Open Defecation free village – Dhamkan, GunaCommunity-led Total Sanitation (CLTS) is an approach, under the government’s Swach Bharat Mission (Gramin), which is based on triggering collective behavioural changes among rural communities to adopt hygienic sanitation behaviour and guarantee access to toilet facilities for all households. With the belief that collective benefits, as a result of putting an end to open defecation, can encourage a more cooperative approach, the CLTS approach concentrates on the entire community rather than on…
Soochna Seva team carried out physical verification of all ration card holders, in four villages of Ranchi districtThe National Food Security Act (NFSA) of 2013 aims to provide food and nutritional security to the citizens while ensuring access to adequate quantity and quality of food at affordable prices. In Jharkhand alone, the state government claims to provide benefits under the act to 57,29,416 families. In August this year, Digital Empowerment Foundation’s Soochna Seva team carried out physical verification of all ration card holders, in four villages of Ranchi district, who are eligible under…
Despite Liberalisation phase Govt. of Bihar is running 80 plus public welfare schemes. The claimant of these different entitlements runs in millions in such scenario, there tend to be scope for Grievances among citizens. Keeping this in mind, civil society across the state (as well as country) is in conversation with govts. for creating a platforms within the governance to readdress these grievances. Govt. of Bihar (being socially more sensitive) acted on its own and incited an act called…
Beginning of Jawaabdehi Yatra in Katihar and Araria districts of BiharBihar is the only state in the country to have passed a law on Grievance Redressal. This is one of the component of the Jawaabdehi law that is being advocated in Rajasthan by MKSS, SRabhiyan and many other civil society organizations, for which the Jawabdehi Yatra was conducted in 2015. As an exercise of both publicity, and to build an understanding of the provisions of the law, a mini campaign is planned in Katihar and Araria locations with Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan…
Launch of Nagrik Samwad & Sahayata Kendra (NSSK) in Tehri Gharwal, UttarakhandSoochna Seva launched "Nagrik Samwad & Sahayata Kendra" in Tehri Gharwal, Uttarakhand in collaboration with District Administration. The Chief Development Officer (CDO) ‘Mr. Ashish Bhatgain was very keen to have a system where grievances from ground can be heard by the concerned department and redress in a short period of time. The main idea was to lessen the efforts of beneficiaries coming all the way long to New Tehri to register a grievance related to any civic…
Ward Sabha for Improving Services Delivery of Anganwadi, Balthar Panchayat, Sikta, West ChamparanA meeting was organized by Soochna Seva with Mukhiya and Ward Council of Balthar Panchayat on July 27, 2017. In this meeting, Soochna Seva laid out the past and future of the work in Sikta Block. The team stressed the need of empowering Panchayats through capacity building of the council so that they can improve the governance at Panchayat level. Further, it was highlighted that in order to improve the governance it is imperative to improve the service delivery of extension bodies namely,…
Multi-Purpose Camp organized by Department of Social Welfare, Tehri GharwalDepartment of Social Welfare, Tehri Gharwal is constantly working to bridge the gap between marginalized population of the society and main stream. Implementation of social security and welfare schemes is being taken up on priority with increased coverage of schemes every year. Recently organized (27th of June, 2017) multi-purpose camp in Pratap Inter College, New Tehri is one such example of the effort by the department. The camp witnessed the presence of District Magistrate Ms. Sonika, Chief…
People of 'Badi Amorhi' and 'Nayagaon' villages will now get water supply directly to their householdsWomen putting earthen pots on their heads are common scenes in our Indian villages. Lack of proper drinking water facility in far off villages is the main reason behind this. In order to get rid of this issue, government of Madhya Pradesh has launched ‘Nal Jal Yojana’ where the main aim is to ensure the supply of the sufficient and safe drinking water to rural households. In the state Public Health Department is responsible to implement the scheme. Badi Amrohi is a village of…
