Spotlight-1.869x568

Hyperlocal reporters win village panchayat elections

WHEN Arjun Pawara won the election for the post of sarpanch in the Dhadgaon block of Nandurbar district in Maharashtra in October this year, it was really no surprise.

Pawara is the face of the Aadiwasi Janjagruti, which makes  videos on development problems and gets them resolved. Thanks to their efforts, long-sought civic amenities have been provided such as a road and tubewells.

Five of his colleagues from the Aadiwasi Janjagruti were also elected ward councillors as people, grateful for being given a voice, now chose them as their representatives.

Know more : https://www.civilsocietyonline.com/spotlight/hyperlocal-reporters-win-village-elections/

Inaugration of Road 2

SBI Foundation commits Rs 3 mn grant to eight select social ventures

SBI Foundation, the CSR arm of State Bank of India (SBI) on Sunday committed Rs 30 lakh as a grant to 8 ventures who work at the grassroot level to bring change in the lives of rural population.

The selection for the grant is done on the basis of projects submitted by fellows of SBI Youth for India programme, and depending on the assessment, grant is pledged during ‘SBI YFI Sahyog – The Pitch Fest’, SBI Foundation CEO and Managing Director Sanjay Prakash told PTI.

Know more : https://www.business-standard.com/companies/news/sbi-foundation-commits-rs-3-mn-grant-to-eight-select-social-ventures-123040900611_1.html

Creating Grassroot leaders

The Budget’s focus on SHGs could increase ruralfemale labour participation

Anita Pawra (33) lives in Sawaryadigar village of Maharashtra’s Nandurbar district, a village of about 2,200 people. Nandurbar is among India’s 112 most under-developed districts. Little did Pawra know that one day she would be financially independent, the owner of a poultry business, and the elected head of a women’s self-help group (SHG), all because she had joined such an organisation nine years earlier.

SHGs are informal associations of people who come together to find ways to improve their life. These self-governed, peer-controlled groups follow their own set of rules.

Know More : https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/budget/budget-2023-focus-on-self-help-groups-could-increase-rural-female-labour-participation-10100491.html

Bihar India - February 18,  2016 : Unidentified people standing beside the road

जहाँ बिजली भी नहीं पहुँचती, वहाँ आदिवासी भाषाओं में जानकारी पहुँचाते हैं ये पत्रकार!

‘आदिवासी जनजागृति’ ने पिछले 3 महीनों में न सिर्फ कोरोना पर जागरूकता लाने का काम किया है बल्कि फेक न्यूज, मजदूरों की समस्या सहित इस दौरान बढ़े करप्शन को भी उजागर किया है।

शायद ही कभी क्षेत्रीय भाषाओं में सूचनाओं का आदान-प्रदान इस कदर हुआ होगा जिस तरह कोरोना संक्रमण के दौरान हुआ है। लगभग हर भाषा में कोविड-19 को लेकर लोगों में जागरूकता फैलाई गई। तकनीक ने इसे और सुलभ बनाते हुए हर तबके तक पहुँच दिया। मगर हमारे देश में अब भी कई ऐसे गाँव हैं, जहाँ तकनीक की कमी और लोकल भाषा में कंटेन्ट ना होने की वजह से सूचनाएँ पहुँच ही नहीं पातीं या फिर सही तरीके से अपना असर नहीं दिखा पातीं। महाराष्ट्र राज्य का नंदुरबार जिला उन्हीं जगहों में से एक है।

पूर्णतः आदिवासी बाहुल इस जिले में आज भी कई ऐसे गाँव हैं जहाँ सड़क, बिजली, पानी जैसी मूलभूत सुविधाएँ उपलब्ध नहीं हैं। बिजली और मोबाईल नेटवर्क ना होने की वजह से इस जिले के कई गाँवों तक सरकारी योजनाओं की जानकारी नहीं पहुँच पाती। कोरोना के दौरान जब लगभग हर भाषा में सूचनाएँ उपलब्ध हैं तब भी यहाँ की आदिवासी भाषाएँ जैसे पावरी, भीलोरी तथा आहयरनी में इस बारे में कोई भी जानकारी नहीं थी।

