Inspiring Stories - Konadasapura

Konadasapura village of Doddabanahallli Gram Panchayat is located 5kms from K.R.Puram within the East Taluk . As part of our data appraisal the need for an ECCE facility seemed essential to the team of ECCE facilitators, thereby expanding our work to this GP since May 2004. Although the village earlier housed a government supported anganwadi, it was discontinued due to the problems the village members encountered with the teacher who belonged to a nearby town. The anganwadi was then relocated to Nimbekaipura, a village at a close proximity. Subsequently members did make an attempt to renew the functioning of the anganwadi but it was denied on the basis of lack of community provided space, a prerequisite for sanctioning an anganwadi.

More than 2500 members inhabit the entire village, of which only two pockets were identified and surveyed, which contained a significant child population. Of the 347 households and 1800 population surveyed by the community volunteers, a total of 141 children were identified of which 118 remained at home in the absence of accessible facility for the younger children. Like most peri-urban areas around the city of Bangalore , Konadasapura has seen people moving into the village in search of employment. For the most part, adults here are employed in agricultural labour or as workers in nearby factories. Despite it being the largest village in the GP and the election of 3 members to the Panchayat from this village, the absence of any facility for younger children had remained a critical concern; forcing the mothers either to take their children to work or stay at home or leave them in the care of older siblings (who thus missed out on schooling). A preliminary visit and informal discussions with community members to assess the situation of ECCE, followed by an information survey (conducted by locally identified individuals) and comparison with secondary data sources such as the local office of the Women & Child Development Dept (DWCD) and the Gram Panchayat office aided a deeper understanding of the village. This interaction also helped identify individuals in the village who would play an active role in steering the process. In the case of Konadasapura, it was the GP president Nagamani who was instrumental in initiating the facility.

Sharing the collected information on the village at a Sabha (meeting) with community members and parents initiated a discussion and debate on the need for such a facility and possible ways of addressing it. Several communities having experienced welfarist interventions tend to expect another scheme to be delivered upon gathering for a meeting. The GP member's participation towards the process seemed to negate this effect. Nagamani took it upon herself to organise the identified parents, members of the two Stree Shakti Sanghas and the Yuvaka Sangha for the Makkala Sabha. She further substantiated aspects of community taking initiative as opposed to waiting for a scheme to be delivered. Yet another GP member, Laxmi, strongly advocated for the need of such a facility and the need for the community to take responsibility for its organization.

Further discussions resulted in a few interested community members keen to take the process forward. In addition to identifying the need for a local teacher, nominal fees to be paid by parents and ongoing support from the local community, the role of the larger community including that of MAYA, the State and other institutions was also addressed. The active interest taken by the two GP members subsequently saw the Sabha resulting in certain key decisions: the identification of a local teacher and an assistant teacher, a nominal admission fee of Rs 25/-fee and monthly fee of Rs 25/-to be paid by parents, a common space to be allocated by the community and other contributions from community members such as local sanghas, individual donors, etc. It was concluded that though the school could provide for its basic needs certain supplementary resources needed to be identified for its efficient functioning over a longer period of time. The preschool within the span of three months, has generated the teacher's salary without any financial support from outside, parents have contributed to the initiating costs, duly substituted the teacher on days of training, planned & budgeted for school requirements, supported teacher in purchasing and generating materials for the preschool and articulated their expectations from the school in turn marking out teacher respons,

The varying pace of collective decision making in different local situations is reflective of the inherent diversity of their contexts and experiences determining their preparedness in addressing various development issues. Though often through our facilitation we realize that communities such as Konnadassapura exposed to an active youth group & practices of women's self help group actively participate when compared to groups who lack such exposure. This group of women take pride in the fact that they were solely responsible in creating such a facility for themselves.