Steering 500 Women Away from Prostitution, Mumbai

Success Story:

Rekha*has been part of AAWC for 2 years. She always use to observe outreach worker (ORW) who taught her neighbours, friends etc. but she never showed interest in learning but ORW never gave up and kept trying to convince her to enroll into the adult education programme but somehow, she avoided ORW and neglected this idea. But she attended the monthly meetings regularly and was more aware than other beneficiaries.

Through persistent coaxing ORW was successful in enrolling her in Adult literacy classes. Initially her thought process would be negative that she will not be able to write her name, but she finally overcame her negativity and learned to write her own name after months of practicing.

As Rekha* was enthusiastic and more aware she decided she will buy a bike for herself for which she applied for a driving license. When she was submitting the application in the RTO the RTO officer asked her to put her signature on a machine which was very new for her, first she was hesitant and felt as if she can never write her name but somehow she tried writing her name on the machine and her signature was seen on the monitor. As she saw her name on the screen she felt good and proud, her application for driving license got approved. Also she could appear for the computerized test for the eligibility of the license which she passed. It was an achievement for Rekha* as well as the ORW team who consistently worked with her to get her to this stage.

Outreach:

“Why you work so hard and walk so much for us? Don’t you get frustrated by us? - Umeed beneficiary.

Due to the rigorous outreach, our team has been able to enroll 40 women beneficiaries under the Umeed program, which has helped us to grow and beneficiaries who are already registered in our programs motivate and encourage other women in the area to join our program. Our outreach team has also helped women beneficiaries to attain new identification documents.

This is one demonstration of the constant efforts put in by AAWC, clubbed with growing awareness amongst the women to strive for a better life through the resources provided by us. We have been able to conduct 25402 home visits, this quarter, where we conducted both individual and group sessions with the beneficiaries on various topics.

This quarter the team conducted a camp for Voting ID in collaboration with Electoral registration office (Mumba Devi Constituency) department at KP center to start the procedure of making the voting card for Umeed beneficiaries. All beneficiaries had come on time and were very cooperative towards ORW and the team, they followed instructions so the process went smooth. Officials from the department showed immense interest in the interventions of AAWC they appreciated the efforts taken by the organization and the visibility of the work done during the camp and hands on experience of the officials led to the increase of interest among them to have more such camps in future.

Education:

“Didi, I always had this doubt on me that I can never read and write and I always be Anpadh (Illiterate), but as I saw my name on the TV, I am now confident that I will be literate and I will study every day for it.”- Umeed Beneficiary

Adult literacy is having a positive impact on beneficiaries as it is giving rise to interest among the beneficiaries and boosting them with confidence along with inculcating in them a sense of achievement which was clearly visible in instances such as attaining of driving license as she could give her signature on the application form and could appear the computerized test and increased approach of the beneficiaries towards the ORW to provide educational materials which they can utilize during their free hour.

This quarter the outreach team noticed an increased number of beneficiaries who have learned numbers as compared to previous months. Majority of the beneficiaries can now tell the time when they are asked. Old beneficiaries are showing good results and thus could procure identity Cards without any hurdles. It has been noticed that the beneficiaries do not need to rely on anybody for cell phone usage or require company to go to banks or in order to avail any government services.

It has been noticed that adult literacy has inculcated seriousness in beneficiaries they understand the importance of education and they are no more negligent about their child’s education. They have become more enthusiastic in learning new things as they themselves approach the outreach workers to teach them varied things in English language.

To conduct the adult literacy programme the major challenge faced by the ORW is identifying and locating beneficiaries to conduct adult literacy programme due to massive raids in the area.

Financial literacy:

The financial literacy sessions involve making the beneficiaries understand varied saving methods by opening a savings account and help them understand transactions related to money which protects them from getting into the clutches of debt.

Adult literacy along with financial literacy goes hand in hand as the beneficiaries become more independent which was seen this quarter that the beneficiaries require less support to open a bank account, deposit and withdraw money. Even awareness about various schemes that are undertaken is implemented better which leads to them benefitting from all the schemes related to saving by the government which has led to an increase in planned saving by the beneficiaries.

This quarter, 13 of our Umeed beneficiaries have been able to open their own bank accounts, after rigorous discussions and support from our outreach team.

Health:

Physical Health:

“The chikki has jaggery in it and is good for health and it will also help me increase the blood rate in my body”- PLWHA beneficiary.

In order to maintain good health of our beneficiaries our outreach team provide nutritional supplement at the door step of the beneficiaries. It has been observed that the beneficiaries eagerly wait for the team to come and they are happy to receive the nutritional supplement provided daily.

The supplement provided daily includes banana, moringa seed, soy milk, bread, etc. Chikki is a new addition made to the daily supplement being provided to the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries are very happy with the introduction as they are aware about the health benefits of chikki (Peanut Bar).

