Details of the field agency

Name: Rural & Urban Socio-cultural Help. (R U S H)
Address Of The Agency:
Upper Nua Sahi
Puri-752001
India.

Contact Person: Debasis Rath. Director

Address: Upper Nua Sahi, Puri
Pin- 752001.
Tel: (06752) 225203, 229999, 229990
Cell: (0)9437037203, 9861063489(director)
Cell: (0)9337667398 (Chief Coordinator)
Email: indrush@gmail.com
Email: childline1098@hotmail.com

Area Of Operation: State Of Orissa.

Area Of Expertise: * Health
1. HIV/Aids – Malaria-TB
Rush works at length in the promotion of the right of the People Living with HIV/AIDS. The Orissa aids solidarity forum is a network of 30 member institutions working across the state to monitor livelihoods of the people affected and infected with HIV/Aids.

Before the inception of its broader move Rush was working with several aids working agencies across the Sub-Saharan Africa for the last 15 years and integrated AIDS, MALARIA and TB in the intervention processes undertaken in the most vulnerable parts of the state. Besides this rush works as a trainer agency for several INGO and their development aid partners. Agencies like Action Aid, American Red Cross, Save The Children UK, ISS, Oxfam GB, Concern Worldwide, Cif are in the regular clientele groups in this process. Rush has also partnered the NICP-I, NICP-II and in the recent National Aids prevention activity.
Integrating AIDS, MALARIA and TB also lead the agency to campaign for universal access of the ARV for the Hiv+ people who are at the symptomatic stage of AIDS. In this context the agency is building rapport with researchers of specific academic interest to develop innovative strategy with reference to the current trend of drug and insecticide resistance and due to social and ecological changes. The research cell provides opportunities to cater the need of the down trodden and poor. The Trans-disciplinary approach of the intervention always needs placement activity through knowledge-interns and personnel from different academia.

2. Education.
Rush is engaged in the governance and research on primary education in the state. A state network comprising 30 partners are implementing the research phase of the education governance project running under Common Wealth Education Program. Rush also works on the state policy of education by means of budget analysis. In the remote areas of access rush implements bridge camps for the drop out children and extends other environmental supports to retain more children in school.

3. Child Rights
In response to the implementation of CRC rush promotes child rights taking into account of the fundamental rights of children. A national toll free telephone helpline caters emergency need of the children in distress keeps the database of the children on the street, support systems available for the abandoned and neglected. The help network extends medical support and sponsorship to children in emergency basis. Besides this Rush works as a hub of international networks like CACL, CACT, OASF, CIF to redress the need of the marginalized children.

4. Volunteer support and internships.
The field area though vast enough and the management policy is transparent and democratic, scholars from several parts of the world have free access to the internships and field level research programs.

5.
The women’s consortium
It deals in supporting women victims of violence through a massive network of women activists and correlates all the activities of the agency though equal participation and works as a watch dog committee for the issues like sexual violence against women, gender sensitivity, equal dignity for HIV positive women, women’s initiative in enterprise and so on.



6.
Research:
The research core group comprises some research aspirants and scholars of multiple disciplines those are engaged in some social, scientific research activity being funded by indigenous and external research agencies.

cact and rush

puppet show and rush

interns and rush

To
The Superintendent of Police (PUJA BEHERA)
CID CB
Buxibazar Cuttack.

Sir,
Greeting from childline, Puri

This refers rescue of a girl child name as Puja Behera 11 years who is not willing to say anything about her parents and domicile. The child Puja was handed over to the Town P.S. Puri on dated 10/11/06 by a couple name as Manoj and Manasi Pal of Shrikhetra colony, Puri but she was finally referred to childline by the concerned P.S.(due to the CWC is non functional). As per the rescue strategy she was sheltered in a home for girl children under the direct supervision of the lady team members.