इसी बात को ध्यान में रखकर, इसी जिले के धड़गांव तालुका के कुछ युवाओं ने एक अनोखा काम शुरू किया है। ये युवा कोरोना के विषय में जागरूकता लाने के लिए अपनी आदिवासी भाषा में वीडियोज़ बनाकर और उन्हें लोगों को दिखाकर जागरूकता लाने का काम कर रहे हैं।

कैसे हुई थी मिशन की शुरुआत

आदिवासी जनजागृति ने पिछले 3 महीनों में न सिर्फ कोरोना पर जागरूकता लाने का काम किया है बल्कि फेक न्यूज, मजदूरों की समस्या सहित इस दौरान बढ़े करप्शन को भी उजागर किया है। इस काम की शुरुआत वर्ष 2017 में एक फेलोशिप प्रोजेक्ट पर धड़गाँव आए नितेश भारद्वाज ने की थी। उन्होंने यहाँ के 10 युवाओं को छोटी छोटी-फिल्म बनाना सिखाया और अपनी आवाज को लोगों तक पहुँचाने का एक रास्ता दिखाया। इस बारे में नितेश बताते हैं, “यहाँ आने के बाद मुझे महसूस हुआ कि सही सूचनाओं के अभाव में लोग सरकारी योजनाओं का लाभ नहीं ले पाते, उनके खुद के विकास के लिए किए जा रहे कामों में उनकी भागीदारी नहीं है और इन सबके पीछे वजह है सूचनाओं का सही तरीके से आदान प्रदान न होना। आदिवासी भाषाओं में शायद ही किसी मीडिया में कुछ देखने सुनने को मिलता है, इसलिए बहुत जरूरी है कि हम लोकल भाषाओं में भी कंटेन्ट तैयार करें। इससे सूचना ग्रहण करने वाला भी खुद को ज्यादा जुड़ा हुआ महसूस करेगा। आदिवासी जनजागृति शुरू करने की वजह भी यही थी। आज आदिवासी जनजागृति न सिर्फ नंदुरबार बल्कि आस पास के जिलों की भी लोकल खबरें दिखाता है और उनकी समस्याओं को उठाता है” |

मोबाइल बना इन युवाओं के मिशन का सहारा

अपने मिशन के तहत नितेश से प्रशिक्षित युवक पिछले तीन सालों से नंदुरबार और आस-पास के जिलों में जागरूकता फैलाने का काम कर रहे हैं। ये युवक अपने क्षेत्र की समस्याओं पर लोकल भाषा में फिल्म, न्यूज, शार्ट वीडियोज़ और इंटरव्यू बना कर लोगों के बीच जाते हैं और उस विषय पर लोगों में जनजागृति लाने का काम करते हैं। इस पूरे काम की सबसे खास बात यह है कि इस काम को ये युवक पूरी तरह से मोबाइल फोन पर करते हैं।

कोरोना संक्रमण के दौरान जब लोगों के पास सही जानकारी को होना बेहद ज़रूरी है, तब इनके इस कार्य को काफी सराहा जा रहा है। इस विषय पर बात करते हुए इसी टीम के सदस्य अर्जुन पावरा ने बताया, “हम पिछले तीन सालों से स्वास्थ्य, शिक्षा, खेती सहित कई प्रमुख मुद्दों पर शॉर्ट फिल्म्स बना कर अलग-अलग गांवों में लोगों को प्रोजेक्टर के माध्यम से अपनी वीडियोज़ दिखाते रहे हैं। हम सरकार की अलग अलग योजनाओं के संबंध में भी लोगों को फिल्मों के माध्यम से बता रहे हैं। कोरोना संक्रमण के दौरान हमने यह देखा कि लोगों के मन में इसको लेकर जानकारी का अभाव है।”

इस तरह स्क्रीनिंग भी की जाती है.
वह आगे बताते हैं, “इसी बात को ध्यान में रख कर हमने कोरोना पर वीडियोज़ बनाना भी शुरू कर दिया। इन वीडियोज़ को हम सोशल मीडिया के माध्यम लोगों तक पहुँचा रहे हैं। जिन गांवों में नेटवर्क की समस्या है वहाँ हमारे वालन्टीयर लोगों को ये वीडियोज़ उनके फोन में दे रहे हैं।”

