – State level resource group Provides support structure Evolves block level plans Techical resources  Mahiti – Local Volunteer Group Made of local community Implemented block level plans Creating social pressures for solving issues

Women’s empowerment  Solving women’s issues and creating a framework for women’s involvement in decision making process  Drinking water – Pani Samiti, Watershed committees  Self Help Group –Mahila Samiti  Health and awareness camps – Mahila Samiti  Building bridge between community and government – Gram Sabhas, District Officials, Panchayats

Women Empowerment (Contd)  Involve men in the women’s empowerment Yuvak samiti  Provide a forum to engage in issues of the village  Draw the positive energy of the youth towards social development and communal harmony

Successes  75% out of 108 villages became water self sufficient  Reduced migration in the villages  Pressure on local municipality to support local watershed  Money lending system in the region was successfully dismantled.  Women engaged in electoral process

Utthan from 1994  Mahiti became self sufficient in 1994  Tribal Development Program (Dahod)  Coastal Area Development Program (Bhavnagar, Amreli)  National and International engagement

Utthan – Core values  Equity – a commitment to work for an end to caste, class, gender & other forms of discrimination.  Honesty – a commitment to openness & transparency, and to end dishonesty and corruption.  Secularism – a commitment towards building a culture of secular democracy and mutual respect for all religion.  Team Work – a commitment to participation and team work.  Individual Freedom – a belief that everyone has the right to be free from excessive controls, through acting within a responsible framework.  Excellence – a commitment to work efficiently and effectively, and to constantly strive to improve.

Utthan’s interventions  Natural Resource Management  Gender Equity and Empowerment  Health and Sanitation  Networking and Advocacy  Disaster management

Proposed Program  Goals Gender equity in access and ownership of water resources Women’s empowerment through capacity building Communal harmony Networking and advocacy Process Documentation

Proposed Program  Where 15 villages in 3 districts (Amreli, Bhavnagar, Dahod)  Activities Year 1 – Planning, Demonstration, Awareness Building, Committee Formation, Leader building Year 2 – Capacity building, planning, training Year 3 - Implementation, need-based training and identification and evolution of institutional framework Documentation and communication material

Networking & Advocacy  Network village institutions and NGOs, governments and international bodies  Media advocacy – Use mainstream media to promote equity and communal harmony

Budget  A Program Activities Training and capacity building  Training workshops Rs 50,  Advocacy meetingsRs 60,  Melas, ExhibitionRs 50, Media Comm. & Doc.Rs 40, Resource PersonsRs 15,000.00

Budget B. Salaries & TA/DA CoordinatorRs 96, Research & Doc. AsstRs 72, Field OfficerRs 60, TA & DA (3 Persons)Rs 36, C. Administration(10%)Rs 47, TotalRs5,26,900 $11,454

Proposed Indicators  Representation of issues in caste panchayat  % of women in various administrative structures  Levels of women involvement in decision making  Asset ownership  Water security