We are trying to get some clue about her background through our trained counselors but it seems very difficult to extract the truth. We therefore need your help in disseminating photo and available information in the missing person’s information program in the DD channel. We shall try to provide further follow up till her restoration accordingly. Enclosing the photograph of the rescued child and looking forward for a quicker action.
Thanking you for your uninterrupted cooperation in this regard.

With kindest regards,


Debasis Rath. Director.
Latest follow upLmay not correct.
Puja Behera
D/o- Manu Behera and Tikina Behera
Berhampur.

C.C. Mr Sanjeev Panda. IPS
(Honorary President CHILDLINE city advisory Board Puri)

Debasis Rath

Report of the month of Nov. 2006 Rush

Project code: Ark/ed/Gov-02
Activities of the cef Puri Dist during the month of November 2006.


Continuity of Short-term after closing and inclusion.

The Six-month experimental process ended but the impact is still spread to the PTA and MTA who committed some pocket money to continue with the process because children should be in it at least a year or two. But displacement has become a regular syndrome in the blue lagoon area. Families are shifting to the estuary and seashore where life is next to impossible. Families will be found shifting with children and domestic articles by their personal boat. It is essential that the mid day meals-program should be handed over to the mega company running its mission in the city only. This can drive back all the children to the slowly vacated schools. In the mean time the effective teachers of the short term were replaced in the long-term vacant positions. The barefoot teachers became the new leaders in the community for the process.

Now the pressure goes to the EGS schools where all the teachers were habituated to proxy appearance. The Mass mobilization this month was conducted by the street action group of rush where as the script of the play was based on the real ignorance of the fishermen about advantages of government programs. After completion of the all the play several cases are upcoming to the HQS office about the EGS teachers who were beaten up by the PTA members for their truancy. One PTA team snatched away the bike of an EGS teacher who was receiving cheque from the Block office without conducting a single class in his EGS center.

The political scenario is balanced through the opposition stake and public so information on police case on the past violence committed is not registered. This incident may insist parallel attacks and disturbances but the agenda for upcoming election rests on improvising education and infrastructure.

The OSA CAMP OF SHORT TERM is running from 5 to 9 P.M assisting and preparing children attending their schools where the short term teachers were replaced in Long term camps those were vacated. Continuity of the classes was shifted to the short-term teachers as per public demand.
The controversial mass mobilization:
Sharing information on the resources and facilities always appropriates benefit for the vocal and influential not the down trodden. Since long it is a repetitive action going on there at field. The ongoing corruption on education system could only include some more people in the racket and the corruption became stronger. Those who are aware of the corruption are voiceless and lack courage to fight because they are daily laborers with vices of alcoholism and debacle. Raising a voice may cause starvation and those from whom they are receiving loans are at the top of the community. NGO people started believing the antithesis that decentralization of power inside poverty decentralizes corruption only. Lest those should be the output of a tough interaction with the people there who will be exposed at the right time. In this context the team of street play was directed to bring all the issues into their story and they rehearsed before presentation. Issues like mid day meal and rice related scandals, egg provision for children that made schools hub of the drunkards, EGS centers and proxy teachers, SSA Grant in aid scams and the so called elite, child marriage, displacement of the bankrupt families into the interior land inside lagoon, etc; in the face of certain players. In the cluster villages there now a very few families say 2% who are free from debt. Rest of them is under pressure that is also a cause of migration from the main land to remote islets in the lagoon. The EGS centers use to benefit the children of the influential few whose misconduct does not raise any voice. Hence some deprived classes were identified like the educated*(*8th std pass or fail) unemployed who are active to watch the role of the so-called elitists among minorities. Mass Mobilization is renamed as mobilization of conflict, which is proved to be worthy of the situation. It is worth mentioning that a lady teacher of the Long term camp who took the responsibility of 30/40 children in a small islet DHALABALI was man-handled by the EGS teachers a couple of months before. They warned her to quit the center because the parents are demanding similar quality of service from truant EGS teachers. It was handled carefully to protect the girl first from the likely danger of molestation. And the position is somewhat changed for the activism of public against the EGS who have replaced a dummy there. The village committee together has snatched away the bike of the said teacher till a decision will be taken. The postpartum of the street theatre is however very much disappointing to the truants in EGS or Govt Schools.


