Team:
Bandu Kumare
– Field
assistant
Highlights
·
One water conservation activity – voluntary
work project to build check dam near Sitarampeth
·
Two awareness programmes on forest fires at
Moharli and Junona
·
2 community assistance voluntary work
projects – one programme to clean area around well at Mudholi and one programme
at Dewada to clean area around hand pump
·
Anti-plastic programmes in 3 villages – Katwal,
Kutwanda and Adegaon
·
Follow-up to plantation done earlier at
Dewada, Kondegaon and Bhamdeli
· Classroom visits to 10 schools as part of
our environment education program – attended by 291 students
·
1 nature trail for students of Sitarampeth
·
Identified and sent 18 youths from Chorgaon
and Bamdeli to Chandrapur for training in poultry farming
·
Health camps in 5 villages – 216 patients
treated
·
2 visits to resettled villages of Jamni and
Navegaon to follow up on status of
villagers
Conservation
On March 5 and March 12, Bandu organized
awareness programmes on forest fires at Moharli and Junona respectively. At
these programmes, he spoke about the harmful effects of forest fires and the
need for villagers to assist in fighting such fires. Photos of the Moharli programme below.
As part of our water conservation
work, Bandu organized a voluntary work project on March 25 to build a check dam
around 1 km from Sitarampeth on a stream in the jungle. Five adult villagers,
two youths, 2 teachers and 22 students from the village’s Zilla Parishad
Primary School (ZPPS) joined hands with Bandu in the programme. The resulting water body will benefit wildlife. Blue bulls, wild boars and chital are regularly seen
in the area. Photos below: volunteers filling bags with sand to make the dam.
On March 13, Bandu organized an
anti-plastic programme at Katwal in which 23 students of the village’s ZP Primary
School participated. Bandu explained the harmful effects of plastic on the
environment and the need to keep plastic litter and waste buried so that they
aren’t blown away into jungle areas. The children first cleared the main road
of the village of plastic litter and waste and later cleared the school premises
as well. Photo below: the clean-up drive at Kutwanda.
Two other anti-plastic programmes
were organized -- at Kutwanda on March 14 and at Adegaon on March 18.
Bandu also organized 2 community
assistance programmes during the month. In both places water, which had spilled
over while people drew from the well or hand pump, had stagnated, leading to
proliferation of mosquitoes and insects. Our teams cleared the areas, removing
scum and organic growth and dug canals to drain away the water. On March 18, he
organized a programme to clear the area around a hand pump at Dewada. 7
youths from the village joined Bandu in the programme. A similar programme was organized
on March 27 at Mudholi to clean the area around a well. 3 youths from the
village joined Bandu in this programme.
On March 12, Bandu organized a programme
at Dewada to follow up on plantation of saplings done last year. This is to
ensure that saplings planted during the monsoon are alive and have sufficient
protection from grazing livestock. 10 students from the village school joined
Bandu in the programme. A similar programme was organized on March 13 at Kondegaon
in which 16 students participated and on March 21 at Bamdeli in which 8 students
participated. Photo below.
Education
During the month, our
team made classroom visits to 10 schools to educate children about nature and
wildlife conservation.
 |
| Kondegaon classroom programme |
On March 19, Bandu organized a walk in the forest for the students of
Sitarampeth ZP Primary School. On the nature walk, in the forest adjoining the
village, Bandu taught the students how to spot and identify birds. He also
spoke to the children about the importance of nature and wildlife and the need
for conservation. 21 students joined Bandu on the nature trail.
On March 21, World Forestry Day, Bandu organized a programme at Kondegaon
ZP Primary School in which he spoke to the children about the importance of
forests and the need to preserve forests. He also organized a drawing
competition for the students, with the theme being nature and forests. 19
students took part in this programme. Photo below.
Employment Cell
In March, we sent 18 youths to
Bank of India’s Rural Self-Employment Training Institute (R-Seti) at Chandrapur
for a training programme in poultry farming. R-Seti had invited us to identify
suitable candidates from villages in our area of operations for this programme.
We conducted a survey, spread awareness about the programme in villages to
youths and explained the potential for income generation to the youths. The
programme, which is residential, is funded by R-Seti. The programme ran from
March 10 to March 15.
These are the details of the
youths who attended the programme:
 |
| Bandu speaks to villagers at the inauguration of the training programme on poultry farming |
 |
| An R-Seti official speaking to the participants |
 |
| The participants at the training programme |
Mobile Health Unit
There were 5 health camps in March.
 |
| Medical camp at Pahami |
 |
| Medical camp at Pangdi |
