Sambhav: Being the Change for Becoming a Change Maker.

“One day, when I returned home after a long day of work; as usual, I expected a cup of tea prepared by my wife. I noticed that she was unwell yet was trying to make tea for me. Seeing her condition, I asked her to take rest. I recalled the learnings from the session on ‘sex and gender and how gender roles is perceived and discriminated in society’. Immediately, I prepared tea for both of us. It was then that I realized that this was the first time I had made tea for myself and my wife.”

– Panchayat Level Volunteer, Jharkhand.

“After working tirelessly for the well-being of mothers and their children to improve IMR and MMR, if I see them becoming victims to social evils like child marriage and early pregnancy and thereby facing acute malnourishment or early deaths, it will break my heart. I now know that along with providing health care services, I also need to raise awareness on pitfalls of child marriage and early pregnancy. Only then will true ‘health care’ be achieved.”
– Frontline field level worker in Jharkhand.

“My parents did not allow me to talk with others especially with friends who are boys. They also wished to marry me off at an early age. Now I can raise my voice against all this. Hats off to Sambhav.”– Peer Educator, Jharkhand.

These are some of the comments given by the participants of the Sambhav programme which reveals that the series of training conducted as part of the programme has in some way or the other touched upon their lives and transformed their outlook and approach to their work. Breaking gender roles and stereotypes and developing empathy for the other person, building aspirations and confidence in oneself, breaking down fear and hesitation, becoming aware of the social evils prevalent in the community, learning effective skills of negotiation to address the same, learning about how to effectively solve a problem and decision making skills, learning how to communicate effectively as well as on subjects which are considered to be a taboo in society are some of the changes that participants have brought into their lives and work.

Lack of awareness on rights and entitlements for education and livelihood skill development, consequences of child marriage, low value of education results in high incidence of drop out, child marriage and increased vulnerability to trafficking and exploitative labour. 44% of rural women in the age group of 20-24 were married as minors. 14% of women in age group 15-19 years are already mothers. 15% drop out at class V while 20% drop out by class VIII (State report card 2015-2016). In Jharkhand school attendance takes a sharp drop between primary to secondary school (91% at ages 6-14 years & 67% at ages 15-17 years as per NFHS-4, 2015-16). More than 70% of women of 15-49 years and about 67% of adolescent girls of 15 – 19 years are anaemic in the state as per NFHS3.

“Sambhav” is an adolescent empowerment programme in Jharkhand launched under the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) national scheme which aims at improving not just adolescent health but also reducing vulnerabilities through interventions for stopping child marriages and encouraging adolescents to pursue and enroll in secondary education. This programme is in alignment with the comprehensive strategy developed by the Government of India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) to cater to the health and development requirements of adolescents in a holistic manner.

Contact Base is working with UNICEF Jharkhand as a technical agency across the 6 blocks of East Singhbhum district to strengthen the ongoing efforts of the adolescent empowerment program (AEP) through enhancing capacities of local government and non-government stakeholders who interact with adolescents in some form or the other. These stakeholders include Panchayat Level Volunteers (PLV) of the local implementing NGOs, Frontline Workers (FLWs) in-charge of Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs), teachers of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBV) and staff of tribal schools and Master Trainers of government training institutes across the targeted blocks of the district. Workshops include training on life skills, effective adolescent engagement tools and techniques, strengthening communication skills especially on taboo topics as well as improving the knowledge base and communication skills on adolescent-related themes. A ‘Learning by Doing’ approach is being used in the workshop. Culture-based tools and techniques like theatre-based exercises, songs, rhymes, storytelling, skits and participatory games are being used to enhance the quality of retention of participants as well as to enable them to easily transact their learnings on ground.

Debosree Bera, aged 24 years, is currently working as a grassroot-level worker under Programme Sambhav – an adolescent empowerment programme – in East Singhbhum district in Jharkhand. She was married off at the age of 17 years to a boy who was 5 years older than her. The alliance was arranged by their parents and she had never spoken to the groom before the wedding.
In Jharkhand, and several other states, girls generally get married off at the age of 15-16 years. When Debosree learnt that her parents were planning to get her married, her first thought was whether she would be able to complete her education or not. Many of her friends, from school and the neighborhood, were also getting married and she was worried if her father would agree to send her to college alone to complete her education. At that time, she was oblivious of the negative consequences of early marriage and the responsibilities she would be required to take up as a married woman.
Because of the pressure she was facing, Debosree dropped out of school to prepare for marriage. Being married at such an early age, she faced many challenges. She wasn’t allowed to return to school or pursue a job. “There was a lot of expectation to be more responsible. I was expected to take on the responsibility of the family and the household chores. At such a young age, whether I wanted to bear a child or not, was given little importance. I faced family pressure for conceiving a child immediately after marriage, says Debosree.”

It was only after the birth of her first child that Debosree was able to venture out of the house and eventually, was introduced to the Sambhav Programme where in she learnt more about the ill-effects of child marriage. Through the caring support network of peers and mentors, Debosree found her voice and is today, more self-assured and confident. She went on to complete her school education and is currently pursuing a college degree in humanities and working as a Panchayat Level Volunteer. She mentors adolescent peer groups to educate, persuade and inspire them to act against child marriage and understand the value of education and other vocational education opportunities. The peer educators are educated on life skills and access to services for protection from violence, exploitation and child marriage.

“My lived-in experience of being married early made me realize the pitfalls of child marriage. Child marriage is a big evil. I do not want any other child to suffer the way I did. I want to see children informed about this from the very beginning and to raise their voice against this.” This is the goal which Debosree aims to reach. She is working hard to reach out to adolescents, parents and community members and change their gender-biased perceptions that marrying off a girl child early will be better for her and the society. Debosree is trying to break gender-based barriers in the community through awareness and education. “There will be no other victim like me,” says a determined Debosree. She aspires to continue to have a secure job and a better future for her children as well.