'अर्थपूर्ण जीवनाचा समाजात शोध' घेण्यासाठी २००६ साली डॉ. अभय आणि डॉ. राणी बंग यांनी तरुणांसाठी विकसित केलेली शिक्षणप्रक्रिया म्हणजे 'निर्माण'...

समाजात सकारात्मक बदल घडवून आणण्यासाठी विविध समस्यांचे आव्हान स्वीकारणा-या व त्याद्वारे स्वत:च्या आयुष्याचा अर्थ शोधू इच्छिणा-या युवा प्रयोगवीरांचा हा समुदाय...

'मी व माझे' याच्या संकुचित सीमा ओलांडून,त्यापलीकडील वास्तवाला आपल्या कवेत घेण्यासाठी स्वत:च्या बुद्धीच्या,मनाच्या व कर्तृत्वाच्या कक्षा विस्तारणा-या निर्माणींच्या प्रयत्नांचे संकलन म्हणजे "सीमोल्लंघन"!

निर्माणबद्दल अधिक माहितीसाठी - http://nirman.mkcl.org; www.facebook.com/nirmanforyouth

Friday 12 October 2018

पुन्हा एकदा… आणि विजेते आहेत!


एक वर्षापूर्वी जितेंद्र जोशी अणि सोनाली कुलकर्णी यांच्या आवाजातआणि विजेते आहेतकाकडदरा!या आवाजासोबत निर्माण परिवाराने एक मैलाचा दगड गाठला आणि मंदारच्याढिश्क्यांव... ढिश्क्यांव... ढिश्क्यांवने तर पूर्ण महाराष्ट्र गाजवला. यावर्षी पुन्हा त्याच सोहोळ्यात... माईकवर जितेंद्र जोशी आणि स्पृहा जोशी... आणि विजेते आहेत”… “टाकेवाडी!”... पाणी फाउंडेशन आयोजित वॉटर कप स्पर्धा २०१८ त पहिलं आलेलं गाव म्हणजेटाकेवाडीआणि विशेष म्हणजे ह्या गावाचा तालुका समन्वयक आणि तांत्रिक सल्लागार दोघेही निर्माणी’! प्रफुल्ल सुतार (निर्माण ), तालुका समन्वयक, सांगत आहे त्याच्या आणि टाकेवाडी गावाच्या प्रवासाबद्दल...
            मी मूळचा सातारा जिल्ह्यातील खटाव तालुक्यातील कलेढोण गावचा. तिथेच दहावीपर्यंत शिक्षण झालं. पुढं काय करायचं? हा प्रश्न पडला. त्यावेळेस इंजिनिअरिंगला लई डिमांड आहे म्हणून डंका वाजत होता म्हणून इंजिनिअरिंगला प्रवेश घेतला. इंजिनिअरिंग करत असताना मन अस्वस्थ असायचं त्यामुळे नेहमीच गोंधळलेल्या अवस्थेत राहिलो. त्याचवेळेस एका मित्राने सर्चमधील डॉ.अभय आणि डॉ. राणी बंग यांच्या निर्माणया महाराष्ट्रातील युवांना सामाजिक समस्यांविषयी सजग करून त्यातून परिवर्तन घडवणारे नेतृत्व तयार करणाऱ्या उपक्रमाबद्दल सांगितलं. मी फॉर्म भरला, मुलाखत होऊन निवड झाली. शिबिरासाठी गडचिरोलीला गेलो.
