By Aman Chhabra | Project Leader
Dear Donor,
Hope you and your family are safe and healthy!!
There were a number of initiatives we took, mentioning below some of them.
Coronavirus triggered a multi-level crisis for many NGOs when they are actually needed most to respond to communities affected. The economic downturn further means future budgets and donations are likely to decline. We all know that this pandemic is unprecedented in scale and need. Almost every household, community, organisation, sector and nation is reeling from its impacts on health, the economy and society. Breakthrough has been no exception. But after a few particularly tough months we were able to seize many opportunities and innovate on the go. It is fair to say that while a lot is still in a churn due to the uncertainties brought on by COVID we are constantly course correcting by rearranging and improvising planned activities.
How did we respond to the Covid 19 scenario?
Our response to the communities:
With the onset of Covid 19 and lockdown happening in March 2020, just before a new school year, the organisation had to face several problems. Mobility restrictions on the field due to lockdown and closing down of schools meant we did not have access to the adolescents we were working with. This also meant a long drawn out absence from the operational sites leading to losing touch with the communities where we work. There were also huge challenges with technology and connectivity at the last mile. Most families, in the villages where we work, if they had a phone, it was a single one that belonged to the whole family. In many cases it was not a smartphone. Girls in many cases did not have phones of their own. Our community developers in those same areas had patchy connections and faced huge challenges to keep their communications up with the operational areas.
Some of the decisions that we took early to complement technology with a last mile human network were the following:
Here our older group of peer educators turned out to be our biggest resources. Guided by our Community Developers (CD), they were the ones who represented us at the community, provided them information on safety and hygiene guidelines, made and distributed masks and sanitary napkins and brought to our attention to instances where families were not getting access to rations or ration cards. They also reached out with their phones to the 11-14 year olds who were part of our Taaron ki Toli programme since most of them didn't have phones. They were also able to talk to adolescents and find out whether they have phones at homes through which we could communicate with them.
When it came to the adolescents we focused on a few important issues like the impact on adolescents and their understanding of the “new normal”, normalisation and acceptance of violence in their lives now that everyone was home and living in close quarters and increase in practices like child marriage and school dropouts. We felt the need to talk to local governments and other gatekeepers like ASHA/AWW on this as well.
Engagement with Adolescents:
We began to look at the process of digitisation of Taaron ki Toli, our gender sensitisation curriculum to reach adolescents in our intervention areas. We decided to work on 6 specific chapters of Taaron ki Toli. These chapters include hygiene, nutrition and health, understanding human rights, access to rights, intergenerational dialogue - communication, conflict resolution and negotiation, addressing and preventing early marriage, puberty, and safe and unsafe touch. These chapters are done with the adolescents through video calling and zoom classes at a particular location where 8-10 children sit maintaining physical distances and other sanitisation methods. We also decided to create new chapters under the “Saaf Santulit Swasth” (hygiene, nutrition and health) that will aim specifically at creating awareness around COVID-19. We also decided to create animated videos to help put our message across because in-person shoot was not permitted during this period. The chapter is divided into three animated films (1 min each). Each film addresses one specific aspect of the pandemic. All the films end with a question for the audience, which is a tool to engage the adolescents and help them think more about the things discussed in the video. We plan to circulate these videos through WhatsApp in all our project areas so that more adolescents watch them. In addition, comics have been created from these films to distribute among the adolescents through WhatsApp, especially for those who are not able to access/ view the films.
First of all, sessions were pilot-tested for methods, tools, and engagement processes. Following the learning from this process, more sessions were developed for online engagement with the adolescents using the existing TkT workbook.
During this process of finalization of sessions, we conducted a round of recap sessions with both the age groups- 11-14 and 15-18 with different methods on-ground in smaller groups keeping Covid guidelines in the mind and also conducted recap through online platforms- zoom and conference calls.
We will roll out the customised module through different modes in the next reporting cycle (from September).
We also used this time to trace the students through mobile numbers so that online session can be conducted. We also completed process of consent from the parents for the online sessions and managed to get their support to schedule the times for the sessions.
Sanitary pad provided to women through networking with National Rural Livelihoods Mission(NRLM):
During the lockdown, Breakthrough Haryana team was in communication with different stakeholders to ensure the essential services to the communities. We came in contact with NRLM of district Jhajjar, we used to contact them almost twice in a week. They shared that women groups Self Help Groups (SHG) were formed with the support of NRLM and some of the groups also make sanitary pads. Breakthrough team thanked them for this information and we shared with them that we are in regular contacts in the communities who are in need of any essentials. They said if Breakthrough come across to women in the communities who needs sanitary pads, then we can make a list and share with NRLM and they will provide the sanitary pad. In one-week time we got demand from the community.
Demand to us came through Anganwadi workers, told us that number of women are in need of menstrual product but there is no one in the family they can share or discuss it with. Sadly, there is a taboo in the community around the menstruation and menstrual product so no one talks about this need and services. We shared the list with the NRLM. They agreed to provide the sanitary pad but they said someone has to pick up the stock, we will not be able to deliver the stock in the village. Our team members picked up the stock and delivered in the village. Sanitary pads were provided to 24 women of village Bamnola in Jhajjar district, there were some of the adolescents in the recipients who are part of our Roshan Tara program.
Adolescents initiated discussion on Domestic Violence in communities through posters:
During the Covid19 lockdown there was 2-fold increase in the domestic violence cases in India and around the globe. Breakthrough started addressing the issue through training and advocacy and digital campaigns. Ground team started training the different stakeholders who can play a role through bystander intervention in the community.
We reached out to the adolescents, parents and different stakeholders in the communities to know about the well-being and to know if domestic violence is happening in the surrounding or not, and if it is happening then how the things are being addressed by the communities and responsible authorities.
We came to know that people keep silent on this issue, violence is happening but no one is speaking, if women raise voice there is no one to support them. Adolescent we work with are observing these incidents of violence they want create awareness on the same. As we were in continuous discussion on the domestic violence and reporting mechanism with the peer educator and other stakeholders. Peer educator made posters on domestic violence with the helpline information and gradually they also started discussion with frontline workers.
Online Training Domestic Violence with department of Women and Child development(WCD) Jhajjar and DLSA Karnal:
Breakthrough started addressing the issue of increasing domestic violence amid covid19 lockdown through training Ground team targeted the different stakeholders for training who can play a role through bystander intervention in the community. In this series, in the month of June we have organised online training with WCD Jhajjar and DLSA Karnal.
Online training with WCD was organised on 11th June. Program Officer-Ms. Neena Khatri was a great support since our intervention in the Haryana. She was very excited about this training. Total 40 participants attended this online training. Participants constitutes- Program Officer-WCD-Ms. Neena Khatri, Child Protection Officer-Ms. Latika, Incharge-One Stop center Jhajjar-Ms. Lalita, CDPOs, Supervisors, ANMs and other admin staff from department.
Meena set the context of training session and its need in the times of corona lockdown. She also introduced the panellist and the participants talking about the 7 year-long partnership with WCD Jhjajjar. Archana and Naresh facilitated this session on domestic violence and covered the following aspects;
This all work is happening because of support of DONORS like you. In our fight against Domestic Violence, we need your support more than EVER !
With Hope and Gratitude,
Aman Chhabra.
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