Holi-Bajoli, Himachal Pradesh

GMRVF’s community development activities in Bajoli Holi Hydro Power Project location in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh started in 2008. Here, the Foundation works in 20 villages in 5 Panchayats.

The community here primarily belongs to the Gaddi tribe, a semi- nomadic and semi- pastoral tribe, who spend the summer on the alpine pastures grazing their sheep and goats and move down to the lower regions in winter, mainly to Kangra valley and then return back after six months with the onset of summer.

Education
A range of activities is being undertaken to improve the quality of education in Anganwadis and government schools. To strengthen the pre-school system in the area and to create child - friendly environment, GMRVF is working with all 16 Anganwadis of Holi ICDS Cluster. About 250 children are benefitted. Support for infrastructure development, beautification of the centers, providing toys and joyful learning materials, organizing creativity development programs with the children, organizing awareness and orientation workshops for the Anganwadi workers etc. are the major activities taken up to improve the quality of education at Anganwadis.

GMRVF works with all 19 Govt. Schools of the area to improve the quality of education. The schools have been provided support for infrastructure development and campus beautification. Three schools are being supported with additional teachers. Distribution of TLMs, organizing arts, sports and other co-curricular activities for the children, celebrating important days like Republic Day, Independence Day, Teachers’ Day, Children’s Day etc. are some of the important activities taken up for the all-round development of children.

To sharpen the creative potential of children and to give them exclusive space to exhibit their talents, Creativity Development Centers have been established in 6 schools. The centers are well equipped with play, learning and creativity development materials.

To provide remedial support to students with weak learning skills and special support to board exam students, GMRVF is running an After School Learning Centre. The centre provides the opportunity to learn subjects as well as to develop their talents in different co-curricular activities.

Health, Hygiene and Sanitation
To provide primary health care support, GMRVF has revived a defunct Govt. Ayurvedic Dispensary at Nayagram village and is providing the entire support for its management. The well-equipped dispensary is manned by a trained Ayurvedic Pharmacist. The Foundation has also established a Mother and Child Health Care Centre at village Deol. On an average more than 200 villagers per month are benefitting from both the centers. Now the centers have also become mobile to cater the needs of the people from remote villages. Both the male and the female pharmacists visit the remote villages as per their schedule and provide medicare. The service has significantly improved health care in the area.

To create awareness among the students on various health issues and to promote proper hygiene and sanitation practices, various activities such as awareness camps, campaigns, rallies, events etc. are organized in the schools. School health check-ups and dental camps are also important initiatives to provide health services to the children.

General and specialized health camps are organized in the villages as per the community need. These health camps are mostly organized in association with the local Govt. hospital.

Various health awareness programs are also organized with the help of different community organizations like SHGs, Mahila Mandals (Women groups), Yuvak Mandals (Youth groups) etc. focusing on the issues of hygiene and sanitation.

Empowerment and Livelihoods
GMRVF has formed 19 SHGs in this area and is trying to revive other defunct SHGs. Now more and more women want to get associated.

The Crafts Centre set up by Foundation in village Holi promotes training in local crafts as well as provides earning opportunity for the women. 20 women have been trained in weaving and are involved in the production and selling of shawls. The well-equipped centre, under the supervision of an experienced crafts person, is providing support to the women in production, quality improvement, marketing of the products etc.

16 dropout youth from this location have been sent for vocational training to Delhi.

Community Development
To provide information on various Govt. programs and schemes and to facilitate the community to access those benefits, a Community Resource Centre has been set up in Holi. The centre has a library too. It has become hub of information for local people on various issues like sustainable agriculture practices for the region, farm based livelihoods opportunities, processes to avail bank loan etc. in addition to the information related to govt. programs and schemes.

Foundation supports youth groups by providing them sports materials, organizing sports and cultural programs and in celebrating important events like National Youth Day, Independence Day and Republic Day etc.