            शिबिरामध्ये मला महत्त्वाचे दोन प्रश्न जाणवले - एक प्रशासनात माजलेला भ्रष्टाचार आणि दुसरा दुष्काळ. त्याच दरम्यान ‘पानी फाउंडेशनमध्ये तालुका समन्वयकसाठी अर्ज सुटले होते. मी अर्ज भरला आणि चार-पाच टप्प्यातून सातारा जिल्ह्यातील माण तालुक्याचा समन्वयक म्हणून रुजू झालो. तालुक्यात आल्यावर सुरुवातीला ज्यांनी मागच्या वर्षी पूर्ण तालुका पिंजून काढून जनचळवळ उभी केली आणि तालुक्यातील ३० टक्के दुष्काळ मिटवला अशा दोन जलवीरांची भेट झाली. ते म्हणजे अजित पवार आणि डॉ. प्रदीप पोळ. हे दोघेही तालुका समन्वयक आणि मी तिसरा. पहिली जबाबदारी होती सत्यमेव जयते वॉटर कप स्पर्धेचे अर्ज सरपंच आणि ग्रामसेवकांकडून भरून घेणे. रोज सात-आठ गावे फिरायचो. सकाळी आठ वाजता बाहेर पडलो की रात्री यायला दहा-अकरा वाजत असे.
            त्याच काळातला एक अनुभव आहे, अर्ज वाटत असताना रात्री दहा वाजता एका गावातून तालुक्याच्या ठिकाणी निघालो. गावातून जसा बाहेर पडलो तशी दुचाकीची हेडलाईट बंद पडली. रात्र... काळोख... आता काय करायचं? कुणाला फोन लावायचा तर दोन्ही सिमकार्डला रेंज  नाही. रस्ताही नीट माहिती नव्हता. कुत्री भुंकत होती. रस्त्याने कुणी येताना-जाताना दिसत पण नव्हतं... अशावेळी खिशातून नोकियाचा १६०० चं मॉडेल बाहेर काढलं त्याचा टॉर्च चालू केला आणि तोंडात मोबाईल धरून गाडी हळूहळू चालवत निघालो. जिथं जिथं कुत्री असायची ती असा अवतार बघितल्यावर अजून जोरात भुंकत मागे लागली. तोंडात टोर्च तसाच धरून घाटा-घाटातून रूम गाठली. अशी तारांबळ बघून पानी फाउंडेशन करावं की नको असाही विचार मनात यायचा.
            त्यानंतर ग्रामसभा घेवून ५ गावकरी त्यात दोन महिला आणि तीन पुरुष यांची ट्रेनिंगसाठी निवड करणे. त्यात पण महिलांची निवड सक्तीची त्यामुळे गावोगावी अडचण गेली. पुढे गावकऱ्यांच्या ट्रेनिंग सेंटरचा प्रवास. तिथला अनुभव म्हणजे ऐनवेळी निवडलेल्या प्रशिक्षणार्थीऐवजी वेगळीच लोकं असायची. काहींना ट्रेनिंग सोडू वाटत नव्हतं तर काही पळून गेलेल्या प्रशिक्षणार्थींना पकडून आणावे लागत असायचे. अशाप्रकारे ट्रेनिंगमध्ये भावनिक आणि मजेशीर अनुभव यायचे.
