Areas of Focus
Bakdil is involved with almost the entire spectrum of development work in Garo Hills. Our range of work varies from entrepreneurship and livelihood development to providing medical literacy and maternal health care. Below we have summarised the project areas we work with in an attempt to give you better insight about Bakdil's ecosystem.
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Community Mobilisation
Though the Garos live in a matrilineal society, the women have little control over economic, social, and political decisions. While men are involved in the cash economy, women find themselves carrying a greater share of work for their daily sustenance. Therefore, Bakdil has since its inception been attempting to promote the spirit of self-sustenance and self-respect among the villages of Garo Hills. Bakdil has been at the forefront of the SHG movement in Meghalaya, promoting communities and increasing awareness about the benefits of mobilisation. Over the past 15 years, we have helped form more than 2000 SHGs with approximately over 30,000 women as members. Initially, the SHG members started by saving only Rs. 10 per month, now they have progressed towards saving Rs 100 – Rs 200 per month. With the help of regular savings and bank linkages, the SHG members were able to borrow loans from the bank for setting up various micro livelihood enterprises such as dairy farming, piggery farming, poultry farming, horticulture cultivation, vegetable cultivation, sale of handicrafts, etc. After repaying their first loan, many groups were able to secure a second loan and third loan from the bank and gradually scaled up their business activities. The newfound economic freedom has enabled women to fight against social injustices such as domestic violence which is a prevalent aspect of households in Garo Hills.
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Sustainable Farming Practices
Bakdil has engaged with several diverse activities to help ensure farmers are equipped with the knowledge and resources required for sustainable farming practices. The objective of these sustainable farming practices is to ensure food security and bio-diversity among crop produce. These activities are carried out under different programs, such as FARM (Facilitating Agriculture Regenerating Measures), Integrated Tribal Development Programmes facilitated by NABARD, FPOs (Farmer Producer Organizations), and a growing emphasis on Solar Powered Energy through POSSES (Powering of Solar Supplied Energy Solution).
a. Facilitating Agriculture Regenerating Measures (FARM) Practices
Program Goal: Empowering communities of 12 villages of East Garo Hills towards a healthier life through sufficient food production and nutritional intake which align with their cultural food habits. Additionally, consumption of indigenous seeds is also being promoted. The farmers are also being pushed to have control over the local market in order to sell their excess organic products to avoid any kind of wastage.
b. Integrated Tribal Development Programme
Program Goal: Empowering communities of 12 villages of East Garo Hills towards a healthier life through sufficient food production and nutritional intake which align with their cultural food habits. Additionally, consumption of indigenous seeds is also being promoted. The farmers are also being pushed to have control over the local market in order to sell their excess organic products to avoid any kind of wastage.
c. Farmer Producer
Organisations (FPOs)
Program Goal: The purpose of FPOs is to mobilise farmers, to increase their productivity, income and generate profits. Several activities are taken up under this programme, such as processing of different meats and vegetables to create products that can be sold in the market. These products include pickles and different spices such as turmeric powder, ginger powder, black pepper.
d. Powering of Solar Supplied Energy Solution (POSSES)
Program Goal: This program is being implemented in a select few areas in Garo Hills since 2019. The aim is to ensure the residents of these villages are not depending on electricity for their daily activities. These solar-powered units are being used to run our Bakdil livelihood centres where there are activities such as powdering of spices and areca-nut plate making being carried out. Additionally, 5 of our PHCs are supported by solar-powered units.
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Health and Wellbeing
Due to its remoteness, sparse population and lack of resources, the North East remains neglected in terms of availability and effectiveness of health care. The public health centers have extremely poor infrastructure and resources, and there is an acute shortage of trained medical professionals. Factors such as hilly terrain, lack of communication and unreliable transport facilities create further barriers to accessing health care for the rural communities. Additionally, low literacy levels contribute gravely to the locals resorting to traditional healing and illegal medicinal practitioners, while renouncing curative health care services. With this background of Meghalaya's poor medical history, Bakdil has been working towards providing health services to Garo Hills inhabitants across several domains. We have been involved in rendering health services through participation and implementation of various programs such as Health Management Program, Malaria Control Program, HIV AIDS Program and Health Workers training program. Our close involvement with the healthcare domain has opened our eyes to the importance of conscious healthcare and the need for systemized approach towards wellness.
a. Public Health Centres (PHCs)
In India, the Public Health Center (PHC) or the Health Sub-Center is the most peripheral and the first point of contact between the primary health care system and the rural community. Bakdil has worked with PHCs for the past 12 years to ensure the Meghalaya State government’s health programs are carried out efficiently. PHCs’ scope of work is rich and varied and ranges from health camps for checkups to complete mother and child care pre and post-pregnancy. There are several awareness programs conducted on a regular basis to ensure health-related literacy at a rural level. The program has been widely successful in reducing Infant and Mother Mortality Rates by up to 90% across all parameters, in a span of only 12 years. PHCs have also managed to ensure 92-95% institutionalized delivery in Garo Hills, Meghalaya, a huge feat considering the state of rural infrastructure and limited medical access. The 5 PHCs together cover a population of approximately 54,028 people from 9271 households in 165 villages. The PHCs are supported by 159 Accredited Social Health Workers (ASHAs), 112 Anganwadi Workers (AWW), and 94 staff.
b. Intensified Malaria Elimination Project (IMEP)
Epidemiologically, Malaria is endemic to the State of Meghalaya, especially in the areas along the inter-state and inter-country borders. The dynamics of malaria is governed by local factors such as the availability of breeding places for mosquitoes, heavy rainfall in the area and lifestyle habits of the local community. Bakdil has been working intensely over the past 15 years towards total malaria elimination across Garo Hills, Meghalaya. We became an implementing agent for the Intensified Malaria Control Project funded by Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (GFTAM) in 2012. The project covered 1232 villages under 3 districts – West Garo Hills, South Garo Hills, and East Garo Hills. Diagnosis and treatment for malaria were taken to the doorsteps of the remotest houses through a systematic process called Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) to bring behavioral change through enhanced awareness and encouraging responsiveness through a supportive environment.
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Disaster Relief
The State of Meghalaya is a multi-hazard region and is highly vulnerable to disasters such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, hailstorms, cyclones, etc, affecting a large number of people living in disaster-prone areas. Due to the topographical, metrological, and geological variability across the State, natural disasters are a recurrent phenomenon. Given the susceptibility of the Meghalaya to disasters, it is imperative that disaster management and relief measures are one of the key focus areas of Bakdil. The relief measures provided are in the form of ration, clothing, utensils construction of durable roofs, relief camps, medical camps, etc. There have been several disasters such as flooding, cyclones, hailstorms, and ethnic conflicts that have given birth to the need for financial and moral assistance.
Bakdil started a Diocesan level initiative known as the “Lenten Campaign” to be able to provide immediate relief measures to the victims of disasters. Lent is a 40 days period observed by Catholics before Easter Sunday by fasting and almsgiving. All the monetary contributions received by the churches in the diocese as part of the Lenten Campaign are collected and 50% is deposited in a separate bank account under the name “Disaster Management Fund”, while 50% is distributed to Caritas India. Hence, since the inception of the Disaster Management Fund, Bakdil has been able to slowly move towards becoming a sustainable model in providing immediate relief measures to the victims of various kinds of disasters that take place every year in Garo Hills. Presently, we are working towards providing financial assistance and equal distribution of ration to those affected by the pandemic.