Concerns Universe Foundation

CONCERNS UNIVERSE FOUNDATION

ANNUAL REPORT  April 2010 – March 2011

Address: #4, Patel Hanumantha Rayappa Layout, Byrathi Cross, Doddagubbi post, Bangalore-562149

Telephone/ fax: 080-25475027, 09886720448

Email: l_chitra@rediffmail.com & concernsu@hotmail.com

INTRODUCTION

In our country, all that an average human being aspires for is nothing more than economic independence and social dignity. With the population bursting every effort employed by the government does not reach people for the better, so non-government voluntary agencies play a vital role. In this context, Concerns Universe Foundation comes with its strong commitment to contribute for the cause of the marginalised in the city of Bangalore. CUF was founded in the year 2001 and it attempts to identify and fill in the critical gaps to empower the disadvantaged and thus enable them to emerge economically independent and socially dignified.

VISION:

To build a new social order founded on equality, justice and peace where all people will have equal opportunities to optimise their potentials and emerge economically independent and socially dignified duly dispelling the disparities of caste, class and gender.

MISSION:

To realise the above vision, CUF commits to embark on the mission of enhancing the knowledge and skills of those less endowed; whereby they get empowered to avail their rightful share of power, status and resources.

In doing so, CUF focuses its attention on the pre-school children and their mothers and also young women of the disadvantaged section of the community through structured interventions in the areas of health and sanitation, literacy and education, environment and ecology, skill and employment etc.

PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES:

Overall objectives of this program

To help the Community understand the importance of education and to prepare the children to enter the formal schools and perform better academically.

To prevent as opposed to cure. To work with children and adults to give them the information and education needed to prevent illness and death.

To help women develop outside the domestic environment.

To train the community members in health, nutrition, computers and life skills to make them more independent.

 

Specific objectives of project

Ensure that all the children of preschool age are prepared for formal school.

Support school going children of illiterate parents to perform better academically and prevent school dropouts or failures.

Motivate and educate the community members about preventive health measures and practice home remedies to treat common illnesses and use low cost, nutritious, well-balanced food for their family, educate them on personal health and hygiene and waste disposal practices as well as money management.

Provide appropriate information on educational opportunities, skill training, health facilities and other welfare facilities.

Develop certain skills in women to enable them to become confident to help themselves and help others in their community.

 

AREAS OF OPERATION:

CUF works in 18 pockets of urban slums with 4000 families in Bangalore city and 100 families in a cluster of 3 villages in Chitradurga District.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accountability

Concerns universe foundation is registered under the Deed of Trust on 11.07.2001 in Karnataka.

Concerns Universe Foundation is registered under Act 1961 vide register no.DIT (E)/12A/Vol.I/C-581/W-1/03-04Dtd. 29.04.2003.

All contribution to Concern Universe Foundation is Exempted DIT (E) BLR80G/715/AAAAC1523H/ITO (E)-1/Vol2009-2010.

Income Tax Payment Account number on AAAAC1523H.

Registration under Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976. Registration number 094421129.

THE GOVERNING BOARD:

No.	Name	Age	Gender	Occupation	Position held
1	Mrs. Gnana Chitra	49	Female	Executive Director of CUF	Executive trustee
2	Mrs. Vanita	40	Female	Executive in a Private Company	Treasurer
3	Mrs. Sheila	36	Female	Official of a Private Company	Member trustee

 

Major Accomplishments

CONCERNS PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION: In the past year the CUF team encouraged community parents to enrol their children for pre-school education. Children were taught different concepts including alphabets, numbers, animals, vegetables, fruits, shapes and sessions on safe transport & how to follow basic instruction and inculcate healthy habits such as washing hands, using hand kerchief and regular chapels (footwear). The CUF team found that by encouraging the parents to ensure their children attended regularly, dropouts were minimized and the maximum of children completed the academic year with all children developing better vocabulary &communication skills.

Child Care Children doing warm up activities

 

No.	Name of the centre	Attendance
1	Jeevanahalli	50
2	Janakiram Layout	72
3	Tannery road and Bagalur layout	34
4	Gajendhranagar	30
	Total	186

 

101 children were admitted in formal education in March 2010, 17 migrated  and so education was discontinued. The remaining children will continue with Concerns in the following academic year.