Rally:
Dated 14th Nov 2006 a thematic rally took place in clusters and joined at the meeting place on the eve of Children’s Day.



Day’s observation:
14/11/06 on the eve of the National children’s day a new child club has come up after celebration and two girl children namely Ms. Bhabani Behera and Ms Kalpana Behera were elected as the President and Secretary of the club.
All the children of the camp attended the children’s Day that was dominated by children from child club.

Visit of Dist. Mgt. team from the Rush Hqs.
On dated 29th/11/06 the team of street theatre group visited the field to access information on the community before launching their play. To make the play relevant the team conducted PLA in specific clusters. The first street play was launched in Arakhkuda, Gopinathpur and Jadupur. Impact of the play was however assessed according to the public reaction.




Arakhkuda
All the teachers were intimated to conduct the MTA, PTA, and VEC meetings at their own place so that each of the teachers managed to intervene more stakeholders in the education system. Taking into account of benefit of the decentralized interactions plan has been made to conduct meetings in cross connections to monitor truth and transparency in the reporting.

Example of the matrix of mass mobilization.
Teachers name
A replace Q
B replace P
C replace O
& Q replace A
Vec of cluster A
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5….
1-2-3-4-5…..

Mta of cluster A
6-7-8-9-10
11-12-13-14-15
16-17-18-19

Pta of cluster A
20-21-22-23-24
25-26-27-28-29
30-31-32-33-34


Description:
Name of teachers: A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K >>>>>>>>>Q
Number of members in each committee: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8->>>>>>>>>>>> 150
Total NUMBER OF THE (VEC+MTA+PTA)= SAY 150 IN THE GP.
PREVIOUSLY the teacher A was conducting meeting within members 1 to 10 only but now the meeting-matrix will cover same number of members but the members will be different.

Hence teacher-A shall cover Q’s MTA PTA & VEC say (A= 135 to 150th persons in education system) similarly Teacher Q will sit with A’s mass say teacher Q= 1 to 15th persons in the education system)

Benefit of the process is involvement of the teacher in the other camp and new people who can share their interest and understanding for governance.

Case study on Mamina Behera
Teacher: SK JAKIR UDDIN

Mamina is the youngest of other five orphan siblings and drop out from 2nd std. the routine of all the sisters to collect fishes from fishing yard which also ensures food for the old grand father. The camp teacher Mr Jakiruddin intervened the family with the VEC and Mamina was attached to camp as well as admitted in to the School. She made the difference when she came first in the half yearly examination with exceptional scoring. Now the sisters of Mamina started believing the quality education spared by the OSA camp. The VEC is entrusted to watch continuity of the education support to those children who are talented but the economic pressure distorts the fundamental rights.



Case of Bhabani Behera
Teacher: Kaminee Behera

Bhabanee’s father was absconded after her birth. Her mother is a person with speech and hearing disability so she took a refuse in her brother’s house. Bhabanee was brought up in her uncle’s house. Mr. Sahadev Behera the uncle of Bhabanee has three children and his livelihood rests on fishing. He discontinued the education of Bhabanee from 3rd std but the MTA opened up an avenue for Bhabanee when she was brought to the camp to continue her studies. Mrs. Kaminee Behera the Camp teacher helped her to recover all her education in 4 months and got her admitted in the school. Her continuity in the schooling process is only possible when sponsorship will be arranged for the child and her mother. In the same way governance of the PR system is also vital for these helpless children.


Case of Swetapadma Behera
Mother: Shasi Behera
Teacher: Sasmita Sahoo.
Mr. Purna Chandra Behera is absconded when Sweta was one month old. Hence education became a dream in sweta’s life. Ms Sasmita is focusing on girl’s education through her camp. Sweta was attacher with adolescent girls continuing there. However Shasi Behera is in relief from the stress relating to her daughter’s education. Sweta is in need of some sponsorship also.