UP-SKILLING OF SOOCHNA SEVA TEAMIt gave a professional high to Soochna Seva team from Guna, when its 5 members got selected as Swachh Bharat Mission ‘Preraks’. The selection was a tough challenge and only 45 candidates managed to get selected out of 200 strong applicants for Guna district. The selected members - Rajaram Dhakad, Purushottam Dhakad, Mukesh Yadav, Prakash Dhakad and Naval Kushwaha- are one of the best from SSK team working in Guna district. The interview and other selection formalities were held on…
Collaboration with State Government of Rajasthan in order to strengthen the digital interface, open data, accountability and transparency initiativesAbout the Collaboration: This initiative has been started in co-ordination with Soochna Seva Programme of Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) and Mazdoor Kishan Sakti Sangthan (MKSS) to provide advocacy support to State Government of Rajasthan to develop or modify the Public Entitlements related ICT for enhancing the information structure for Public domain. Objective: Advocacy support to departments related to - Social Security (Pension and Bhamashah) - Education - Health -…
Information Camp – An initiative to end entitlements enmityEver since its inception, the Soochna Seva has demonstrated a strong commitment towards the rural development by ensuring digital interventions and implementation of development programs. To create a sustainable model for livelihood opportunities available in various sectors at the grass-roots level has always been a top-priority. To continue the tradition, Soochna Seva Kendra, aron recently organised a ‘Right to information camp to improve the socio-economic development and provide…
Subsidized LPG gas cylinder distribution in Ranchi Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala YojnaIn a first-ever event of its kind, a free gas connection distribution under “Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna” was carried out in Itki block of Ranchi. The beneficiaries belonged to the poor of the poorest category. The event embarked the first lot of gas connection distribution ceremony. Many more connections are expected in near future. The breakthrough of this magnitude was not easy, it was blood, sweat and tears all the way for Soochna Seva team. The ground team explored all the…
Health Camp on occasion the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti at Sanskrit Uch Vidhyalya, Ramnagar, West Champaran, BiharJan Jagran Manch based at Ramnagar decided to organize a Health Camp on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on 2nd October and kick start the Centenary Year Celebration. Soochna Seva team was entrusted with creating event awareness campaign, participant registration and logistics. The team objective was maximum Information dissemination and grievances registration of participants. A day prior to the event, Soochna team did an awareness campaign and visited the following…
A Community Service Interface by Soochna Seva teamOn 28th September 2016, Narendra Nagar’s Soochna Seva centre organised a pension camp in Khari. The Social welfare officer, Abhinash Bhaduriya attended the camp and listened to the pension related issues of community members. He had a one-on-one discussion with people whose pensions were stopped without any notification. He assured that everyone who is entitled to pension will have the money in their account in couple of days. The meeting was attended by Anil bhandari(District panchayat…
New Centre in Kasturba Kanya High School Bhitiharwa Gaunaha, West Champaran, BiharSoochna Seva, a European Commission sponsored project of Digital Empowerment Foundation is working for betterment of BPL families of West Champaran District. To do this DEF has channels viz Soochna Seva Kendr, a team of 18 Sochna Mitra, a Soochna Vahan and Nagrik Suvidha Kendr. DEF also innovate so that new ways of communication can be developed to reach far and wide. Among the above four channel, Soochna Seva Kendra (SSK) is the most used platform by public. This is so as these centers are…
New Soochna Seva Kendra opens in Tehri Garhwal districtOn August 8, 2016, a Soochna Seva Kendra was inaugurated at Shivpuri village of Bhilangana block in Tehri Garhwal district of Uttrakhand with the support of Oracle and CAIF. The centre was inaugurated by the Block Head of Bhilangana, Shri Vijay Ghunshola. Also present on the occasion were Block Development Officer Shri Bijendra Prasad, besides the Additional Development Officer, Gram Pradhans and District Magistrate Shri Brijesh Kumar. Kumar apprised the community members of the…
