Salita Devi Majhi

Today was another inspiring day at the WAWCAS program meeting. As usual, I completed my household chores a bit earlier to ensure I reached the designated meeting spot on time, along with the other women. Shortly after, our trainers, Deepak and Binod, arrived and greeted us warmly.

While waiting for everyone to gather, Deepak casually asked a few women, “How have your days been going? Is the training proving useful and effective for you?” This small conversation created a friendly atmosphere, making us feel heard and valued. Once all the participants arrived, Deepak greeted us again and commenced the session by reviewing the highlights of the previous meeting. He emphasized that the purpose of today’s gathering was to analyze our social situations.

At first, the term social situational analysis sounded unfamiliar, leaving many of us confused about its significance. Both trainers patiently addressed our doubts, dispelling the negative thoughts that had surfaced. They explained that this analysis plays a vital role in identifying and addressing challenges such as gender and caste discrimination, socio-economic struggles, and instances of physical and emotional maltreatment targeting women and children. It also encompasses issues like poor sanitation and resource mismanagement in our localities.

Deepak had meticulously prepared questions on five key topics of Social Situational Analysis:

1. Women’s Rights and Violence
2. Identifying Local Resources
3. Market Management
4. Cleanliness and Disease Prevention
5. Children’s Rights and Development

He encouraged us to participate without hesitation or fear of judgment from others. He assured us that our answers would remain confidential, fostering a safe space for open discussion. As an example, he prompted us to consider practical issues, such as whether we had registered our children’s births or whether our husbands and children contributed to household chores.

Women’s Rights and Violence

The first topic uncovered numerous challenges faced by women in our homes and communities, including:

• Lack of knowledge about women’s rights and violence.
• Limited involvement of women in business and financial transactions.
• Absence of property ownership by women.
• Instances of scolding and physical abuse by husbands.
• Discrimination based on caste and gender.
• Lack of prenatal checkups during pregnancy.
• Women being unidentified by their own names within their communities.

Identifying Local Resources

Next, we discussed the hurdles in accessing local resources:

• Limited awareness of available resources.
• Delayed access to medicines from healthcare providers.
• Irregular classes in schools.
• Delayed distribution of seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides by local governance.

Market Management

While market-related challenges were fewer, some women highlighted issues like the long distance to markets and veterinary services.

Cleanliness and Disease Prevention

This topic revealed problems affecting personal and community health:

• Poor personal hygiene and dirty clothing for women and children.
• Unclean surroundings, including water taps and kitchens.
• Lack of awareness about HIV/AIDS.

Children’s Rights and Development

Under this topic, we identified pressing issues:

• Many children’s births remain unregistered.
• Irregular school attendance.
• Gender-based educational disparities, with boys attending private schools and girls sent to government schools.
• Lack of involvement in child groups or clubs.
• Insufficient knowledge about child malnutrition and balanced diets.
• Cooking meals without considering children’s preferences.
• Scolding, beating, and forcing children to work as laborers.

After collecting these issues, we moved on to creating change indicators—prioritizing problems and setting timelines to address them effectively.

Addressing Violence

A significant part of the discussion focused on the social, mental, physical, and economic violence experienced by women, children, and even men. Alcohol abuse by men emerged as a primary cause of such violence. Initially, many women were hesitant to share their problems, but the trainers’ efforts to foster a friendly environment encouraged us to open up.

Deepak assured us that these concerns would be further addressed in IBT (Intensive Business Training).

A Promise for Change

Today’s meeting was eye-opening. I realized the depth of the issues we face daily but often accept in silence. I made a promise, alongside my fellow women, to shed our shyness and hesitation. Together, we will raise our voices against societal problems, inspiring other women to do the same.

I am deeply grateful to our trainers and the WAWCAS program for organizing such a transformative program.

November 2024

Deepak, our trainer, informed us that today’s meeting would be very different from the previous ones and was crucial for understanding our standing within the community. He emphasized that this knowledge was essential for him to effectively advance the program. Motivated by his words, I completed my household chores, sent my children to school, and made sure to inform all participants to arrive at the meeting venue ahead of the scheduled time. I wanted to ensure everything was ready for Deepak to begin on time.

Shortly after, Deepak arrived at the meeting venue with another trainer. They greeted us warmly and started the session by reviewing what we had learned and achieved in our previous meeting. It felt great to revisit our progress together.

After the review, Deepak introduced the concept of Well-Being Ranking or Economic Status Ranking (ESR) for the day. He asked us what we thought it meant. Although we had no prior knowledge of it, we shared our thoughts. He patiently listened and jotted them down on newsprint. When we admitted we were unsure about the exact meaning, he explained it to us.

