Program Fact SheetIndia Literacy Project, India

November 2011Program:IndiaLiteracyProject

Website:h7p://www.ilpnet.org

Mission: Tobeacatalystfor100%literacyinIndiabyempoweringtheindividualsweservewithfunctionalliteracyandanunderstandingoftheirbasicrightsandresponsibilities.HistoryoftheOrganizaBon:IndiaLiteracyProject(ILP)wasfoundedin1990intheUnitedStatesbyagroupofyoungnon‐residentIndians.Withitsmissionto“beacatalystfor100%literacyinIndia,”ILPisadevelopmentalsupportorganizationthatworksinpartnershipwithlocalnon‐governmentalorganizations(NGOs)andnetworksinIndiatoplaytheroleofacatalystforliteracy.ILP'smainroleistoenableandsupporttheimplementingpartner(NGO)initsprocessesofstrengtheningthecommunity,identifyingandaddressingthegapsinthedeliveryofeducationservices,andbringingaboutsystemicchangesthroughadvocacy.

WhereTheyWork:SundargarhinOrissaState,IndiaOrissaisoneofthe35statesandunionterritoriesofIndia.Orissaattainedstatehoodin1936.Morethanone‐Tifthofthepopulationistribal.1AncientcivilizationsandtraditionaboundthroughoutcontemporaryOrissa.ArchitecturalstonecarvingsofexceptionalbeautycontinuetobeexcavatedfromearlyBuddhistsites.2Orissaisalsocelebratedforitsnaturalheritage:itishometoatigerreserveandAsia’slargestlagoon,ChilikaLake,whichhoststherareIrrawaddydolphinaswellasmillionsofmigratorybirds.3InJanuary,“massesofoliveridleyturtlespullthemselvesupontoOrissa’slongbeachestolaytheireggs;twomonthslater,thousandsoftinyhatchlingscrawltothesea.”4

Sundargarhisaremoteandtribal‐inhabiteddistrictwithinOrissa.Itisaminingregionborderedbytwoveryunder‐developedstates.Thetargetvillagesinthetwoblocks(SubdegaandBalisankara)areveryremote;someofthemarehardlyaccessible.Thesecommunitiesincludeatribalpopulationof75%andverylowliteracyrates.Thefemaleliteracyratesareparticularlylow,andfemalesalsofaceextremehardships.Femalesinthisregionaremarginalizedinmanyways‐‐bygender,education,economics,andsocialtaboos.Inthepresentday,womenandgirlsareunabletovisualizeapathoutoftheirproblems.5

Astudyconductedbyareputableagency,Tata

InstituteofSocialSciencesinthedistrictofSundergarh,conTirmsthatlackofbasiceducationisoneofthemajorreasonsforadolescentgirlsandwomenbeingtrafTickedfromtheregion.6

!"#$%&'(&')!*$!+'*,,&!"-&-.!Ancientciviliza,onsandtradi,onaboundthroughcontemporaryOrissa.

TheProject:EducaBon&EmpowermentofGirlsandWomenIndiaLiteracyProjectrequestssupportfromDiningforWomenfortheproject“EducationandEmpowermentofGirlsandWomen”inSundargarhdistrictinthestateofOrissa,India.Theprojecttargetareaconsistsof61villageswithapopulationof20,900inapproximately7,200households.

Throughthisproject,ILPaimstocreateasuitableatmosphereinthetargetareaforeducationandempowermentofgirlsandwomenandtoorientthemtowardsasustainablelivelihoodinthefuture.Belowaresomeofthespeci1icobjectives:

•Provideeffectiveeducationtogirlsthroughscholarshipsintheagegroupof6to16years

• Provideskillsdevelopmenttrainingtoadolescentgirls• Sensitizewomenandadolescentgirlstotheconceptsofliteracyandeducation,health,and

sanitation• PreventmigrationandtrafTickingofadolescentgirlsandwomenbyraisingawarenessinthe

community• Developacomprehensiveeducationandlivelihoodmodel,whichcanbereplicatedinother

contiguousareas

ILPwillpartnerwithanexperiencedlocalnon‐governmentorganization(NGO)namedPragatitoimplementthisproject.Pragatihasbeenworkinginthisregionformorethantwodecades.