Community Meeting at Hesatu village, Angara block (Ranchi)In Ranchi, Vahid along with the help with the district team - Aijaz Ahmad and the Fellows conducted a group session in Hesatu village of the Angara block. An overwhelming number of 100 women and girls came to attend the session. The Mukhiya and ward members also joined this session. Numerous queries on schemes, specially related to women and girl child, issues and concerns were raised by the group and were given a patient hearing and then each query was handled by the Soochna Seva…
GAIL has organised '5 days training workshop'GAIL has organised '5 days training workshop at Guna MP under Swachh Bharat Mission. For the training, 5 Soochna sevaks had been selected, the team has managed to organise a small session and make the trainees aware about soochna seva in the 5 blocks of Guna. The whole session has been conducted with the support of Soochna Vahan, a digitally equipped Van. The training programme has been conducted for 'Community Led Total Sanitation Campaign' (CLTS), to eliminate the…
Say No to Drop OutOn January 29, 2016, an awareness camp was organised in a primary school in Motna by the local Soochna Seva team. Through this workshop, teachers were made aware about the Soochna Seva project and the various education-related government schemes. Students were also told about the various facilities that the government has made available for them, including the Kasturba Gandhi Aawasiya Balika Vidyalaya (KGABV) that offers free education to girl child in Class V. Students were also told about…
International Women’s Day Celebrated at Soochna Seva KendraOn 8th March 2016, Soochna Seva has commemorated ‘International Women’s Day’ at all its Soochna Seva kendras. A range of activities have taken place at various target locations such as aaganwadi centres, primary health centres (PHC), community health centre (CHC), government schools and Gram choupal. Likewise these activities have been conducted with diverse audience such as students, school principal, aaganwadi worker, ASHA workers, self-help group (SHG) members, villagers and Pradhan.…
Health camp at Thauldar Block, Tehri-GarhwalTehri-Uttarkashi Vikash Parishad organised a 'Health Camp' at Primary School of Kandikhal Panchayat in Thauldhar block. This event was a part of the inaugural ceremony for the opening of a new skill development centre at the school. Vikram Singh Negi ( MLA), panchayat representatives, pradhan, school teachers and participants from nearby villages were present at the occasion. The participants tested their blood pressure, sugar and blood samples. In the event , Soochna Seva team also put up a…
Community meeting at ‘Surte ki Dhani’, Dhanau block, Barmer District.The Soochna Seva team conducted a community meeting at ‘Surte Ki Dhani’ in Dhanau block of Barmer district on 18th January 2016. Around 70 people participated in the meeting including men and women from nearby villages. The team comprised of Soochna Sevaks Shakti Singh, Ramesh and Hazi Khan; they briefly explained about the schemes to the villagers such as Sukanya Subhalaxmi Yojana, Vidhwa Yojana, Pootri Yojana, BPL cards, etc. They also informed the participants about Palanhar Yojana,…
A Training Camp Under "Atal Bal Mission" by Department of Women and Child DevelopmentOn 04-11-2015, a day training Camp under ‘Atal Bal Mission’ has been organised in the aaganwadi centre of kherikhata village. The event took place with the full support of Soochna Seva in collaboration with the Department of Women and Child Development. The camp was basically organised for the care takers/parents of the 0-5 years of old of children who are extremely underweight and need immediate attention. Ms. Uma Meena (Trainer and Supervisor) instructed the audience about measures to…
A rally to create awareness among people about Panchayat ElectionPunchayat Election campaign is in full flow in Ranchi district. Keeping the above fact in view, our Soochna Seva team held a rally of school children in presence of Principal, teachers and other respected persons. Students shouted slogans and marched within the village. They carried placards and banner to draw pwople's attention. The message was to make people aware that every single vote is important and it should be casted with right…
Awareness camp on Beti bachao beti padhao campaign in Ranchiआज सूचना सेवा बेड़ो ब्लॉक रांची के द्वारा बेड़ो ब्लॉक के दीघिया पंचायत के सरना टोली में बेटी बचाओ बेटी पढ़ाओ जागरूकता कैम्प का आयोजन किया गया. कैम्प में लड़की बच्चियों पर हो रहे अत्याचार पर…