Case study of minority children
Teacher : Dillip Jena

The above teacher is entrusted to educate the children of scavenger community who are seen in the lower profile in the cast system. The center itself is a landmark achievement to intrude into a untouchable group who are suppressed since long. These minority groups never attend schools for the stigma that predominant there. Now it is expected that some 30 drop out minors will enter regular schooling process.

Case study of Durga Behera:
Bhagabat Sahi sanjogi sikhya Kendra Arakhkuda
Teacher: kaminee Behera
Durga Behera is a one Out of 32 camp children attending the center. His fater is Sitaram Behera and Kamala Behera is his mother. He has 4 sisters and 3 brothers. The eldest Malaa is married and rest three Garee Uree and Mamata are already in domestic work. The eldest boy Abhi helps his father in fishing; the second one Durga has already dropped out from school. The youngest one Ranjan is in Anganbadi. Durga after a number of attempts made to mobiles his parents attending the center then he was admitted in the school. He is a punctual student what others observed from Durga’s activities. Since his readmission was done we could not mark any day absent in Durga’s call register. As the family of Durga is too big it makes a lot of toil to arrange the daily livelihood by the parents. But Durga become so attached that he does not like to remain idle in his home. As a teacher I hope that if Durga will be supported he can change the destiny of his illiterate family. Hence the family members are cooperating Durga all the time. Durga is now in class one, even there is a delay in his learning process he possesses good memory. I expect a good outcome for the extra care given to Durga.

Case study of Surya kanta Behera
Teacher: Rinamani Behera
Surakanta’s father is a chronic patient who is unproductive; his elder brother is now a fisherman in Chilka Lake who provides food for the entire family by fishing. It is most logical whether the family should manage with daily bread or to invest in educating the young chap. Surya and his sister remain absent in school most of the days due to lack of garments or education material. Even then Surya was able to get student’s scholarship and Nabodaya and in std 3 he was able get scholarship. Now he was mobilized to join the classes in the camp and school. In the class sixth std he stands first. It needs to go deep into the issues relating to livelihood that influences children’s education so much. We have no answer to cater these deals till day.

Case of Raju Behera class 3
Mother : Saga Behera.
Teacher : Reena Behera

This teacher covers the Dhalabali range of habitats. She commutes 5 km on road and 1 hour boat journey to reach the center. She takes care of all the children whose parents never thought of education or any future of their children and came to the islet for livelihoods.
Raju is the only exception there, he never likes the environment and occupations the elderly people of the island so he was shy. Raju is exceptional in his memory and IQ but he became disabled (which is called learning disability in Psychology). Raju was included in the camp school found to be flourishing. A community plan is dovetailed to send all the children to the main land so that the children can get access to education and food accordingly.

Problem solving through teachers of Camp:

Some front line teachers like Mrs. Kaminee Behera, SK Jakiruddin, Charan Behera, Purna Nayak, Ms Mamina Jena were selected to continue a refreshers training for the educated unemployed youth of the same GP keeping in mind that the future vacancies in EGS and OSA camps shall be accommodated by these trainees on Sanjukta Series.

A refreshers training to the existing staff is needed along with provisions to train new staff who will join after a vacancy due to resignation of a staff. In the coming days there may be some vacancies to be occurred due to posting of the staff as SSS under the Govt. education department.

Mid Day Meal
Mid day meal and egg are now under control of the OSA teachers. But supply of logistics is irregular.

Meetings

Cluster meetings, Core group meeting, Meeting with the VEC members, Parents meeting, Mass mobilization, MTA done by individual teachers in this month is under watch. Report and impact assessment to this en d will be available next month.






Trainings
Child rights training workshop with specific PRI conducted in Arakhkuda by core group of childline.
Visitors
Debasis Rath, Manoj Tripathy

Requirements observed:
Chalks and notebooks and mapping of OSA project area.

