Tuesday, 20 October 2015

Abhinavgram team visited the Pallikadu and Vadakadu villages on 14th & 15th of August 2015

Abhinavgram team visited the Pallikadu and Vadakadu villages on 14th & 15th of August 2015

The Abhinavgram board members have visited the Pallikadu and Vadakadu villages for discussing about their action plan for implementing welfare activities in the villages. The team members participated in the Independence Day celebration at Pallikadu primary residential school. We have discussed with the youth group of both villages regarding the issues and needs and prepared the strategies for developing the villagers by sustaining their livelihoods with the support of villagers through participatory manner.







Introductory meeting with Government officials in Kolli Hills
Abhinavgram society conducted the meeting with government officials along with its advisories at Semmedu Block Development Office on 19th April 2015. Discussed with them about pilot visits to kolli hills and presented about issues faced by the village people in the kolli hills. Finally Abhinavgram initiator announced the adopted villages (Pallikadu and Vadakadu) in Kolli Hills.
The Major problems Abhinavgram found in the adopted villages are
1. Accessibility & Infrastructure 
There is no road, transport, Primary Health Centre, Agriculture marketing facility, electricity and water, if they want to reach their basic amenities; they have to walk nearly 12 to 25 Kilo Meters every day.
2. Awareness & Knowledge transfer 
Lacking in awareness on health and sanitation, Government schemes, knowledge on agriculture marketing, importance about basic life education and rights about tribal community
3. Exploitation 
Exploitation among agriculturist is very high.











Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) conducted at Vadakadu and Pallikadu villages, Kolli Hills on May 2015.
The Abhinavgram team has conducted the PRA at Vadakadu and Pallikadu villages in kolli hills on May 2015 for understanding the background and needs of the villages. Initially there are three methodologies being conducted, they are
1. Social Mapping - Social mapping mainly for understand
- The Geographical system of the village
- Housing structure and types of the houses
- Availability of basic amenities in the village
- Understand the Casteism and Groupsim and their discrimination among them

2. Transact walk (Map) mainly for understand
- The existing resources of the village with finding out four sides like Northern-east, Northern-west, Southern-east and Southern west.

3. Venn diagram/ Chappathi Diagram mainly for understand
- The mutual relationship between the village people and the Government departments.

The PRA major findings and report is under construction, will publish the documents over Face Book once complete it, rest of the PRA methodologies will be conducted hereafter in the same villages.














Profile of Abhinavgram

ABOUT ABHINAVGRAM SOCIETY
The Abhinavgram Society was registered on 22nd of June 2015 under the Tamil Nadu Society’s Registration Act 1975 and Rules 1978. The Abhinavgram were initiated by a group of friends of Gandhigram Rural University, Madras School of Social Work, Holy Cross College, American college, Bharathidasan and Bharathiar Universities. The organization aims at creation of model villages with the vision of create self-sufficient villages with people enjoying a heightened state of mental, physical, spiritual and social wellbeing. The villages that are remote, having no access to any developmental schemes and lacking basic amenities and infrastructure are chosen to be the target of developmental activities.
At the outset the team has conducted the pilot study at Kolli hills from March 2014 to May 2015; after the pilot study and visits to kolli hills, the society has adopted two village Panchayats of Prakkarainadu and Gundoornadu who met the above said criteria.  Both the villages have 700 households each inhabited by tribal people. As these villages are remote, the mainstream development has not yet touched the villages at all. There is no proper transportation and medical facilities etc.
By collaborating with various governmental and nongovernmental agencies as well as by implementing need based projects in a participatory manner the organization is looking forward to bring about developmental change in all the villages around this region that is thickly populated by the tribes.

Aim
To promote standard living condition of the rural people in a sustainable manner through creating MODEL VILLAGES

Vision
To create self-sufficient villages with people enjoying a heightened state of mental, physical, spiritual and social wellbeing.
Mission
To act as a catalyst in overall development and transformation of villages through participatory research, assessment and implementation of development programs and facilitating liaison, realizing the present and future needs of the community.



Main Objectives
ü  To enhance rural livelihood by creating more opportunities to work and generating new income sources and community assets
ü  To develop existing resources by introducing environment friendly, sustainable and scientific practices and ensuring its utilization through proper training.
ü  To enhance basic educational facilities ensuring its quality for benefiting the next generation
ü  To provide basic health facilities and ensure proper utilization of those facilities through awareness generation and promotion of health behaviours. Teritiary care will be ensured through facilitation.
ü  To   offer   psychological services for preventing mental illness to occur and if occurred to ameliorate it. Psychological services will be also rendered to deal with addiction and relationship issues at the family and community level.
ü  To seek empowerment of women through entrepreneurship development training.
ü  To ensure proper support to the vulnerable population and marginalized families including aged, orphans, HIV/AIDS infected persons, transgendered, mentally and physically challenged people and those belonging to schedule castes and tribes
ü  To facilitate marketing of products by creation of farmer’s market and partnering with agencies.
ü  To work with other agencies in liaison to address the transportation and communication needs of the villagers thereby bringing them to the mainstream of society.
ü  To undertake research activities, from time to time, either by self or in collaboration with other institutions or agencies to ensure the progress in the right direction.
ü  To facilitate manpower development in the field of community development by providing field training opportunities to students from various institutions in and  out of the  country
ü  To become a catalyst in development of rural tourism through organizing village fests promoting rural cultural and aesthetic values.