आदिवासी जनजागृति के साथ 50 से अधिक लोग 200 गाँवों में काम कर रहे हैं। ये लोग हफ्ते में एक बार नेटवर्क वाले ज़ोन में जाकर इन वीडियोज़ को एक दूसरी टीम के पास भेजते हैं, जो इन वीडियोज़ को मोबाईल पर हीं एडिट कर शेयर कर देते हैं।

क्या कहते हैं गाँव वाले

इन युवाओं के काम को लेकर बात करते हुए हरनखुरी गाँव की वसीबाई मोचड़ा पावरा ने बताया, “पावरी (आदिवासी बोली) में वीडियो होने की वजह से हमें इसमें कही गई बातें आसानी से समझ में आ जाती हैं। कोरोना के विषय में, खासकर हम महिलाओं में आदिवासी जनजागृति की वजह से ही समझ बन पाई है। शुरुआत में इसको लेकर बहुत सारी बातें बताई गई थीं जैसे गर्म पानी से नहाने से कोरोना नहीं होगा, लहसुन खाने से नहीं होगा, धूप में खड़े रहने से कोरोना नहीं होगा और भी बहुत कुछ। मगर आदिवासी जनजागृति वीडियो के माध्यम से हमें बताया कि ये सब गलत बातें हैं और इन बातों का कोई प्रमाण नहीं है।” वसीबाई मोचड़ा पावरा उन हजारों लोगों में से एक हैं जिनको आदिवासी जनजागृति के कोविड-19 पर बनाए हुए अलग अलग वीडियोज़ का फायदा हुआ।

आदिवासी जनजगृति ने अपने वीडियोज़ के सहारे धड़गाँव तालुका के कई गाँवों की समस्याओं को उजागर करने का काम किया है। उन्हीं में से एक आमखेड़ी गाँव के धनसिंग पावरा बताते हैं, “हमारे गाँव में पानी की समस्या बहुत सालों से थी, आदिवासी जनजागृति ने इस बारे में वीडियो बनाकर लोगों और प्रशासन को इस समस्या से अवगत कराया। आदिवासी जनजागृति के दखल देने की वजह से आज हमारे गाँव में ग्राम पंचायत निधि (पंचायत फंड) से 6 बोरेवेल का निर्माण हुआ है जिससे हमारे गाँव के पानी की समस्या दूर हो चुकी है।”

आदिवासी जनजागृति ने धड़गाँव में अपनी एक अलग पहचान बना ली है। इस बारे में टीम के सदस्य दीपक पावरा बताते हैं “हमारी फिल्में धड़गाँव नगर पंचायत, जिला प्रशासन और बाकी विभाग भी दिखाते हैं। कोरोना की हमारी वीडियोज़ को आरोग्य विभाग ने भी इस्तेमाल किया है। इसके पहले “स्वच्छ भारत अभियान” पर बनाई हुई हमारी फिल्म को भी नंदुरबार जिला प्रशासन ने पूरे जिले में दिखाया था। हमारी एक वीडियो में खुद नंदुरबार कलेक्टर ने संदेश दिया हुआ है। हमारी वीडियोज़ की वजह से न सिर्फ आम लोगों को बल्कि प्रशासन को भी फायदा हो रहा है।”

आदिवासी जनजागृति के काम से न सिर्फ लोगों में जागरूकता आ रही है, बल्कि गाँव के युवाओं को समाज के विकास में भाग लेने का मौका भी मिल रहा है। आज जब मुख्यधारा की मीडिया गाँवों से दूर हो रही है तब आदिवासी जनजागृति जैसी संस्थाओं की जरूरत और ज्यादा बढ़ रही है। कोरोना के इस दौर में जब फेक न्यूज अपने चरम पर है और आदिवासी भाषाओं में सूचनाओं की कमी है, तब इस तरह की ग्रामीण पत्रकारिता हमारे गांवों के लिए वाकई एक वरदान जैसा है।

mobile-phone-apps-759

Tribal boys use mobile phones to shoot short film on local issues

Ten such boys have phones that have cameras to shoot a scene from different angles. About 20 others write script and act in the film. The boys have uploaded the two films on YouTube, garnering over 2,000 views.

