Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) workshop

PRA is a useful technique which effectively involves people in collecting information, assessing economic status of families through wealth ranking, prioritising village needs, understanding institutional linkages, creating awareness on gender issues etc.  CRUSADE engaged an expert facilitator in PRA from Gandhigram Rural University and arranged a three day residential training course for Self Help Group (SHG) cluster coordinators and SHG leaders.  The participants, about 20, were trained in village mapping, wealth ranking, resource mapping and assessing village priority needs.  The participants visited a village (K. R. Palayam) for two days and involved SHG members and others in the exercise.  This training was well received and its usefulness was appreciated.  It was felt that such training to Panchayat members will be useful in planning and budgeting for Panchayats.

Membership and savings

By March 2000 the project had expanded its coverage to 34 village hamlets.  The number of SHGs increased to 94 and the membership to 1597.  It is noteworthy that more than 70% of these members belong to socially oppressed scheduled caste communities. 

Women’s Literacy

The evaluation of CRUSADE’s work with an independent expert revealed that 80% of women members were illiterate. The extent of illiteracy affected the groups’ capabilities of benefiting from training and their independent functioning.  CRUSADE decided to offer literacy and numeracy classes to willing members.   The Adult and Continuing Education Faculty of Gandhigram Rural University (situated near Madurai in the south) trained 13 instructors for three days on how to teach illiterate adults.  Three dropped out, but 10 literacy centres were organised in which around 120 women take literacy classes for 2 hours in the evenings.  CRUSADE provided teaching and learning materials and arranged lighting for the centres.   The classes were started in mid April and the first batch will take classes up to October. 

Community Health

CRUSADE has so far been unsuccessful in recruiting a trained health worker to continue community health work in any meaningful way.  Health activity is therefore limited to imparting health education to SHG members and the construction of toilets for interested members using government loans though RMK funding.  During the year CRUSADE secured a grant from RMK for construction of 50 toilets and the work is in progress. If suitable full time health staff cannot be found CRUSADE is planning to engage a part-time member of staff to train Cluster Coordinators, Literacy Instructors and SHG members in aspects of basic health.