Funded by UNICEF Chennai – There is a huge taboo in most Indian households, especially in the villages, to build toilets. In the rare event of one being built, the skill on how to use them, keep them clean and where and how the waste from it is treated or cleaned, is never quite understood. Even simple acts such as washing hands thoroughly has never been explained to any of us very well, and few people are aware that well washed hands can prevent diarrhea, dysentery, and a whole host of other diseases that prove fatal for many children in India, every year.

UNICEF Chennai funded Nalamdana to train about 100 village volunteers (young men and women) through 2008 and 2009 in the Krishnagiri District of Tamilnadu state, on passing on key messages on hand washing, toilet use, and the safety, and advantages to building and using toilets.These trained teams performed plays in their village taluks from August through December 2009.

In connection with the previous theatre training and performances, UNICEF had requested Nalamdana do a short term project (September to December 2010) addressing the same WES issues focusing on the Thally block of the Krishnagiri District.

Toilet humour and quirky characters acted in filmy style have the audiences laughing and cheering while they get key messages on these health issues.

The Nalamdana team did their homework as always, to asses the practices in the area, meet with the Block Development Officers and the Cultural team members of the Krishnagiri Cultural Society at the Thally Panchayat office, and based on their findings, they planned the refresher theatre training and the 50 theatre performances. As a result, that year, these trained performers staged these plays at the 50 Pancahyat villages of the Thally block.

From 20th to 23rd September 2010, Nalamdana conducted a refresher theatre training workshop for the 30 select UNICEF volunteers from Mathur, Bargur, Vepanampalli, Kelamangalam, Oothangarai, Thally and Krishnagiri blocks.

New plays addressing the key issues:

safe water practices
importance of hand washing
construction and usage of toilet
were developed and practiced during the workshop.

These trained volunteers were split into three groups and each group was given specific dates to perform the role play in the 50 identified villages of the 50 panchayats in the Thally block.

The results of these performances were beyond anything that Nalamdana or UNICEF had hoped for. Several houses have built toilets just outside their homes, and a few people have even built the toilets attached to their houses. It is now seen as a status symbol, and those who had toilets they weren’t using, are now using them regularly!

UNICEF has sourced a subsidy and at least a part funding for the construction of these toilets.

Funded by individual contributions – Donations from Individual donors are routed through True Gifts, operated by Bhoomika Trust, effectively linking private contributions with our program needs. Since 2001, Nalamdana has been supporting the nutritional supplement to the Government noon meal scheme in Besant Nagar Day care centre (Balwadi). We have a community volunteer who purchases the dal, fresh vegetables and oil, and supervises the cooking of it, everyday. A minimum daily payment for her to do this, plus the cost of the items is supported by funds from individuals routed through Bhoomika’s True Gifts Program. Donations routed through Bhoomika’s True Gifts Program were also received to help in purchasing toys and story books for the children admitted to the children’s ward of the Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine, Tambaram.

The South India Girl Child Initiative, (SIGCI), is a three year project funded by World Education, Boston. Of the four participating NGOs, two are from Tamil Nadu and two are from Andhra Pradesh. The most fascinating aspect of this initiative is its elbow room. It builds individual NGO working styles and encourages each of us to address common issues concerning vulnerable girls, through our own working experience.

Main features

The project helps us to identify and work with vulnerable girls, using participatory communication to educate and empower them through knowledge, accurate information and also impart skills in the following areas:

Child rights and importance of girls’ education
Adolescent health (emphasizing nutrition) and reproductive health
Awareness about HIV/AIDS
Scale up for sustainability through teaching theatre skills, music and participatory communication – so that each group will reach out to their peers.

The first 2 years

After conducting a baseline study (needs assessment) in some local slums, colleges and schools, through April and May 2006, Nalamdana chose four sites for the first two years:

To work with challenged girl children in one Government School in urban South Chennai, 7th and 8th grade girls (approximate ages 12 -13 years)
To reach 17 to 19 year old girls from challenged backgrounds in two community colleges in urban Chennai. Nalamdana selected Queen Mary’s college and MGR Janaki college, as both cater to lower income families. Over 90% of the 3000 plus students at Queen Mary’s college are studying free of cost.
To create an adolescent girls’ group in one urban slum, where out of school girls and those attending local schools can converge and meet often, learning skills and exchanging ideas. Nalamdana selected the “Urur Alcot kuppam” where we support the local day care centre and have also worked in the past. As of December 2006, around twenty girls have started meeting regularly. During January 2007 we ran theatre training workshops and they performed for their community.
All sites are currently active. We used different methods in each site, as we are deeply interested in methodology research. We will be able to share this information with many of our partners, through training modules, by the end of these three years.

Reach

Direct target audience: 150 school girls from the 8th and 9th grades in the corporation run school, 50 + 50 college girls in the 17 – 18 year age group in the two colleges and some 20 adolescent girls in the urban slum group are being covered so far. Total: around 270 girls.

Indirectly: mothers of pre-school children in the day care centers where Nalamdana works on a nutrition related project; teachers; other college students, numbering some 1500 girls, have been sensitized through trained drama teams on their own campus.

As part of the HIV/AIDS education, Nalamdana showed their training tele film on HIV/AIDS at one of the colleges, followed by an interactive discussion about the film. The same model is being followed in the second college. Also, one live drama for about 500 college students was held during the World AIDS week as a first level AIDS awareness program.