            ट्रेनिंग झालं... तालुक्यात ६६ गावांनी ट्रेनिंग पूर्ण करून सहभाग पक्का केला होता. आता स्पर्धा होणार होती... दुष्काळाला ढिश्क्यांव ढिश्क्यांव ढिश्क्यांवकरण्याची... प्रत्येक गाव दुष्काळावर हल्ला करण्यासाठी दारूगोळा तयार करत होती. कुणी फावडे, घमेले, टिकावाचे नियोजन तर कुणी शिवारफेरी काढून पाणलोटाचे उपचार कुठे-कुठे करायचे त्याचे नियोजन, कुणी रोपवाटिका, शोषखड्डे, माती परीक्षण याची जबाबदारी घेत होता. अखेर ८ एप्रिलला दुष्काळविरुद्ध वॉटरकपचं तिसरं महायुद्ध सुरू झालं. माणवासीयांनी रात्री १२ वाजता कुदळ, फावडे घेऊन कामाचा शुभारंभ केला. सुरवातीलाच ८ एप्रिलला ३५ हजार लोकांनी श्रमदानाला सुरुवात केली. गावागावात टीम बनल्या. त्याचबरोबर जी प्रशिक्षक गावकऱ्यांना शिकवायला होती तीच टीम परत पुन्हा तालुक्यात आली. त्यांच्याबरोबर गावांचा अवाका मोठा असल्यामुळे आम्ही मंडलनिहाय गावे वाटून आपापली जहागिरी फिक्स केली. प्रत्येकजण आपापली कामगिरी बजावत होता. मग गावातच मुक्काम ठोकणे सुरु झाले. तिथेच सकाळी उठून त्या गावच्या श्रमदानात हजेरी लावत असू. गावातील लोकं ग्रामसभेसाठी रात्री अकरा-बारा वाजेपर्यंत आमची वाट  बघत बसायची इतकी लोकं कामाने भारावून गेली होती. कुकुडवाड गावाने तर इतिहासच रचला! महाश्रमदानासाठी ८ हजार ७०० लोकांनी श्रमदान केले. अशाप्रकारे रोज माणमधील सरासरी श्रमदात्यांचा आकडा ३० हजार असायचा.
            हे सर्व घडत असताना प्रशासकीय अधिकाऱ्यांची साथ इथे मोठ्या प्रमाणात मिळाली. माजी कोकण आयुक्त, मंत्रालय सचिव, आयकर आयुक्त, आयपीएस, आयआरएस, महानगरपालिका आयुक्त सुट्टी काढून यायचे. हे ४५ दिवसाचं दुष्काळाविरुद्धचं महायुद्ध होत असताना अनेक प्रेरणादायी घटना घडल्या. काम झालं. १५ गावांनी ८७ मार्काचा पेपर सोडविला. परीक्षण झालं. राज्य स्तरावर दोन गावं गेली. एक म्हणजे भांडवली आणि दुसरं टाकेवाडी. त्या गावांचे पोपटराव पवारांच्या टीमने परिक्षण केले. आता चाहूल लागली होती ती वॉटर कप स्पर्धेच्या निकालाची. राज्यात द्वितीय क्रमांक भांडवली असं पुकारलं तसं आमच्या अंगात भूतच संचारलं...
            आता प्रथम क्रमांक जाहीर होणार होता. “वॉटर कप २०१८ प्रथम क्रमांक... आणि विजेते आहेत”... आता उत्कंठा शिगेला पोहोचली होती. टाकेवाडी!!! आवाज आला आणि संपूर्ण स्टेडियम सातारकर आणि माणकर लोकांनी घोषणांच्या आवाजांनी गाजवून टाकलं. आणि शेवटी माण तालुक्यातील टाकेवाडी (आंधळी) हे गाव वॉटरकपचा मानकरी ठरलं. हे सगळं यश पदरात पाडून घेत असताना समाधान वाटत होतं की, मी पाणी प्रश्नावर काम करतोय जो मला निर्माणमध्ये असताना जाणवला होता. आताजिंदगी वसूलझाल्यासारखं वाटतंय!

