Background:

The model has been started in 2014 with Sarda panchayat in Jamankira block of Sambalpur, which is the remotest of the block. panchayat of initially the team has started the baseline survey of the villages, meeting with villagers to identify the basic issues of the villagers. The next step taken was liasioning with various line departments for ensuring their responsibilities/duties towards implementing theirs concerns. Sarda is one of the backward panchayat in the Jamankira block of Sambalpur district. The Panchayatis primarily inhabited by Advasis with a total population of 1243. The region comes under Elephant Wild Life Sanctuary; hence mobilization of any sort of infrastructural is very challenging. Since it is the sanctuary area with touch terrains, the inhabitant of the regions was totally alien to the outer world. Hence OSM persuaded the district collector to adopt the entire panchayat under Sansad Aarsh Gram Yojna (SAGY) to which he agreed without a second thought.

OSM with partnership with district administration together leveraged various schemes through the convergence of different government departments, such as Odisha Livelihood Mission(OLM), National Rural Health Mission(NRHM), MGNREGA, Water and sanitation under RWSS and other infrastructure work. Apart from mobilizing assets without duplicating any resources OSM has been working to train village and panchayat level people’s collective on sustaining the development work. Through mobilizing the community, we succeeded in mobilizing Rs. 3.26 crores. Similarly, electricity of worth 4 cr. Is also been sanctioned through consistently taking the issues to the collector.

Why the Model of Convergence?

To ensure all-round development of the villages and to develop few model villages it was necessary to ensure that the entire government’s State as well as Central scheme meant for the villages/villagers reaches them. The objective of the convergence model is to capacitate all the field functionaries (Jansathi, Junior Coordinator, Coordinator & Others) on various government schemes/provisions by preparing Learning Midpoints, preparation of Demonstration field for new Sathis, government officials (line departments) and Showcasing the achievements of all interventions. As a result, the organization has taken a unanimous decision to make it possible through convergence model. After due discussion with the team, it has been finalized that altogether 20 villages of 4 districts i.e. 4 number of villages from Sambalpur, 6 number of villages each from Kandhamal and Koraput and 4 villages from Malkangiri district will be taken for the pilot study and will try to make them model villages. Later it was finalized that the same would be possible only through collaboration with district administration and it was decided to start from Sarda GP of Jamankira block, Sambalpur as it is one of the places where sangathan had very good presence.

Strategy:

After meticulous exercises delivered by the team at Sarda, Sambalpur the outcome is really encouraging, in fact it is established confidence among the team to replicate the model in other parts of the state.   Accordingly an work plan has designed by the team is to orient the team members basically to the field functionaries on the model step by step along with an exposure visit to Sarda (The model GP of Sangathan). Then to start the work with an initial village survey with recourse mapping to ascertain the status of the villages. Especially these activities planned to know the existing opportunities and threats and to design the future course of action for smooth implementation of the model. The step by step activities planned are as fallows.

• Performing zero days this is to inform the villagers regarding the plan and program that how the team going to perform in their village on convergence model. As it is planned the exercise will be conducted in 4 core villages along with 16 periphery villages in Malkangir, 6 core villages along with 24 periphery villages in Koraput
• Conducting the Village meeting on common approval regarding convergence This will let know the team about the critical mind set of the villagers towards the village development.
• Collection of secondary data to ascertain the existing resources and government plan and programme meant for those villages for matching of the intensity for quick progress of the plan
• Resource Mapping of those villages to know about the existing resources and where It needs to develop the resource in priority basis
• Village Survey of those villages for gathering of the complete information’s of the villages for identifying the issues
• Survey data analysis & sharing of findings before the communities through FGD to priorities the issues for initiating the quick action for resolving the same
• Progress measures ones the operation started the activity wise progress mapping is required for assessing the progress of Sathis’s (those who are working in the field) as well as of the Sangathan to leverage the presence and setting of examples for future course of action
• Basic data collection of periphery village ones the system started working in the core villages it will be escalated in the surrounding villages. So to work effectively basic data of those villages are required to enlisting the issues for initiating the action
• Advocacy with concern line department this is one of the crucial activities because unless and until the will not matched the progress will be very slow pace. Thus meeting with line departments is exceedingly required as and when base on the necessitate

Current Situation:

dedicated efforts showcased by the team at Sarda has led to encouraging outcomes. Earlier there were hardly any opportunities to avail facilities on livelihood, communication, education, health etc. But things have changed significantly and now many infrastructures have been developed for the betterment of the people residing there. The details of developed infrastructure in Sarda after the Sangathan’s intervention, is mentioned under Achievement segment.

Key Achievements:

The district administration as well as the line departments resulted in successful leveraging the assets worth Rs. 3.47 crore in entire Panchayat. Some of the quantitative achievements project wise are as follows:

• Infrastructure i.e. schools, hostels, village community center, bridge, individual housing etc.
• Livelihood – Goat and poultry farms, skill development training to village youth, income from non-timber forest produce.
• MGNREGA – Community/farm ponds, land development for agriculture, roads (Rural connectivity), playground etc.
• Water and sanitation – Sanctioning of toilets for every household in order to make the entire panchayat free from open defecation, ensuring availability of drinking water to 100% households wherein solar water plant, hand pumps and huge water tank of 50,000 liter were leveraged under RWSS.
• Despite extreme poverty, there were only 8 households having BPL status in entire Panchayat. Hence, issue of malnutrition was very depressing. However, due to people’s efforts and struggle for universal coverage, finally government has agreed to cover entire population under National Food Security Act (NFSA).

Achievements through various construction works (Infrastructure Development):