Skills development sessions: theatre workshops, focus group discussions and other fun programs such as music training and games are being held at school sites, to induce more cooperation from the students and management. It is hoped that such skills will help the students themselves campaign for these issues so that they could become agents of change.

Networking and Learning

As part of networking and learning, the Nalamdana team held a few sessions on HIV/AIDS at Aseema’s sites and hopes to help their staff team acquire new skills soon through the planned IEC workshop for SIGCI partners in 2007. Some of the Nalamdana team visited the Andhra Pradesh NGOs, GVS and CARE Kuchinerla, during November, 2006.

Further cross visits and partnership learning is planned through 2007. The excellent rapport created in these sites is likely to be utilized through 2007, with planned activities and scale up project work.

2008 – 2009

This project moved into its third and final phase during 2008-2009. Targeting vulnerable girls in city schools and select communities where school drop outs meet for a community video project, Nalamdana has conducted several training programs. The girls, trained through this program, present to their peers through drama, mime, dance and video.

Issues of gender discrimination, poor nutrition, social and the cultural handicaps faced by girls are addressed and empowerment through education has been happening quietly. At the end of 2008 or early 2009 there will be a festival of the Girl Child held in the city, including all partner organizations working on the same issues.

Training material released

Aseema Trust and Nalamdana (Partners on the South India Girl Child Project funded by World Education, Boston) releaseda CD 8 songs) called “KUYILLUM MAYILLUM” meaning “Cuckoo & Peacock” to symbolise the songs created by vulnerable girls. Each song is on an important issue as identified by these young girls. Trained by Nalamdana, some have sung in the tape while others have written the songs. Trained by Aseema, some girls have learned to dance to the songs. The song and dance tape is being distributed Free in local schools and slum communities where Nalamdana works.

The CD created for and by vulnerable girls was formally released among 500 school students. At the event, the Consul General of the United States of America in Chennai, David T. Hopper, released the tape and first copies were given to special guests; Ms. Shakuntala Sharma, Secretary, The Children’s Garden School and Mr. S. P Balasubramaniam, noted playback singer. Speaking on the occasion the representatives of Aseema Trust, World Education Inc and Nalamdana stressed how this project helped reach vulnerable girls.

Nithya Balaji of Nalamdana, announced that every CD supported with a donation of Rs.50 will help Nalamdana donate Rs.5 of that towards a very special CARE school in Kuchinerla, A. Pradesh, where this partner NGO rescues 100 girl children per year from bonded hazardous child labour.

Donations can be made to Nalamdana in India or through the Friends of Nalamdana, in the U.S. (see contact page) Nalamdana will create more copies for free distribution and also periodically collect the donations accrued and pass them on to the CARE school.

Project funded by The William J. Clinton Foundation – Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) piloted a four month participatory theatre programs at Chitoor and Tirupathi ART Centre to increase HIV/AIDS awareness as part of their Balashyoga (BSY) program. Nalamdana, with its expertise in participatory theater, was identified to implement this short term project (June – September, 2010). This pilot program may serve as a model for implementing this program at other ART centers.

Nalamdana conducted a five day theatre workshop at Tirupathi to train a team. The workshop comprised of pre-play entertainment tips; basics of theatre, street play formats, theatre exercises, tips on dialogue delivery and acting and sensitization to the issues, so that they can handle post drama questionnaires and post play discussions.

In continuation of the theatre workshop conducted by Nalamdana during July 2010 at Tirupathi for a team of 20 participants, theatre performances were performed in the ART centers at Chittoor and Tirupathi. During the month of October the remaining 8 plays were performed. A total of 9 plays were performed at each site from September to October 2010. So a total of 18 role plays were completed within a time frame of three months.

About 1000 patients were reached through these 18 performances at both Chittoor and Tirupathi ART centers. The role plays were performed during the morning hours of the O.P, and on an average 50 – 60 patients comprised of men, women and children were covered per performance. The role play addressed key issues on the importance of ART adherence, usage of condoms among the concordant and discordant couples and services of BSY.

As an enhancement to these performances, Nalamdana recommended Clinton Foundation to incorporate the “Public Addressing system” as a component to this program. A proposal for the same has been submitted along with the final narrative report and is likely to be approved by January 2011.

Drama Training for Targeted Youth, 2010

The Clinton Foundation has funded Nalamdana to create and execute special Drama training for targeted youth at their project site in Tirupathy and Chitoor, where ART patients access free treatment.

As Nalamdana’s senior trainers are also the creative producers of the programs at Tambaram, this team have identified and trained village actors from May – June 2010. The trained teams will perform at the ART centers to reach crucial messages to out patients, monitored by Nalamdana.
This is the first time Nalamdana has trained and expanded their work outside the state, in another Indian language.

Supported by Tamil Nadu State and AIDS Control Society – Nalamdana’s “Are You Well” Project at Tambaram, focuses on care and support for the patients of the Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine, which is one of the largest public hospitals in Asia catering to both TB an HIV patients.

Under this project, Nalamdana offers brief role plays and longer evening plays on issues relevant to People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA). It has also developed “Thendral”, a state of the art cable radio station offering seven and a half hours of programming daily, six days a week on the entertainment – education platform in Tambaram hospital’s 18 TB and HIV wards and the OP area. Also weekly support group meetings are being conducted regularly for women on every Tuesday and Thursday. Nalamdana encourages and also involves PLWHA to participate in the role plays and radio programs.