Logistics supplied: chalks for the program

Records verified: camp records, VEC records,

Place: Arakhkuda OSA Office
Date: 05/12/06 sd- GP
coordinator


Seen



OSA HQS office Puri. Seal signature.

rush monthly reports

Report of the rush-CEF/OSA for the month of December 2007

Overcoming the limitations
Start trouble trouble so trouble cannot trouble you.
Needs grow into problems and problems lead to intolerance then conflict reigns; managing the conflict does not mean controlling people but ventilating them to surface their demand. Protest can be in the form of allegations of verbal or written statements, demonstration, demands, cracking the fiber of democratic linen the policy of a nation wears. Worldwide democratic movements turn to bloody coup and mass disturbances, which is not a healthy citizenry practice. We are missing the norm of democracy there. People should have patience for democracy consumes more time for a change. And it is a long drawn political premise in resolution of conflict management. Need has to be grounded as a conflict of any form and leadership goes to anybody concerned to the cause. It is not true that leaders are a special genesis who to be awaited for a change rather the leader remains within. National economy is the chair on which Democracy sits. People of Poorest nations have an illusion comparing democracy with anarchy and then we forget our power to change.
(Statement out of perception)

Tracking the primary education has become an uninterrupted action after the program has been deep rooted into the community life. The geographical barriers will be there as the program was implemented by choice not as an accident. Geographical factors keeps the community separated and each cluster have a different behaviour. Economically the bondage mean that they are fishermen who are a different genome neither match with the marine fishermen nor the fresh water fisher folk rather hybridization of both the genesis. Once upon a time they were coastal nomads and identified as migrants and now anthropologically a refined genome of the two. They are the fishermen fit for the calm lake CHILKA. The past prosperity was looted by middlemen who bought the perishable products fish and prawn, then came the country-liquor vendors made them slaves of consumerism. In the mean time the livelihoods are restricted and opportunity of development is distorted. These Opportunistic disturbances did not let them grow civilized but made a tribe identified by their economic cannibalism. Each one has become a barrier of common development and they are neglected. Exploitations are remote controlled by big mafia around, the costal forest; the lake fishery, the vote bank and the rest of the glittering things are occupied. Political overtone in every aspect of development seems to be decentralization of power equitably but in particular it is nothing but proletariatising of corruption. Let it be but quality of life will be questioned in each move in the community.

Community though benefited from the education camps they demand more from the camp teachers. The short term teachers are running the sanpatna UGUP school become a part of the government school functioning. They do not believe the political process to bring in more staff rather thinking of how to sustain these teachers who played a pivotal role in upgrade the children in the making of nomads. Absence of the bridge camp teachers in school resulted in low attendance of pupil and the VRCC continue asking for help. The OSA-CEF campaign derived a benefit appointment of 147 SSA teachers for the same block, but there are back door policies in snatching all of them to other GP. Political process to draw more SSA teachers for the primary schools in the GP resulted in allotment of just 3 SSA teachers. It is also a fact that children of all other GPs of the Block at the CHILKA bay are deprived of education as a very neglected link and communication is possible. Process planning for more EGS schools for adolescent girls are on the cards as the teachers are forced into the segment of adolescent girls who were already drop out and engaged in mapping their future in a childhood marriage. The OSA took half the target and benefit is achieved where there is more need of teachers. Some teachers are engaged in training on the Sanjukta for barefoot teachers working within the community. It was observed that the skill of teaching must be upgraded so that they will continue in community when the project will be windup.

Child resource center in Arakhkuda UGUP is not just a declaration but the whole community is motivated to change the old infrastructure. The VEC is able to motivate the stakeholders in making the science club for the Block in the above school. This is a competitive movement also against the declaration of model school of OSA initiatives. The mid-day meal though an impediment for the single teacher there the community is planning to invite Akhaya Patra provision into the GP in a hope that the task can be shifted from the teaching staff and children can get a square meal without toiling in the lake. Moreover the parents started restricting their children to refrain from fishing during school hours. The literate few are praising the quality education and become a pressure group in the movement.