It has also been noticed that the beneficiaries slowly through repetitive follow up have started understanding the importance of eating healthy food.

In order to keep the track on their health improvement regularly height and weight measurements are taken. This quarter it has been noticed that the beneficiaries as a result of side effect of ART has started increasing in weight drastically suggestions have been given to the beneficiaries to exercise daily in order to be fit. The other observation showed that beneficiaries who consume higher level of alcohol reduce in weight as they do not consume food properly.

This quarter there has been a significant increase in the CD4 count among the PLHA beneficiaries.

This quarter in order to maintain their nutritional needs a ration distribution was organized to meet the nutritional need for PLHA beneficiaries. The beneficiaries are satisfied with what they received. It has been noticed that the introduction of the ration distribution programme has made the beneficiaries who use to not take medicines and skip their meals because of lack of money, have started cooking daily which has led them to take medicines every day which has helped in improve health conditions of PLWHA beneficiaries.

Monthly medical checkups and referrals are conducted regularly wherein it has been noticed that the no of beneficiaries suffering from general health issues have decreased for medical referrals and the few beneficiaries taken were suffering from cold and cough due to the rainy season. More effort has to be put to take the ART patients to the hospital by ORW.

The other objective of medical referral is to make the beneficiaries accustomed to the system of government hospitals. Regular follow ups with the beneficiaries has had a positive impact as it has been noticed that beneficiaries are well accustomed with the way hospitals function and now they take their children on their own to the hospital also beneficiaries have become sensitive towards their own health. They also help new women in the area to know the hospitals, and medical procedure.

This quarter eye camp was conducted wherein the beneficiaries were thoroughly checked for power in the eyes. The eye camp did not only consist of check-up but also spectacles were made available to be purchased by the beneficiaries in a concessional price. As the spectacles could be purchased by the beneficiaries at a cheap price that led to the beneficiaries spreading the word in the community which led to higher turn up of the beneficiaries for the camp.

In the health camps the strength of the beneficiaries was approximately 93. 18 referrals have been done for TB patients and 214 medical referrals have been done for antiretroviral therapy (ART) patients. Apart from these, 9 HIV+ women and 2 Tuberculosis (TB) infected women have been identified through regular health check-ups held by AAWC. We have also been able collect CD4 reports for 43 beneficiaries in order to track the improvement in their immunity.

Regular monthly meeting was conducted in this quarter the topics covered in the meeting was to make the beneficiaries aware about the water borne diseases and preventive measures to be taken in rainy reason. The objective of the meeting was met as the beneficiaries are aware about various diseases such as malaria, Typhoid, Dysentery etc. and are also aware about various remedies to treat and prevent these diseases.

At the eve of World population day in the monthly meeting the women beneficiaries were made aware about importance of family planning and the global issues being faced due to over population. The women beneficiaries were attentive and understood how important it is to curtail population for development purposes. The session had a positive impact as few beneficiaries came up to the facilitator to get the details of family planning operation. It was a sign of positive acceptance towards the concept. the procedure was explained in detail to the beneficiaries.

In addition, the beneficiaries also had an awareness session on family planning and abortion during this session the beneficiaries were made aware about reproductive health, pre-natal, post-natal care along with clarity on copper T and utilization of condoms. The session was interactive and beneficiaries asked question to the facilitator of the session. It was noticed that the beneficiaries received clarity on Family Planning and abortion and they also agreed to undertake checkups for cervical cancer and breast cancer.

The other topic covered in the monthly meeting was Menstrual Hygiene which was conducted in association with period society. They showed video on the taboo associated with the Menstruation followed by discussion among the beneficiaries.Watching the short film on projector was a new thing for the beneficiaries hence they were more attentive. The facilitators of the session discussed about menstruation in detail and the importance of maintenance of hygiene. After the session the beneficiaries were provided by a menstrual hygiene kit the demonstration of which was also given by the facilitators. It was seen that beneficiaries during this session got introduced to the eco-friendly sanitary napkins which would be cost effective for them.

Area activity was conducted to spread awareness about Cervical Cancer. The symptoms of cervical cancer were shared in detail. The outreach member also conveyed to the beneficiaries to immediately visit a doctor for consultation if any of the systems were visible. The beneficiaries listened to the symptoms carefully and learnt about cervical cancer. The session was interactive as the beneficiaries put forward their hesitation and also clarified any doubts that raised in their mind.

The other topics covered during the area activity was Consumption of Chikki its health benefits and consumption of Healthy diet and nutrition required by the human body , importance of immunization for children, services provided by Government hospitals and information on why the skin infection keeps reoccurring and what is the right step to be taken to control it. During the area activities the beneficiaries understood these topics and incorporation of the same is being noticed in their day to day life.

