From 1993 to 2002, Samajik Seva Sadan took up an integrated development project in Dhenkanal covering 48 Adivasi & Dalits villages promoting group organizations, education, health & economical growth of the people.

Almost all the Adivasi and Dalit were semi-bonded labourers who were freed through their SHGs by taking loan from the Group and paying it to the landlord and freeing themselves. 80% of the target population became share croppers benefiting themselves and the land owner. The savings and credit programme accumulated Rs.52 lakhs by the end of the project which is being utilized for giving credit for consumption and production loans for various Income Generation Activities. The Federation of SHGs formed at target area level is called “Shakti Vikas Mahila Sangathan”.

There were a remarkable reduction of IMR & MMR gradually calumniating into 0% IMR & MMR by the year 2001 and 2002 due to the effort of 48 trained Traditional Birth Attendants and 8 Health Animators working cordially with ANMs and Anganwadi workers.

The children of all our target villages compulsorily completed class VII education during the project period monitored by Nari Sangha and the most interesting way our Non Formal Teachers imparted training called Joyful Teaching. This method was recognized and adopted by the education department to train all the Govt. teachers.

The 48 villages of 13 G.Ps were divided into 6 zones. From village committees a woman and a man were selected for zonal committee. 6 zonal committees sent their representatives a woman and a man to the community based organization (CBO) called Adivasi Vikas Parishad (AVP), promoted by us and it is registered. Today the AVP has shouldered the responsibility of managing the entire programmes independently.

We mobilized and organized the community to develop and create community assets wherein the people contributed more than 50% Shramadan (contributed labour free of cost) making of approach roads to the village, digging of wells, digging of ponds and cashew plantation and other fruit trees. Today those villages who developed cashew plantations are having an income of anything between 5 to 18 thousands per year per family.

World Indigenous Day Celebration

Indigenous people mainly are people of the Land whom we call Adivasis. They live off the land and resources formed in own / common lands and waters. They are the main stewards’ of biological and cultural diversity. Their rights, cultures, livelihoods, traditions, knowledge and identities are based on the profound and intricate relationships they forged with their land, water and resources over thousands of years. With the United Nations declaration on the Rights of Indigenous people have influenced the Govt. of India and made Vth and VIth schedule. Under Vth schedule, different area of our Odisha state is declared as PESA area and Sundargarh is one of the PESA District. The Govt. of India is bound to follow all the 46 articles of this declaration. 9th August has been declared by U.N as the World Indigenous Day. Thus in order to aware the Adivasis on both the UN declaration on the Rights of Indigenous people and the PESA enacted by our Govt., we organize World’s Indigenous Day every year on 9th August.