Youngsters set out to make a difference

Youngsters set out to make a difference

Pune: To bring about need-specific and sustainable development in the Katkari tribal hamlets, a bunch of Mumbai-based youngsters will be carrying out baseline survey of two tribal hamlets, starting this weekend.

Around 40 to 50 young volunteers, along with the core team, will be surveying the villagers of Chongaon and Savroli Pada near Badlapur on February 23 and 24. The survey is being conducted to develop the tribal hamlets by empowering and sustaining their development and to define future course of intervention.

“There are tribal hamlets near Badlapur, which despite being in close proximity to a city, are not yet developed. Many of these hamlets do not have toilet facilities, many are not well-connected. The baseline survey aims at assessing the social and economic needs of the tribal population to plan an appropriate project for development,” Sharvari Pawar, one of the core team members said.

She said, “This is a research study of the families, employment patterns, etc. in the tribal hamlets. We will be starting with these two, and we will be conducting a similar survey in two more hamlets. According to the outcome of the survey, we will draft a project proposal for the areas.”

Severe economic condition is one of the major problems for the people of both these hamlets. “While Chongaon is closer to the city area, it has all basic facilities. However, most of the population here belongs to the Katkari community, and work on daily wages.” Pawar said.

"Savroli Pada, on the other hand, is located in hilly region, and is comparatively farther away from urban settlement. Along with economic backwardness, the people here also have health issues. Here, we found many malnutritioned children,” she said.

While these observations are enough to conclude that these hamlets need special attention, the survey will provide the exact statistical data that will help us draft projects, she said.

The organisation will concentrate on these four hamlets for now, and depending on the kind of changes they have been able to bring about, they will decide on how to expand the scope of the project further.

Working purely on voluntary basis, these youngsters have post-graduated in social work from the College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan, and are associated with Jagori for more than six months now. They had come in contact with Jagori through a youth camp, and have been working with the organisation since.
 
Founded by social worker Madhutai Birmole, Jagori Foundation has been working since past 10 years in the districts of Thane, Raigad and some areas of Navi Mumbai. While the trust began by addressing the issues of single women, domestic labour, etc., for the past few years, the volunteers have been focusing on tribal issues. “To make the survey successful, we will need both funds and volunteers. We are  Right now we are working with the help of individual donations, and are also approaching several organisations. We also appeal to the public to help us for the same,” Pawar stated.

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