Sanpatna UGUP School is led by one staff who is the teacher- cum HM-cum VRCC cum Peon of the school. He protested inclusion of camp teachers teaching in the school, in the first instance now the intruding teachers from OSA occupy his territory. The VRCC can easily present his capacity how he is able to hike the quality of his children. Sometimes the teachers in groups are screening the community for the new dropouts and remain in the islets to bring them inside the camp; at that time the VRCC feels the need of staff input extended to the UGUP SCHOOL.

EMPHASISING CHILD RIGHTS:
OSA/CEF tried its level best to incorporate the four fundamental rights i.e. survival, protection, participation and development to be replicated in the program on education. Right to education comes from the fundamental right to development. Here the right to participation in the decision making process have started through children clubs initiated by some of the teachers. To make the education pleasant rush/osa implements puppet theatre through its child right cell.
PUPPET ACTORS IN OSA



Children are also involved in the IEC of mass mobilization teams presenting street play in the theme of education-governance.
Disability and education:
The dist OSA chapter started receiving comments from the camp on how to manage the children with disability because the array of disability is too big and needs special teachers, communication and learning aid. Some of the children with mild disabilities use to perform better in the bridge camp so the parents are anxious to make the schools accessible. During the next Panchayat election they are demanding their candidates to contribute the ramp, as it is urgent for a group of disabled children.



Health and education:
It is usual that the remote GP is facing severe water and sanitation problem, the brackish water causes skin diseases and children use to face recurrent dermatitis. The health center is absent where as people get them admitted in the far-flung health center at Bramhagiri. This is no doubt a hindering factor for education.

Migrants of economic capitals
The project registers a couple of trafficking cases in women and children who were transported by the local contractors to different places. Contrary to the behaviour of adolescents and girls in education front they are progressive in moving for work hence trafficked. It indicates an option of integrated approach in the settlement taking the livelihood issues at the focus.

Environment building
Some camp teachers opine that they are involving children in building the hygiene in and around. They call it as learning, which is most essential for the fishermen habitats. It can be acquired as a habit since childhood.





Integration of other programs:
The PRI members of arakhkuda GP were invited to attend a resource training on Anti-trafficking activity and HR Defense actions in NCDC bhubaneswar being organized by the CACT state forum, the problem relating to trafficking of minors and women in the GP was however a negative indicator of education initiatives taken by OSA.
Similarly the PRI and select teachers were invited to join the CACL campaign to stop child employment in hazardous sectors and discussed over the recent legislation on the issue. The participants indicated to solve mass employment of children by using the legislation and filing litigations to restore/retain children in the school instead of join in fishing profession.

Mass mobilization
Dated 8, 9, 23, 26 of Dec were utilized in the mass mobilization through the core group, vec, MTA, PTA and preparatory activities were conducted For The Upcoming P R Elections.
Meetings


Visits
The National level REFLECT TEAM of action aid was the scion visitor into a destination Dhalabali to conduct interactive PROGRAM LIKE PLA for duration of one day.

Cacl state coordinator paid visits twice to monitor the operation at the base camps. The project partner of the dist OSA also visited the camps to se implementation of MIS given in the action plan.

Case studies.

Teaching the children with disability a teacher’s experience

A teacher Mr. Charan Behera who got the post of SSA teacher in the block mentioned his action in the inclusion process. In his study he mentioned about the ground problems in handling these categories of children.
He mentioned his toil to bring the child from the settlement and pledged special focus on the said child. Finally he believes that OSA will achieve success if some special teachers will be arranged for them. Now he thinks of the school accessibility concept and dealing with the main stakes of the block in making the school accessible.


To,
Mr Ambika Prasad Nanda.
Action Aid
331-A- Sahid Nagar
Bhubaneswar