2

Threemajorreasonsforsignificantinterven,onintheSundargarhdistrict:

(1)Highincidenceofadolescentgirls&womenbeingtraffickedThereisaveryhighincidenceoffemaletraffickingandmigra,onofchildrentolargeanddistantci,es,especiallygirlsintheagegroupof10to18years.FromSundargarhdistrict,itises,matedthat58,000girlsandwomenhavebeentrafficked,whichis10%offemaletraffickingintheen,recountryofIndia.

(2)Limitedschoolenrollment/a7endanceanddropoutratesThecommunitydoesnotvaluetheeduca,onofitschildren.ThoughthechildrenareadmiKedtoschools,aKendanceintheschoolsisameager35%‐40%.

(3)GenderdisparityinliteracyratesThereisa20%differenceinliteracyratesbetweenmalesandfemalesinthetargetarea.Girlsaremadetodropoutofschoolstohelpwithhouseholdchores,includingsiblingcare,cooking,etc.Thefemale‐to‐malesexra,oforadultsinSundargarhdistrictistheworst(930per1000)inthestateofOrissa.Theincidenceoffemaleinfan,cideisalsohighcomparedtotherestofthestate.

‐IndiaLiteracyProject

GirlsintheSundargarhdistrictaremadetodropoutofschoolstohelpwithhouseholdchores.

Thisinterventionwilladdresstheissueofgirlsnotattendingschool.Inaddition,adolescentgirlswhohavedroppedoutofschoolwillbeinvolvedinvocationalskillededucation,thusincreasingtheiropportunitiestowardsself‐sufTiciencyandreducingtheirvulnerabilityofbeingtrafTicked.Theclosestlinkbetweenthechild’slifeandeducationisthemother.Empowermentofwomen(mothers,daughters,andsisters)willenableawomen‐empoweredsociety.7

FocusArea#1–Scholarships:Whilethegovernmentdoesofferfreeeducation,notallexpensestowardseducationofachildarefullycovered.Theprojectwillprovideanadditionalincentive(scholarships)tothe500girlsin91elementaryschools,250girlsin14highschoolsand100girlsinpostmetric(11th/12thgrade)

tocontinuetheireducation.Thesescholarshipswillcoverexpensesliketransportationcosts,schoolbags,orothereducationalmaterialthatarenotsuppliedthroughthegovernmentsystem.Thesescholarshipswillbeprovidedovertwoacademicyears.FocusArea#2–Livelihood:Theprojectwillalsoprovide“livelihood”trainingfor125younggirlstoprovidethemwaysforachievingself‐sufTiciency.70girlswillbetrainedinsewingandtailoring,30girlsinhousekeepingandcooking,15girlstobecomenurseryteachers,and10girlstolearnsoapanddetergentmaking.Womenwillbeorganizedinto50self‐helpgroupsandwillbeprovidedseedcapitaltotakeupincome‐generatingactivities.FocusArea#3–Women’sAwareness:Mobilizationofthemothers,women,andgirlsinthecommunityandsensitizingthemtotrafTickingissuesisakeyfocusofthisproject.Thiswillbedonebyactivatingthewomen’sself‐helpgroupsandprovidingthemwiththenecessaryorientationandtraining.Theadolescentgirlswillbebroughtintoadolescentclubs,andeveryvillagewillhaveavigilantcommitteetotrackmigrationofwomenfromthevillage.Thisisthemechanismbywhichthewomeninthecommunitywillbeeducatedandempoweredtotakeownershipoftheirdestiny.