He told us that well-being ranking is a way to classify our economic status into four categories: ultra-poor, poor, medium-poor, and not-poor. To help us understand, he asked us to define what each of these terms might mean. It was challenging at first, but after some discussion, we managed to describe indicators for each category. For instance:

• People without land, who can’t afford medical treatment, suffer food shortages and have no stable income, are considered poor.
• Those with land, a good economic condition, and the ability to send their children to private schools are seen as not poor.

Deepak then explained how the Government of Nepal defines poverty, breaking it down further:

• Ultra-poor: Those who can only produce 0–3 months’ worth of food from their agricultural land and must rely on daily labor for survival.
• Poor: Those who can produce food for 4–6 months and must work for the rest to make ends meet.
• Medium poor: Those who produce food for 7–9 months but still need additional income for the rest of the year.
• Not poor/rich: Those who can sustain themselves year-round solely from their agricultural produce.

He drew a table with four columns, listing these categories and their indicators. Then, using meta cards with our names already written on them, he asked each of us to place our card in the category where we believed we belonged.

When my name was called, I felt nervous. What would others think? What if I placed my card incorrectly? I took a deep breath, gathered my courage, and pasted my name under the ultra-poor category. Deepak then asked the group if they agreed with my placement. Everyone nodded, acknowledging that it matched my situation—no land for farming, struggling to meet basic needs, and unable to afford private schooling for my children.

One by one, all the women placed their names in the categories they felt fit their circumstances. By the end of the exercise, Deepak announced that 31 women, including me, had been selected for the WAWCAS program.

After the ranking activity, Deepak introduced us to the concept of a Social Map. He explained that creating a social map of our community would help locate the homes of WAWCAS members easily. Many of us were curious why this was necessary, and he explained that it would help us stay connected and support each other.

Although social maps are typically made using locally available materials, we didn’t have enough resources in the community. Thankfully, Deepak had brought materials like markers, pencils, newsletters, and colors. The activity was so engaging and enjoyable that we had fun finding and marking our houses.

That day’s WAWCAS meeting was an incredible experience—both educational and entertaining. It gave us a clearer understanding of our economic status and our place in the community. For me, it was a turning point. I now know I fall into the ultra-poor category, but I have made a promise to myself and to Deepak: I will work hard to move from ultra-poor to not poor in the coming years.

Thank you, Slisha and the WAWCAS program, for bringing such a meaningful initiative to our community. It has given us hope and a vision for a better future.

October 2024

Namaste! My name is Salita Devi Majhi, and I’m a 31-year-old woman from Purni Manaharwa, Ward No. 1, Gujara Municipality. I belong to an ultra-poor Dalit family, and we don’t own land to live on. I live with my husband, four children, brother-in-law, and mother-in-law. My husband works as a laborer, but since it’s hard to find work, our family often struggles to make ends meet. I also work as a seasonal laborer in the agricultural fields to help support my family.

 

Being from a low-caste and poor background, I’ve faced many difficulties since childhood, and I didn’t get a chance to receive an education. But as a mother, I dream of giving my children the education they deserve, so they don’t have to face the same hardships I’ve experienced.

One day, while working in the fields, I overheard a conversation about a program called WAWCAS. I was too tired at the time to pay attention, but later, Gagdev Majhi approached me and told me that an organization named Slisha was coming to help our community, and there would be a meeting on August 31, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. Curious, I started asking my friends, and we were all ready to attend.

On the meeting day, 34 of us from the village gathered, and four representatives from Slisha came to introduce the WAWCAS program. At first, I was hesitant, thinking it might be another finance institute or cooperative, as we’ve heard so many negative stories about those. But I decided to attend the next Information Sharing Meeting (ISM) on September 2, 2024, to learn more.

At the second meeting, they explained everything clearly, from how members are selected to the various trainings such as, livestock training, the seven-day training, Issue Based Training (IBT) and Business trainings, child groups, and the work with LNGOs. I was so impressed! It completely changed my perspective of the program. I realized that this initiative was truly meant to help people like me.

It was a dream come true to be a part of something so impactful, and I felt deeply grateful to Slisha for bringing such a valuable program to our village. I cannot express how happy and hopeful I am now, knowing that there is real support for people like us.

 

Dear Readers,

Namaskar,

I am Deepak Shah, and having grown up in Slisha’s home, I feel like I am working in my own home. After completing three months of training in Kathmandu and working closely with senior LPLs, I am filled with happiness and gratitude.

I am currently writing the story of Salita Devi, capturing the ups and downs of her journey. I am confident that I will learn a great deal during this process, and I hope you will enjoy reading her story.

Warm regards,
Deepak Shah
LPL, Rautahat