प्रफुल्ल सुतार, निर्माण ६





Tribal Health Report


To study the current status of health and healthcare of tribal people in India and to give a roadmap for the future to tackle the issues, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) jointly constituted the Expert Committee on Tribal Health under the chairmanship of Dr. Abhay Bang in October 2013. The committee constitutes of prominent academicians, civil society members and policymakers who have been working with tribal people from a long time. The committee after five years of thorough analysis produced a report which is probably the first comprehensive report on tribal health in India.
The report mainly focused on the following points:
· What is evidence and experience on the present state of health of tribal people and health care?
· What should be the principle and goals of tribal health care?
· How should be the healthcare delivery and human resource be organized in the tribal area?
· Recommendations for finance, governance and knowledge to reach the health goals
Socio-economic condition of Tribal people:
            People belonging to Scheduled Tribes category are considered as Tribal people. The total tribal population in India is 10.5 crores (8.6%) which involves 705 different tribes. The population is distributed in 809 blocks across India. Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of tribal population (15 million) followed by Maharashtra (10 million), Odisha (9 million) and Rajasthan (9 million). The tribal population is scattered across large areas resulting in a low density of population. Socio-economic conditions of tribal people are poor compared to other category population. The statistics are shown in the following table:
                   

For Scheduled Tribes
For non-ST
Total Fertility Rate
2.5
2.1
Sex ratio
990
938
Proportion of BPL
40.6%
20.5%
Access to tap water
10.7%
28.5%
Open defecation
74.7%
47.2%
Illiteracy
41.3%
31.3%

Governance and Finance:
For governance of tribal people, separate laws are created for protection such as Panchayat-Extension of Scheduled Areas (1996) to Gram Sabha empowerment and Forest Right Act (2006). Also, separate Ministry of Tribal Health (MoTA) is formulated in 1999. For the development of Scheduled Tribes, Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) was initiated under which it is mandatory to spend the funds from each ministry at least in proportion to the ST population. But, various ministries show the regular spending under TSP and there is no consolidated data available for the expenditure of TSP.
Health Condition of Tribal Population:
The problem of the lower health status of tribal people is global. The life expectancy estimated for ST is 63.9 years as against 67 years for the general population. NO estimates are available for maternal mortality. The ante natal care remains poor. The child mortality is also a major problem in tribal population which is decreasing with respect to time but still higher than the general population. The statistics are shown in the following table:
                   

For Scheduled Tribes
For non-ST
Life Expectancy
 63.9
67
Maternal Mortality
NA
NA
Anaemia (Women)
65%
46.9%
Ante Natal Care
At least one 81.8%
NA
Full 15%
NA
Institutional delivery
70% (Lowest)
NA
IMR
44
39 (India)

The Burden of Diseases:
· Communicable diseases
1. Malaria: 30% of all cases are found in ST, of all cases 60% are falciparum malaria, 50% of deaths are associated with malaria
2. Tuberculosis: Prevalence of TB in ST id 703 per 1,00,000 (Others: 256) and only 11% of pulmonary TB is treated.
3. Leprosy: 18.5% of all leprosy cases are from ST
· Non-Communicable diseases
1. Hypertension: One out of four tribal adults suffer from hypertension and few people know their hypertensive status
· Genetic Disorder
1. Sickle cell diseases and thalassemia varies between 1-40% in different tribes
2. The prevalence of Glucose6Phosphate (G6P) dehydrogenase deficiency in 14 primitive tribes is around 0.7 to 15.6%.
· Nutrition
1. ST children are 1.5 times malnourished compared to others
2. About 30% of children and 70% men-women and 25% of pregnant and lactating women get food with adequate calories and proteins
· Mental Health and Addiction
1. 50% ST men consume to alcohol and 72% consume tobacco compared to the general population which is 30% and 56% respectively.
· Animal Attacks and accidents
1. As the tribal population lives in jungles, animal bites are common by snakes, scorpions and dogs
2. Prevalence of snake bite is highest in India which is around 50,000 annually (125 per day)
Health care seeking:
            Tribal people heavily dependent on public Nearly 50 % outpatients visit made by tribal people are to public hospitals and the two-third tribal population is dependent on public hospitals for inpatient care. As per norms, HSC should present per 3,000, PHC per 20,000, CHC per 80,000 but in half of the states (total 18), the institutions are deficient by 27-40%. The human resources for healthcare provision have also deficit which is shown in the following figure:
Planning and Financing:
            In planning tribal health programmes, there is not population-level data available and also there is no inclusion of people from the community and due to which many interventions failed. For financing, tribal sub-plan was initiated but benefits are not reaching to people and there is no data of expenditure of TSP. Read more about Tribal Sub-plan:
            To reach the goal to provide the health coverage to the tribal population to achieve the outcome indicators of health as per states average by 2027 the committee has provided some recommendation which will act as a roadmap to future to uplift the tribal health.
Recommendations:
· Focus on primary health care with the empowerment of ASHAs, Aarogya Mitras and Dais with an active participation of Gram Sabha and key community influencers.
· Financial protection through government medical insurance for secondary and tertiary care.
· Emphasis on health education in the community.
· School health program should be initiated for healthcare provision and health education in Ashram Schools.
· Provision of health care for tribal people living outside the scheduled areas through various medical schemes and social facilitators.
· Human resource for tribal health should be created through an expanded role of ASHAs, mid-level care providers, the creation of medical colleges in tribal districts and PM Tribal Health Fellows.
· Addressing special health problems in tribal areas like malaria, maternal and child health, malnutrition, addiction and sickle cell diseases.
· Research on tribal health traditions, regular data monitoring of tribal health and evaluating tribal health programs for efficient policy making.
· Creation of focused governance structure at all levels for tribal health with an active participation of the community.
· Ensure the financing of tribal health by:    
o    Allocating 2.5% GDP to health
o    Strict adherence to tribal sub-plan
o    Provide health insurance to all tribal people
o    Tap into CSR funds
o    Cess on Extractive industries in tribal areas
o    Financial data collection and transparency
References:
1. Tribal Health in India, Report of Expert Committee in Tribal Health, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Tribal Health