Barmer Visit with Osama Manzar (Founder-Director of DEF).On 2nd October Delhi team set forth for their visit to Barmer district. Apart from the team Osama Manzar (Founder- Director of Digital Empowerment Foundation) and Radhika from (Shiksha Ka Sawal) also accompanied in the journey. While on the way the team met Barmer Boys (a popular band in folk music genre); who played folk music throughout the night and entertained everyone. Visit to Senior Secondary school, Barmer, Rajasthan During the school visit, Mr Osama Manzar filed RTI in the…
Soochna Seva celebrates RTI DaySoochna Seva teams conducted information sharing drive in five districts—Barmer (Rajasthan), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Tehri Garhwal (Uttrakhand), West Champaran (Bihar) and Guna (Madhya Pradesh)— to celebrate the RTI Day (October 12). To create awareness on the RTI Act and educate people about the procedures for obtaining information under the Act, Soochna Seva teams held community meetings, staged street plays and rallies in these districts. Small community meetings were conducted in…
Soochna Seva intervenes to get out-of-order hand-pump repairedThe hand pump of Primary School in Negma village went out-of-order in May. After a few days, the school closed for summer vacations and the hand-pump remain unattended in May-June. After the classes resumed, the lack of potable water disrupted the distribution of Mid-Day Meals and forced students to stay thirsty for hours. Locals, principal of the school, gram panchayat, and the Self Help Group, who looks after the MDM, wrote letters to the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department by no…
Unravelling loopholes in MDMSoochna Seva team visited Rashtriya Prathamik Vidyalya in West Champaran on August 28 this year to encourage teachers and students to address their grievances about the mismanagement in Mid-Day Meal scheme and seek help in improving standards of food served under the scheme. While team was examining the kitchen, teachers at the school told about loopholes of the scheme. They said that the recess time was not sufficient to serve meals. They complained that the teachers had to manage the whole…
Model school students win quiz competition in BedoBedo Gram Panchayat organised a quiz competition for school students at Bedo Bhawan on August 13, 2015. Kisto Kumar Besra, Block Development Officer along with Soochna Seva team, faculty of the schools participated in the competition and other government officials graced the occasion. Students from various schools in the Bedo block—Kasturba Vidyalaya, Project Girls Higher Secondary Schools, Model School, Sishu Vidya Mandir School and State Girls Higher Secondary School—participated in…
Knowledge sharing activity at Soochna Seva Kendra in Pratapnagar on July 29, 2015The information about new government schemes and policies does not reach rural population effectively because of poor geographical conditions and faulty organisational structures and facilities. Therefore, Soochna Seva acts as a channel to fill this gap by imparting necessary guidance about public schemes and services. To achieve this aim, the team conducts regular camps and meetings in remote and vulnerable areas. On July 29, 2015, the Soochna Seva Kendra at Pratapgarh in Tehri Garhwal…
Gram Chopal organised at Jhanjhon Panchayat of Aron blockOn July 16, 2015, a Gram Chopal was organised in the Jhajhon Panchayat of Aron Block, where all the district officials were present_ Mr.Goyal (District C. E. O), Mr. V.N Sharma (Agriculture Officer), Mr. Dangi (B.I.O), Mr. Sani (Horticulture Officer) and Panchayat Secretary. The main focus of the whole event was to list out the BPL beneficiaries and pension beneficiaries in order to submit their applications in the concerned departments. In addition to this a lot of information dissemination…
Primary school of Gunogi village earned their lost roof: Soochna Seva receives accoladesDuring a discussion in a camp organised by Soochna Seva team at Gunogi village in Tehri block on 11th May 2015, the locals expressed their concern about the broken roof of a primary school. They reported that an NGO from Dehradoon began reconstruction of the school’s roof about six months ago and till now the school is roofless. The students of primary school have been sharing their classroom with junior high school students and they are subjected to improper environment for studying.…