Mental Health:

AAWC understands that women in the red light districts go through both mental and physical traumas, and hence it is imperative to support them through our mental-health assistance. Mental health assistance which involves regular counseling and therapy sessions with all of our women beneficiaries. Most of our counseling happens on the field, while therapy sessions take place on individual and group basis at our centers.

Few beneficiaries constantly require counselling to make them understand the importance of ART, daily care and their health issues etc., during this quarter we have conducted 131 counselling sessions.

It was noticed that the beneficiaries fear a lot to even talk about HIV tests. Even if they suffer from skin infection, and frequently suffer from various infections, they avoid to do the HIV testing. They become reluctant to even accept the fact that they might be suffering from HIV.

These situations make it imperative for the ORW team to counsel these beneficiaries to make them understand that HIV testing is important and it would help them take further steps to control any further harm to their health.

To help beneficiaries overcome their beliefs in myths and superstition area activity was conducted that if somebody is ill and has not been cured for months that does not stand for possession of the person. The person requires through treatment. The session was challenging as the beneficiaries disagreed with the ORW and stayed stubborn with their beliefs regular follow up and counselling would be required with these beneficiaries to make them understand the difference between reality and myth.

Empowerment:

“It was a delightful moment to see an Umeed mother praising our organization and acknowledging our effort in front of other organizations”. – Field Director.

This quarter to empower the beneficiaries and develop their skills tailoring and sewing classes have begun in the center. The beneficiaries have started with the basics of tailoring these sessions take place three times in a week. The resource person is very effective as the beneficiaries enrolled in the programme are learning at a very quick pace. It has been observed that the beneficiaries enrolled have an interest in the programme hence they take initiative by themselves to even practice during other days.

The beneficiaries have learnt to make half pants for younger beneficiaries and New beneficiaries have learned to take the measurement and cut the cloth piece according to the measurement. The other development is seen in a beneficiary who has started using the skill imparted to alter clothes of the neighbours.

In order to spread awareness about Independence day and awareness about the Country – India, Personal Safety measures, Job skills training, Teacher’s day and importance of learning, Positive thinking, International Literacy day and Fake Calls/Spam messages area activities were conducted.

It is noticed during the area activity that the beneficiaries are alert and more attentive. They understand the topics well and do not hesitate to ask any queries.In the area activity on Independence Day beneficiaries made flag of India after the discussion about why we celebrate independence day. During the personal safety measures activity, ORW advised the beneficiaries to keep lock on their phones, to keep the money in safe place etc. ORW also explained them about Cybercrime and where they can go to lodge the complaint.

The beneficiaries were also explained the importance of Job skills training which will help them to earn livelihood once they get old. At the eve of teacher’s day beneficiaries were explained why teacher’s day is celebrated the discussion made the beneficiaries nostalgic about their first teacher, the session of positive thinking was incorporated for the beneficiaries who always demean themselves and lack positivity in thoughts the discussion helped these beneficiaries to realize the good aspects of their lives, during International Literacy day importance of education was discussed with the beneficiary. As many beneficiaries are receiving fake/ spam calls the ORW explained the beneficiaries to undertake precautions and to avoid sharing any details when such calls are received.

In the monthly meeting the beneficiaries were introduced to the life skill training of Aggarbatti (incense sticks) making. It was noticed that the beneficiaries understood the importance of learning one life skill for sustainability purpose in future. The outcome of the session was excellent as many beneficiaries came forward in order to enroll themselves in the workshop. Some beneficiaries also put forward the request of starting tailoring classes in Falkland road center at the earliest.

Recreation:

“The work that the organization is doing for them and their children is great cause they are able to provide their children a lifestyle through the help of the organization that they cannot do”. - Umeed beneficiary.

 “We are happy to come over to the office to celebrate Rakhi with everyone”- Umeed beneficiary.

Different types of festivals are celebrated with the beneficiaries to make them understand the importance of celebration of these festivals. This quarter Raksha bandhan, Independence day was celebrated.

Rakshabandhan the beneficiaries tied Rakhi to the CEO and field Director as the sign of brotherhood and respect for providing them the services which has helped them develop.

During Independence day celebration beneficiaries had come in large numbers. Field director spoke about Independence day and why we celebrate this day followed by a patriotic song; ORW also added about freedom struggle. Few beneficiaries also shared what they feel about their country. After the National Anthem, beneficiaries were given snacks and Ration. Beneficiaries were participative and were paying attention throughout the program.

These celebrations provide a platform for the beneficiaries to unwind their tiredness which comes with their erratic work life. It is a place where beneficiaries strengthen their relationships with one another and get a feeling of one community.

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