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The Mahila Mandals: Empowering Women	Download pdf
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A village-level forum for rural women to discuss personal and social, economic, environmental, educational, health, gender and self governance matters concerning women specifically as well as participate actively in common village interests and issues.

Youth groups for girls to provide a platform for them to encourage education and trade skills development. Additionally, girls learn about adolescent health issues, which are not openly discussed in the family and community.

Discrimination often keeps the girl-child at home to help her mother care for younger siblings. To counter this and to build village interventions centered around a child Balwadi Programmes are conducted. The Balvadi is a nursery school in a village that enrolls children from ages two to six, and provides a stepping-stone for them to enter regular school. Young minds are exposed to spirituality, physical education, the alphabet and numbers. Its adjunct, the Balvihar programme, for children above 6 years of age, includes mothers and discusses issues concerning children and women in their immediate environment.

Alcoholism remains a serious issue in many villages of India, furthering the cycle of poverty and violence, especially domestic violence - wife beating and sometimes child abuse. Social injustice is addressed through Informal legal cells and counseling. Victims interact with the police and lawyers in a congenial informal setting to get both protection and justice whenever required.

The Yuva groups provide a positive venue for young adults to communicate, question, face fears, and voice concerns rather than look for crutches like alcohol, tobacco, or drugs. Unemployment is the single biggest challenge they face. In the groups, young people can
learn about trade skills and services that can create opportunity within their communities. The idea is to harness their energies for village development.

The concept of Self Help Group (SHG), introduced in 1994 by us in Sidhbari, is to bring small voluntary association of poor people together, not exceeding over 20, for the purpose of helping in solving their financial problems. It is a form of introducing micro banking into the community.Groups of women within Mahila Mandals and groups of youth within Yuva Mandals begin the process of small-scale savings and loans. SHG formation helps its members not only take care of the financial needs of each other, but develop their skills of financial management and intermediation as well.

CORD has trained and sensitized more than 20,000 bank officers, government and non-government officers and functionaries to promote Self-Help Groups 5 states of Northern India. It has made micro finance accessible to the poorest of the poor.

Rural families earn their livelihood through multiple means. CORD offers a flexible approach to livelihood and encourages large number to leverage their aptitudes. Diverse activities including agriculture, dairy, petty shops, food products, fabrics (weaving, sewing, embroidery), knitting, traditional paintings, bamboo products and various services are facilitated. Ensuring self-reliance, building operational management and mainstreaming the micro entrepreneurs into the local market is an integral part of the process.

Doctors in out patient clinic, village midwives and health guides and community groups together promote and manage health issues. Educating people, recognizing the role of midwives in isolated villages and connecting to referral services is an integral part of the programme. Immunization, family planning, nutrition, hygiene and sanitation are promoted. Prevention of diseases from diarrhea to AIDS is emphasized.

Inclusion and integration of the disabled into the community with dignity forms an important aspect of CORD’s holistic programme. It addresses issues of accessibility, education and self-employment and participates in policy advocacy.

CORD is aware that people-centered and people driven programmes will need participatory rather than representative local self-governance. Strengthening the democratic process through Up Gram Sabhas and Gram Sabhas (General Body Councils) is thus an important component of its village programme.