People in Patudi villages gets new electric poles and wires.Patudi village in Tehri had been risking their lives for the past 20 years due to live wires hanging from electric poles. The poles are in dilapidated condition and the electric department of the Chamba block never paid attention to these grave issues. The villagers found difficulty while commuting at night and even the distance between the wires and ground is less than the height of an average man. This is dangerous not only for adults but also for cattle as they might get caught while…
Constant monitoring by Soochna Seva brings discipline in Health-centre of Umri.Soochna Seva(SS) team received regular complaints from local people that the health centre at Umri village in Guna district is not functioning properly and being the only hub for medical treatment in nearby villages, it is the lifeline for the people. The team comprehended that the situation is not appropriate so they visited the centre and tried to figure out ways to resolve matters from their end. The claims by locals turned out to be true as the health centre has been facing regular…
“Police-Public Relation Camp” on June8, 2015 by the efforts of Soochna Seva Team in Hesatu, Ranchi.“If you are in trouble, we are there to assist you and request you to approach us when in need”, explained by Shivji Singh, sub-inspector of Hesatu Police Station, in a ‘Police-Public Relation Camp’ organised by Sooochna Seva in Hesatu , Agara block of Ranchi district on June 8, 2015. The camp was planned after the people repeatedly expressed their misconceptions about the police to Sochna Seva Team. “They have assumed wrongly that police will demand money if anyone goes to…
Panel Discussion on “Strengthening Governance and Citizen Engagement Digitally for Last Mile Access and Delivery of Public Schemes Information And Entitlements”The Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) and the Office of the Delegation of the European Union in India has organized a Panel Discussion on “Strengthening Governance and Citizen Engagement Digitally for Last Mile Access and Delivery of Public Schemes Information and Entitlements” on 24th April 2017 in Ranchi, Jharkhand. The Consultation is to identify innovations and best practices regarding access and delivery of information and entitlements keeping in mind the geographical,…
EUROPEAN UNION CSO Meet 2017, Ranchi Jharkhand (25th – 27th April)This year 3 days review meeting has been scheduled in Hotel Maple Wood, Ranchi Jharkhand. The agenda is to discuss the ground issues, achievements, challenges, finance, expected collaboration and sustainability of the 14 projects. The review meeting aimed at sharing updates on the progress of individual partner in terms of results and how services can be strengthen and reach out to the last mile beneficiaries. First day has been commenced with a field visit to the intervention areas of…
Launch of Yojana Banks in West ChamparanInformation as a weapon has a potential to transform lives. With this belief, Soochna Seva Kendra (Information Service Centers) is running digital inclusion activities in West Champaran, Bihar since 2014. The Soochna Seva team key objective is development via information dissemination and digital literacy. The level of overall awareness in India is much better than ever before. People are accessing information about government schemes and initiatives through various digital and non-digital…
Rajasthan State Consultation On ‘Strengthening Access & Delivery of Government Schemes Information & Entitlements in Uttarakhand: Role of Digital Connectivity, Content, Platforms & Solutions’ on 16th of September 2016The State Level Consultation, first of its kind in Rajasthan, seeks to invite different stakeholders from the Government, Civil Society Organisations and others, that are working towards strengthening the access and delivery of government schemes information and citizen entitlement benefits across the State. The consultation seeks to discuss and deliberate on the issues and challenges in access and delivery of information and entitlements keeping in mind the geographical, infrastructural and…