WhyWeLoveThisProject:DiningforWomen’sfundingwilldramaticallyimpactthisremotetribalareainthestateofOrissa,wheregirlsandwomenhavesufferedfromabysmalfemaleliteracyrates,meagerincomegenerationopportunities,ahighrateoffemalesextrafTicking,andlackofwomen’sempowerment.ILP’sholisticandlong‐termapproachaddressesissuesthatwomenandgirlsfaceonadailybasis:• Scholarshipswillprovidetwoyearsofeducationforgirlsofallages.

• Fundingforcriticaljobskillstrainingandadolescentclubsforgirlswillprovideincreasedopportunitiesforlocaljobs,reducetheincidenceofsextrafTicking,anddecreasemigrationfromvillages.

• Additionally,mobilizingwomenthroughself‐helpgroups,mothers’committees,andotherinitiativeswillenablewomentounderstandtheirrights,tomakeinformeddecisionsforthemselvesandtheirfamilies,andtosupporteducationfortheirchildren. 

3

Twoobjec,vesofthisprojectareeduca,nggirlsandempoweringwomen.

ProjectBudget:$37,418

AcBvity Cost

Scholarshipsfor850GirlsforTwoYears:2012‐2014

$20,652

SkillsDevelopmentforLivelihoodfor125Girls•Instructors’salaries•Foodandlodgingforstudents•Materialcosts

$5,527

LivelihoodforWomen•Seedcapitaltosupport50self‐helpgroups

$5,435

CommunityAwareness/Women'sEmpowerment•Trainingonchildtracking/vigilanceforself‐helpgroupsandvillageleaders•Forma,on/strengtheningofwomen’sself=helpgroups•Oneregional‐levelwomen’sconven,on•Adolescentgroupsformedandleadertraining•Travelforrescueoftraffickedgirls/women

$4,304

ProjectDocumentaBon•Mul,mediacontentandprojectreports•DVDforDFW

$1,500

TotalProgramBudget $37,418

Ifanadditional$5,000weretobeprovidedbyDFW(beyond$38,000),ILPwouldutilizethesefundstoprovidelivelihoodtrainingfor125moregirlsinthesecondyear.

ThisisaprojectthatILPinitiatedintheyear2010.DFW’ssupportwillfundthethirdyearoftheprojectintheacademicyearofApril2012toMarch2013.

4

HowTheyMeasureSuccess:Projectsuccesswillbemeasuredthroughthefollowingquantitativeindicatorsandgoals:1. Averageattendanceofgirlsingovernmentschools:90%(currentlylessthan60%)2. Dropoutrateofgirlsfromschools:Lessthan10%3. Re‐enrollmentofgirlswhohaddroppedoutofschool:90%4. Scholarshipsprovidedtogirlsinneed(for2years):500girlsinprimary;250insecondary;100

inpost‐matricschools5. Girlswhohaddroppedoutofattendingskillsdevelopmentcourses:125girls6. FunctioningofwomenorganizationsthattakeuptrafTickingissues:50groupswith600total

members

Additionally,thefollowingqualitativeindicatorswillbetracked:1.StoppingthetrafTickingofadolescenttribalgirlsfromthearea.2.ParticipationoflocalvillagegoverningbodiesandtheirtriballeadersinsolvingtheissuessuchaswomentrafTicking,femaleinfanticideandgirls’education.

FinancialProfileProgramExpenses $284,545 96.6%AdministrativeExpenses $7.967 2.7%FundraisingExpenses $2,040 0.7%TotalExpenses $294,552 100%

5

Sources:

6

1"CIA‐TheWorldFactbook."WelcometotheCIAWebSite—CentralIntelligenceAgency.Web.2Oct.2011.<hKps://www.cia.gov/library/publica,ons/the‐world‐factbook/geos/in.html>.

2"HistoryofOrissa‐LonelyPlanetTravelInforma,on."LonelyPlanetTravelGuidesandTravelInforma?on.Web.2Oct.2011.<hKp://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/orissa/history>.

3Ibid

4Ibid

5INDIALITERACYPROJECT|ACatalystfor100%LiteracyinIndia.Web.2Oct.2011.<hKp://www.ilpnet.org/>.

6Ibid

7Ibid