Mass Education

Education alone cannot bring changes unless there is sufficient scope for employment and income generation opportunities. Mass Education facilitated the self-employment process to make the poor men and women economically self-reliant and help them attain a respectable social standing. This programme was initiated with the help of micro-credit both in urban and rural areas of West Bengal. Income generation includes agriculture, livestock, fisheries, sericulture & apiculture, regeneration of environment through nursery, social forestry, overall through rainwater harvest, small trading, cottage industry, hawking and many other nature of business, which generates income for the poor at the same time.

1. For empowerment of people’s initiatives and organisation:

Mass Education encouraged the poor to build basic groups of SHG’s and network of SHG’s at the block and district levels, so that they can fight united against the forces of under development and poverty. SHG groups are expending from block to block and district to district with the support of NGO’s. Mass Education also helped built a strong network of small NGO’s, in order to strengthen the groups, Mass Education offered various human and skill development training to the rural and urban groups to build their capacity and raise their level of awareness so that they can become the active participants in their own community development. Several courses were organised during this period for enhancing the level of consciousness to fight for their rights, rights for the land, forest, water, shelter and development.

2. Women’s empowerment:

In support to that, generating income for the family, women played an important role, which Mass Education encouraged to implement the programme successfully. Beside that, Mass Education worked diligently to reduce gender disparity at its own home and in the society at large. In all spare of Mass Education activities women became the primary focus. Through development of self-help group, awareness raising, capacity building training and ensuring of participation in the decision making process and demand for access of development funds from the state for the community is the activities of Mass Education to empower women.

3. Rainwater harvest:

The rainwater-harvesting project launched in the beginning of the year 2004 in the area of Sundarbans. So far 350 families were helped in all together to excavate and re-excavate the pond for rainwater harvest in the Sundarbans region where water for drinking, agriculture, animal feeding and domestic uses are scarcity. On the other hand, people were not aware of the access of rainwater and its management.

Mass Education organized several awareness camp, seminar and campaign on store and use of water for livelihood among the villagers including women and children because they spend most of their time to fetch water for drinking and domestic uses.

Rainwater harvest activities have created employment, food security and other multifarious activities for the people to improve their livelihood. Activities like vegetable cultivation, fishery, duckery, and plantation have brought the life in the family to generate income opportunities. Also the members of the family have got access of water for their daily domestic uses. Women and children having access to education and cultural activities because of rainwater harvest project.

The project was assisted by the Sundarbans Development Affairs, Government of West Bengal and France Liberate.