In Nandurbar’s Harankhuri village, three boys hold their smartphone tightly, directing the camera towards their college principal outside a mud-splattered hut, as he brusquely rebukes two boys for defecating in the open. “Don-char mahinyat tujhe lagna hoeel. Bai mansa diwsat jar shauchalay lagli tar kaay karnar baher, ughdyaawar basayla laaj waatte. Andhaar padaay chi waat baghel. Andharat tya thikani ghatna ghatli, chedkani keli, tar? (You will be married in four months. Your wife will feel embarrassed to defecate in the open. She will wait for the night to defecate. What if something goes amiss, if she is harassed?)”

This scene, part of a 13-minute short film made by a group of over 30 tribal boys, is fast growing popular in the state’s northern most tribal district Nandurbar. It is shown through projectors in panchayat meetings and in self-help groups on small screen of phones to raise awareness on local issues.

“We have made two films till now — first on child labour and second on open defecation. We are currently making a film on sickle cell disease,” says Naresh More,18, a student at Maharaj Janardhan college. With no money to buy or rent cameras or computers, he uses his MI Note 4 phone to shoot scenes. Later, using a basic editing software called Power Director, he edits the scenes on his phone.

Ten such boys have phones that have cameras to shoot a scene from different angles. About 20 others write script and act in the film. The boys have uploaded the two films on YouTube, garnering over 2,000 views.

Nitesh Bhardwaj, who is working on rural development project in Dhadgaon and training the boys on editing, says the idea was generated when they realised the visuals hold more appeal for villagers. “The students used to write an in-house newspaper to discuss local issues. But its reach was limited. We thought a short film will be more powerful,” Bhardwaj said.

Nandurbar, with over 60 per cent tribal population, faces a high incidence of sickle cell. “Road networks and mobile coverage is poor. The quality of toilet constructed is poor. There is a need to show these issues on larger platform. This district receives little media attention,” Bhardwaj added.

The Forest department has now approached the boys, all aged between 16 to 25, to make a short film on environment. “Our films have spurred discussions. Child labour is illegal, but a lot of minors migrate and work in hotels. A lot of villagers have toilets, but they don’t like using it. All our films are based on real life stories,” says Rakesh Pavara, who writes the script for the film and has acted in the film on open defecation.

The film on sickle cell, currently under production, narrates the story of a young boy and girl who are sickle cell positive and yet decide to marry. Two of their four kids have sickle cell. The film shows the hardships of suffering from this disease and the lack of government health support.

The films have drawn attention of district collector Mallinath Kalshetty, who has extended support to provide projectors to show the film to villagers. “Swachh Bharat and sanitation are important issues. For health reasons, people must construct toilets and use them,” his message says at the end of one of the films.

GC-Jagriti

How a Young Man Inspired Tribal Students from Maharashtra to Start Their Own College Newspaper

A group of tribal students from rural Maharashtra have started their own college newspaper to discuss their local issues and create a platform for expressing themselves.

They don’t have access to Internet. They don’t have Facebook, Twitter, or email accounts, and most of them don’t even have basic mobile phones. But these young college students have one thing which is far more important than all other talents, and that is willingness to do something. These students, with the least available resources, have made their own college newspaper. This is the story of tribal students from Dhadgaon Block, which comes under the most underdeveloped districts of India.

Dhadgaon is one of the six blocks in Nandurbar District of Maharashtra. The students from Maharaj Janardan Podya Wadwi College, Dhadgaon have come up with their first college newspaper. This 4-page newspaper, named Jaagriti, is entirely designed, edited, and distributed by the students. “It took about three months for us to produce our first newspaper, but now we will publish it every month,” said Naresh, a B.Sc. First Year student and one of the members of the newspaper team.

The first two pages of this Bilingual (Marathi and Hindi) newspaper contain news from college. The third page is for the faculty and alumni of the college. This page provides space to teachers and alumni so that they can communicate with the students of the college. The last page of the newspaper is the students’ page.
They can share their ideas, opinions, and poems or sketches or any other hobby on it.

“It is our space. Nobody in Dhadgaon knew that I can draw, but now since my sketch has been published in our newspaper, every student and faculty knows about it,” 
said Santosh, a Second Year B.Sc. student who sells paani puri in the evening for a living.