Digital Uttarakhand State Consultation On ‘Strengthening Access & Delivery of Government Schemes Information & Entitlements in Uttarakhand: Role of Digital Connectivity, Content, Platforms & Solutions’ on 26th of August 2016The State Level Consultation, first of its kind in Uttarakhand, seeks to invite different stakeholders from the Government, Civil Society Organisations and others, that are working towards strengthening the access and delivery of government schemes information and citizen entitlement benefits across the State. The consultation seeks to discuss and deliberate on the issues and challenges in access and delivery of information and entitlements keeping in mind the geographical, infrastructural…
Visibility Seminars at Barmer, West champaran, Tehri-Garhwal and Guna districts.District Level Seminars were conducted in Barmer (17th November 2015) Report Tehri-Garhwal (19th October 2015) Report West-champaran (23nd November 2015) Report Guna (27th November 2015) Report Ranchi (16th December 2015) Report ABOUT THE SEMINAR Information is a tool that can help to eradicate the poverty and backwardness and improve the living conditions of women, Schedule Castes and Tribes, minorities and other marginalized groups. Absence of appropriate mechanisms and limited…
ICT integration at Soochna Seva KendrasThe ICT interface was integrated in the centres at Barmer (Rajasthan) on 19th October, Tehri Garhwal (Uttarakhand) on 22nd October, Ranchi (Jharkhand) on 24th October, Guna (Madhya Pradesh) on 27th October and West Champaran (Bihar) on 29th October. The primary objective of the integration is to provide information to the people about all the government schemes irrespective of age groups and categories. This interface will act as a one stop hub of information on schemes and other relative…
Children's day celebrated at Dighiya Panchayat, Ranchiआज सूचना सेवा बेड़ो ब्लाक रांची की टीम के द्वारा दीघिया पंचायत के टेंगरिया गांव में बाल दिवस मनाया गया ,बाल दिवस के अवसर पर खेल कूद प्रतियोगिता का आयोजन किया गया ,बच्चों के लिए 50 मीटर दौड़…
Chief Minister of Uttrakhand praises Soochna Seva VahanOn 40th year of celebrations of Maa Kunjapuri Mela in Narendra Nagar, Chief Minister of Uttrakhand, Mr. Harish Rawat, was invited as Chief Guest in the ceremony. He inaugurated the event and after a speech about development and progress within the area, he inspected the stalls that were set up in the fair. During his stroll across the stalls, he saw Soochna Seva Vahan and after learning about the services provided by Soochna Seva, he praised the team for the work and encouraged to continue the…
Soochna Seva Stall at the award event 'Manthan' on 4th December 2014With the rapid increase in penetration of mobile technology across almost all socio-economic strata around the world, the mobile phone has emerged as the most powerful digital tool for empowerment across the world. This is more so in South Asia, Asia Pacific and other parts of the developing world. Recognising this phenomenon, in 2010 the Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) spun off from its highly successful Manthan Awards a separate award – the mBillionth Award South…
Soochna Seva at E-NGO Challenge award on October 8, 2014.Soochna Seva had set up an information rich stall at eNGO Challenge Award on 4th November 2014 at Indian Habitat Centre. IEC materials such as audios, videos, brochures, batches, and posters were shared with people who visited the stall. The eNGO Challenge is a platform that aspires to create an ecosystem by recognising and honouring NGOs which are using Information Communication Technology (ICT) and digital media tools for good governance and practices that are benefiting societies and…
Consultation workshop organised by Digital Empowerment Foundation on August 11, 2014.The second consultation workshop on ‘Information on Public entitlements and Role of Digital tools for Information dissemination’ was held on August 11, 2014 at Eros Hotel. It was organised by Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF), under the Soochna Seva project supported by the European Union (EU). As, government is trying to bridge the gap of information among local mass by multiple initiatives soochna seva aims to act as a catalyst in order to achieve the objectives. In…
Inception Workshop organised at Vivanta, New Delhi on February 7th, 2015.Inception workshop about “Improving access to information of public schemes in backward districts in India” was held at Vivanta, New Delhi (Golf Links), on February 7th, 2014. This workshop was conducted by Digital Empowerment Foundation in collaboration with European Union. The main objective of the workshop was to enable project implementing agencies to know about each other, partners and key stakeholders. Also, create a supportive and collaborative partnership mode…