Don Bosco Kawant: People's Rights and Good Governance

Saturday, July 24, 2010

People's Rights and Good Governance

Until 2008, Kawant Education Society work consisted of forming Self Help Groups. But since 2008, we have changed our approach, and we are now enabling people to secure their rights from the State and participate fully in their local self government.
Many people in our work area have to migrate in search of work after the agricultural season, as there is no work for them in the villages. Those who choose to stay have to work long hours for meager wages. Seasonal unemployment and migration affects every sphere of their lives.
Therefore, we are now working with our people to secure the correct implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA).

By enabling people to secure their right to employment, we aim to create among them an awareness of their entitlements and the ability to claim them.
The Panchayati Raj Systems is designed to be the structure through which development works are implemented in the villages. But in most places, this system does not function in a participatory manner and peoples voices are ignored.

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Community Organization

At present, the Kawant centre is moving towards a more people-centred approach by encouraging them to come together to address their most immediate needs; water, roads, education and employment. The key to all of these is the correct functioning of the local self government. The SHGs, (Self Help Groups) therefore, are now functioning as the starting point to preparing the community to claim their rights. They are leading their villages in preparing for and participating in their Gram Sabhas to plan development works in their village. They are also involved in understanding and demanding the implementation of the NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme). The Governance Project initiated by the DBDS, is moving in the right direction of empowering tribal people.