The idea of making a newspaper for college students came from Nitesh Bhardwaj, who is working with BAIF in Dhadgaon for 13 months under a SBI Youth for India fellowship programme. While working for Market Linkage of Forest Products, he came in contact with Dr. H.M. Patil, Principal of Dhadgaon College. He discussed this idea with the principal and started working on it. He first trained the students to identify what is news, and how to write it. Later, he identified two students and trained them in newspaper design. Nitesh then made a team of nine students with different roles for the newspaper.

aadivasi-janajagruti

Watch: Young boys in Maharashtra are tackling local problems by making films like these

Armed with camera phones and simple editing software, they’re capturing their realities in films.

The notion of participatory development is not always discussed widely. Young boys in Harankhuri village, in Maharashtra’s northern most tribal district Nandurbar, are documenting their local problems through short films that they post on their YouTube channel.

Armed with camera phones and simple editing software, 30 youngsters have made short films in Marathi, about open defecation (above) and child labour (below). A third film, about sickle cell disease, is in the works. The films are screened through projectors at panchayat meetings and on phones at meetings of self-help groups.

“The students used to write an in-house newspaper to discuss local issues,” Nitesh Bhardwaj, who has trained the boys in editing their films, told The Indian Express. “But its reach was limited. We thought a short film will be more powerful.”

Quint_444-300x225

Adivasis take to filmmaking to highlight local concerns

A team of 10 youths with minimal education, from Dhadgaon block of Nandurbar District, Maharashtra, has made its first short film. They shot and edited the video entirely on a mobile phone and is now available on their YouTube channel named Aadiwasi JanJagruti

Today, it’s very easy to get fame. Post some random video, and social media will make you a star overnight. Even by criticising it, we are actually helping promote that video. Now, a few young Adivasis from one of the most underdeveloped districts in India have latched onto this idea – however, to put the spotlight on local issues, not themselves. A team of 10 youths with minimal education, from Dhadgaon block of Nandurbar District, Maharashtra, have made its first short film. They shot and edited the video entirely on a mobile phone and is now available on their YouTube channel named Aadiwasi JanJagruti. The film is on child labour. They are now screening it in the meetings of self-help groups and other village organization using a small projector.

“Everybody in our block loves watching films, so when we make films with local artistes on issues that concern us, people will watch them and become aware about the issues,” said Anil Lohar, one of the filmmakers.

Their first film has got 850-plus views and 60-plus likes and their channel has 75-plus subscribers. These figures are nothing compared to the millions of views some videos get and go viral. But these figures are impressive when you consider only a patchy BSNL mobile network serves this area. This team is now working on films that create awareness on the use of toilets, sickle-cell disease, and the harmful effects of tobacco.

Nitesh Bhardwaj, a graduate in mass-communications working under the State Bank of India’s Youth for India fellowship, is helping these young people in this initiative. He has been motivating them to use their mobile phone to resolve their local issues. “The biggest problem that I see in our villages is a lack of proper communication tools to create awareness,” said Nitesh. “The mainstream media doesn’t focus on these areas. The content of every TV programme is city-centric which these people can’t relate to. We need a local approach to create awareness among them.” The limitation of using a mobile phone for editing is that they cannot write any message in Marathi or Hindi, as the app they are using doesn’t support the Nagari font. But they are working on a solution.

Forward Press also publishes books on Bahujan issues. Forward Press Books sheds light on the widespread problems as well as the finer aspects of Bahujan (Dalit, OBC, Adivasi, Nomadic, Pasmanda) society, literature, culture and politics. Next on the publication schedule is a book on Dr Ambedkar’s multifaceted personality. To book a copy in advance, contact The Marginalised Prakashan, IGNOU Road, Delhi. Mobile: +919968527911.

Quint_4444-scaled-1-1536x863

How Bringing Mobile Journalism to Rural Maharashtra Changed Lives

While we’re all busy checking our updates on social media, there’s a village in Maharashtra without mobile networks, electricity, or a decent transportation system. Nandurbar in Maharashtra is one of the most backward districts of India.