Swapnil Bodkhe, NIRMAN 8


Suyash Toshniwal, NIRMAN 7





‘Small is Beautiful’ by E. F. Schumacher


It is not wealth that stands in the way of liberation but the attachment to wealth; not the enjoyment of pleasurable things but the craving for them.”

            The book ‘Small is beautiful’ is a collaboration of essays and speeches written over a number of years. The book is divided into four sections, focusing initially on the shortcomings of modern world economics and the irresponsible usage of resources, and later drawing ones attention towards the solution that can help improve these current problems. The author, E. F. Schumacher, has inarguably forced one’s intellect to direct towards facts that actually require a minds thought. Written back in the 1970s, this book holds relevant on its facts even today, like the errors of modern economics, the problems in production or the irrational usage of resources. I collected valuable insights from every chapter, based on facts and true examples, finding the perfect balance of wittiness and philosophy.
The point the author is trying to make is a very simple one. The way man is wasting natural energy and merely producing is an act of irresponsibility and individualism. The modern world needs to overcome the difficulties it is facing and strive towards peace and permanence. Unfortunately, money has become the most important value in today’s world, and it is assumed that everything has a price. But what man is forgetting, that the non-material values, like justice, harmony and health cannot be bought by money. They need to be inculcated in one’s culture. The continuous chaos is produced by human societies by achieving exponential economic growth, and quantifying success only based solely on the increased income of the nation. The society merely forgets to consider the environment is a source of ‘capital’ and not ‘income’.
Man is wasting a large sum of its energy for mass production of items we do not even need. The rich keep spending their resources to get richer, and that the poor have no room left for growth and eventually emerge poorer. The author has spoken of this in terms of two main problems in the society, mass unemployment and mass migration to the urban city. The concept of intermediate technology has been advocated. According to the author, neither the labor intensive nor the capital intensive mechanization approach is ideal, but a balance between the two is essential. Intermediate technology will be a solution to the problems of mass unemployment, dual economy and mass migration seen in developing countries.
Throwing light on Gandhian principles and Buddhism, this book puts forth a new concept called ‘Buddhist Economy’. Spiritual health and material usage need to be balanced and go hand in hand. From a Buddhist point of view, it is not consumption, but overall wellbeing through creative activity which should be one’s value. Employment shouldn’t be considered necessary as a source of income, when it is actually the source of purpose and livelihood. Non-violence and simplicity go hand in hand. Modern man is measuring his standard of living based on his annual consumption, while the Buddhist and Gandhian principles consider this approach as irrational. The aim should be achieving the maximum of well-being with the minimum of consumption.
I would highly recommend this book, which through repetitive examples and solid facts truly conveys its message loud and clear. It was an interesting read and there is a lot to imbibe from this book. Man is small, and small indeed is beautiful!


Vinita Ved, NIRMAN 8