The district shares its boundaries with Gujarat at one end and Madhya Pradesh at the other. This district was earlier in the news when India’s first Aadhaar card was allotted to a woman here.

After seven years, it is again in the limelight, but this time because of the unique work done by a very ambitious and motivated young man.
A young boy from Bihar, Nitesh Bhardwaj came to Dhadgaon – one of the six blocks of Nandurbar – with the idea of training college students to run their own newspaper. He shared his idea with Dr HM Patil, principal of Janardan Poharya Vadwi college in Dhadgaon, and with his support started taking training sessions for the students.

After one month of training in writing, designing and editing, the students came up with their newspaper – four pages that were distributed to their peers.

“Students write on different issues and also share their hobbies like story writing, painting and poems in the newspaper,” said Viki Pawar who has worked on the newspaper team.

This is the first time I have designed anything using a computer and it’s something new for us, but now I am confident that I can design any newspaper or magazine on a computer.

Viki Pawar, Student who worked on the newspaper

The newspaper has helped the students think critically about any issue and through this they have acquired new skills that will go with them a long way. This initiative has enabled students to take interest in how different types and levels of governments function. They have not just started reading newspapers, but have also started discussing the issues they read about.
After this Nitesh realised that the newspaper has certain limitations, he decided to work on short films. He felt that audio-visuals would appeal more to the villagers.

In order to broaden the reach, he teamed up with youngsters from Dhadgaon College and Harhankhuri Village of Dhadgaon. He trained them for about 15 days to shoot and edit films on mobile phones.

The idea is to make short films on local issues with local artists and that too in the local language to create social awareness and generate some livelihood. This team showcases their short films at different village meetings.

We have screened our films in more than 20 village meetings covering around 100 villages.
Rakesh Pawara, a team member
How Bringing Mobile Journalism to Rural Maharashtra Changed Lives
While we’re busy checking updates on social media, Nandurbar village is without mobile networks, no electricity.

While we’re all busy checking our updates on social media, there’s a village in Maharashtra without mobile networks, electricity, or a decent transportation system. Nandurbar in Maharashtra is one of the most backward districts of India.

The district shares its boundaries with Gujarat at one end and Madhya Pradesh at the other. This district was earlier in the news when India’s first Aadhaar card was allotted to a woman here.

After seven years, it is again in the limelight, but this time because of the unique work done by a very ambitious and motivated young man.

Nitesh addresses a gathering in Nandurbar.
Nitesh addresses a gathering in Nandurbar.(Photo: The Quint)
A young boy from Bihar, Nitesh Bhardwaj came to Dhadgaon – one of the six blocks of Nandurbar – with the idea of training college students to run their own newspaper. He shared his idea with Dr HM Patil, principal of Janardan Poharya Vadwi college in Dhadgaon, and with his support started taking training sessions for the students.

After one month of training in writing, designing and editing, the students came up with their newspaper – four pages that were distributed to their peers.
“Students write on different issues and also share their hobbies like story writing, painting and poems in the newspaper,” said Viki Pawar who has worked on the newspaper team.

This is the first time I have designed anything using a computer and it’s something new for us, but now I am confident that I can design any newspaper or magazine on a computer.
Viki Pawar, Student who worked on the newspaper
This newspaper is running successfully now and is gaining popularity in Nandurbar.

The newspaper has helped the students think critically about any issue and through this they have acquired new skills that will go with them a long way. This initiative has enabled students to take interest in how different types and levels of governments function. They have not just started reading newspapers, but have also started discussing the issues they read about.
After this Nitesh realised that the newspaper has certain limitations, he decided to work on short films. He felt that audio-visuals would appeal more to the villagers.

In order to broaden the reach, he teamed up with youngsters from Dhadgaon College and Harhankhuri Village of Dhadgaon. He trained them for about 15 days to shoot and edit films on mobile phones.

The idea is to make short films on local issues with local artists and that too in the local language to create social awareness and generate some livelihood. This team showcases their short films at different village meetings.

Nitesh with his mobile journalism team.
Nitesh with his mobile journalism team.(Photo: The Quint)
We have screened our films in more than 20 village meetings covering around 100 villages.
Rakesh Pawara, a team member
Rakesh recently won the first prize in his district at a short film competition organised by the Government of India on the theme of cleanliness. Collectively, Nitesh’s team has made four films covering different social issues, and is working on another one that deals with the ‘sickle cell’ disease.

The team was highly appreciated by the District Magistrate of Nandurbar, Dr Mallinath Kalshetty, for their second film which spread awareness amongst the villagers about the use of toilets. He also gave a small message in their film.

This team has its own YouTube channel called “Aadiwasi Janjagruti”, and they have been able to gather 4,000 views and 200 subscribers. They have uploaded a total of three films.

Nitish’s idea has not only helped in creating social awareness, but has generated employment for the youth as they keep themselves engaged in shooting videos for marriages and promotional videos for their village.

For his unique idea of creating social awareness and livelihood in society, Nitesh received the Young Achievers Award 2017 at the 12th National Quality conclave.

One of the most important reasons behind underdevelopment of rural India is the lack of information. Mainstream media doesn’t focus on rural areas enough, also the content and the language they use doesn’t always attract the rural community. So we needed an alternate media and that too in their language and focusing on their issues.
Nitesh Bhardwaj
(Poojita Singh is a freelance journalist and writes on various social and political topics. Poojita recently interned with Lok Sabha.)

(Breathe In, Breathe Out: Are you finding it tough to breathe polluted air? Join hands with FIT in partnership with #MyRightToBreathe to find a solution to pollution. Send in your suggestions to fit@thequint.com or WhatsApp @ +919999008335)

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

arjun_pawra

From fighting graft to bringing water supply – with mobile videos

A band of volunteers are using phones to improve grassroots governance in Maharashtra district In the tribal village of Bilgaon in Dhadgaon taluka of Nandurbar district, Vangibai Natwar Pawar, 47, was caught unawares when she came to know her account balance in her ‘mini bank’ of her village was only Rs 100.

Her last transaction barely three months ago – in March 2020, at the beginning of the lockdown – was a withdrawal of Rs 800. Her account (maintained through a business correspondent) had balance of Rs 11,000 then. She returned home perplexed.

Vangibai had heard about Aadiwasi Janagruti volunteers who were helping villagers. These local volunteers were shooting videos of problems faced by villagers and taking them to local authorities for solutions.

Months later, during a casual chat with village volunteer Arjun Pawra, she mentioned the incident. Upon checking the mini statement at an ATM, Pawra found that Rs 10,000 had been siphoned off from her mini bank account immediately after she had left the place. When Pawra confronted the business correspondent (BC, who provides banking facilities outreach in far-flung places), he initially claimed he didn’t know anything. When Pawra threatened to report the incident to the bank and also file a police complaint which could lead to cancellation of his licence, the BC admitted his foul play and immediately retuned Rs 10, 000 to Vangibai.

Close by, in village Aamkhedi, women had to walk three-four kms to fetch water for their daily needs. They approached Aadiwasi Janajagruti volunteers to shoot videos, hoping that the local administration would help them after watching them. Pawra and two more volunteers shot a documentary which was shown to the village block development officer. That set the wheels in motion. It came to light that the village had been provided funds for the purpose, but they had remain unutilised. The gram panchayat convened a meeting and allotted money to drill six bore wells.

In Umrani village of Dhadgaon taluka, where the nagar panchayat was not utilizing its funds for roads, the volunteers helped with construction of pucca roads.

Aadiwasi Janjagruti on Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/aadiwasijanjagruti
https://www.instagram.com/ajanjagruti
https://www.twitter.com/ajanjagruti
https://youtube.com/aadiwasijanjagruti

Since 2016 Aadiwasi Janjagruti has been working in underdeveloped Dhadgaon block of Nandurbar and 150 surrounding villages in areas, spanning Tapi, Indore, Khetiya and others. Volunteers, usually 25-35-year old but some teenagers too, have been working pro bono to bridge the gap between villagers and government with a two-pronged approach, addressing villagers and addressing the local administration.

Mobile videos on local problems are shot in local languages like Pawari, Bhilori and Ahrani to create awareness for villagers in an entertaining manner, highlighting various government welfare schemes and how these can be availed. Videos meant for the administration help them understand ground realities, difficulties faced by villagers and why state welfare schemes are not reaching intended beneficiaries.

Where the government allocates funds and resources for villages through welfare schemes often they don’t reach beneficiaries due to lack of awareness and education at the level of villagers. At official level, corruption by block development officers, ration dealers and others coupled with red-tapism prevent welfare initiatives from reaching those they are intended for.

Nitesh Bhardwaj, founder of Aadiwasi Janjagruti, recalls that during his fellowship program at Dhadgaon he saw how, despite allocation of funds for various schemes, locals were not availing them due to a communication gap between. That led him to start this project, taking along the local communities as key stakeholders, he tells Governance Now on phone.

“On the suggestion of local students, mobile phones were used to shoot videos on issues of child labour, Swachchh Bharat Mission (supported by the then Nandurbar collector, Dr Mallinath Kalshetty) and now also on Covid-19 awareness and vaccination, among other subjects. It started with making short films to create awareness on government schemes. As locals wanted us to raise these issues, we started making mobile videos on these issues. We are now working with different gram panchayats and block administrations who want us to show these films in their meetings. Through mobile projectors our films are also shown in self- help groups,” he says.

When the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana provides for Rs 1.20 lakh annually to beneficiaries in instalments, Bhardwaj says giving an example, what happens is that after getting one instalment they are not able to avail further instalments due to some or other problem. “We guide them to approach the concerned officials for complaint in case anyone is demanding bribe. Last year, during the lockdown a video on involvement of a local level official in corruption in the PMAY led to his suspension.

“We also noticed a problem of ration distribution during the lockdown. If you were not able to take ration on time due to, say, geographical difficulties, someone else was picking it up in your name and you only come to know later. We also saw that for every transaction of withdrawal from villagers’ accounts, mini banks are charging villagers Rs 10-20 when they are travelling 20-25 kms to mini banks to get money. After our complaints to SBI, licences of 10-11 mini banks were cancelled and the bank manager of SBI was transferred.”

This episode also led to a police complaint being filed for threats of assault against two volunteers. But few days later at the Dhadgaon village panchayat meeting the complainant could not identify the volunteers.

“We are not here to ruffle feathers or pick fights with anyone. We only help villagers so they don’t have to pay bribes to avail welfare schemes. The advantage of such projects is that our volunteers are local youth and alert citizens who make films in local languages. They find huge support from local people as well local the administration, politicians and sarpanches,” says Bhradwaj.

The Aadiwasi Janjagruti has a self-sustainable revenue model. Everybody is a volunteer and works for free. But the videos, thanks to their large audience, are ideal for local businesses to place their advertisements, and there’s money from social media platforms like YouTube too. A percentage of that revenue is shared with volunteers and the balance is kept for organisational setup. With Covid guidelines in force, the videos are now shown through Facebook, You Tube, WhatsApp and other social media platforms. The organisation is now even registered as a not-for-profit, named ‘Ulgulan for Social Change Foundation’, with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Volunteers have won the confidence of villagers who share their problems with volunteers. The locals now encourage them to shoot more videos so that help can be provided to them. The group in now also working to promote awareness on the Maharashtra government’s ‘Khauti Yojana’ in tribal areas as well as on the MNREGA.

“While all government schemes are available in tribal areas you don’t see their local benefits as people don’t know how to put them to use. Where a scheme provides Rs 800 per month and Rs 9,600 for 12 months to beneficiaries, they are told to pay Rs 2,000 to avail the scheme,” adds Bhardwaj.

Aadiwasi Janjagruti was recently facilitated with the ‘Social Media for Empowerment Award 2020-21’ from the Digital Empowerment Foundation under the Citizen Media and Journalism category.

In the process, the volunteers are becoming thorough pros on grassroots governance. Arjun Pawara, the face of Aadiwasi Janjagruti, was selected for the Entrepreneurship Development Programme organised by the famed Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA) in February 2020. Rakesh Pawara, one of the founding members, was invited to speak about his journey as a change-maker at an orientation session of the Youth for India Fellowship Program, run by State Bank of India Foundation, in 2018. [Also see: https://www.facebook.com/ConnectingDreamsFoundation/posts/changemakersforgramswarajyanaresh-more-comes-from-dhadgaon-block-of-nandurbar-di/1266873243508249/]