Community Parent Education

 

The CUF team conducted 33 parent education sessions and an average of 24  parents attended in Jeevanahalli, Janakiram layout, St. Alphonsus and Gajendhranagar areas. The sessions were done using methods like discussion, role play, demonstration, songs etc . The common topics  dealt  with were  how to prepare low cost of nutritious food and home remedies for minor ailments like Worms, Family planning, Antenatal diet, HIV/AIDS, Balanced diet, Anaemia, Importance of Preschool, Weaning food, importance of Protein. The importance of child safety and a nutritious diet were emphasized. Topics such as awareness on chicken guinea and swine flu as well as wider ranging health issues were discussed. In addition teachers checked the children lunch boxes to ensure that a nutritious homemade food was sent every day.  The food habits of the family had improved to a large extent by use of raw vegetables and greens (salads) and use of homemade High Protein Mix. They understood that homemade foods are more nutritious, cheaper and good for health. Two of these parents education sessions were conducted by Karnataka State Council for Child Welfare trainee teachers.

Health Care program in Child Care Centre

 

 

 

A full assessment was completed of  the nutritional and medical status of all children .Based on the health status of the child, parents were given nutritional advise along with appropriate referrals in cases of health issues. It was found that 90% of the children showed a marginal increase in both height & weight. All children were given polio and vitamin A drops and de-wormed.

Special programs in Child Care Centre

The children were taught and now have a better understanding of national and cultural events. Nine celebrations, including independence day, Children’s day, Diwali, Christmas and Gandhi Jayanthi took place with the children being given special foods and dressing in colourful costumes. In addition, on the 13^th of February 2011 sports Day was organized for all the children and prizes distributed by community college students. On 26^th January 2011 Concerns celebrated a great 10^th year Anniversary event (Arcana) in St. John’s School auditorium. All concerns beneficiaries participated in dance, drama, songs etc.

 

 

 

STUDY SUPPORT PROGRAMME 

Enrolment of school dropout

During community visits the CUF team metup with 124 families and identified 48 school drop outs and motivated both children and families to continue their education. With regular follow ups this resulted in all 48 going to regular school and being more academically successful along with being better discipline.

 

Free Tuition

Following identification of certain educational needs, appropriate teachers from within the community were found which resulted in better academic achievement and more regular attention at school. The children were coached on good study practices and how to do home work. On the 25^th January 2010 a parents meeting was conducted and all the children were given a school bag, lunch box, water bottle and geometry box from one of our funding agencies.

No.	Community	No of Children benefited from tuition
1	Jeevanahalli	45
2	Janakiramm Layout	55
3	Gajendhra Nagar	30
4	Harihar	80
	Total	210

 

 

Adolescent Educational Support

115 children were sponsored to help identified their educational needs and to motivate them to focus on studies. The CUF team conducted 3 parents and teachers to better understand the economic status and extend support by payment of fees. They then conducted regular follow ups which resulted in better schools attendance and academic achievements.112 successfully completed their academic year with the 3 remaining students migrating away for various reasons.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE

 

 

 

 

 

Students were motivated and enrolled in community college and regular attendance was encouraged. Two trades  in Office Administration and Early childhood Education integrated with work skills, life skills, community health as well as computing and English were taught. The importance of punctuality, time management and organization were addressed. This has lead to the women feeling more independent in both their work and home life. The education they have received has empowered them with dignity and self worth. In 2009 – 2010, 42 women successfully completed the course and this resulted in 29 women gaining employment, 11 women have gone on to higher education, 3 women are now home makers. In 2010-2011, 55 women enrolled in community college and 42 have gone on to complete the course. The rest of  the women did not complete the course due to various reasons such as sickness, family problems and difficulties coping with the language. 23 completed Early Childhood Education and 19 Office Administration. There were 7 instances of women gaining placements before completing the course.

In- service training for CUF team 

44 training programs were conducted for pre-school teachers and community workers. 8 half a day pre-school training session were conducted by pre-school trainer as well as three half- day training sessions given on health. One member of the team attended 4 full days of training on Pre-school management. This has resulted in the CUF team becoming more confident in conducting the program and in developing new methods and techniques.

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Individual contact

The CUF teams have in the last year interacted with 756 new families to build a rapport and gain confidence to enable the families to make use of concerns’ services. 108 families were visited upon to do follow ups on school drop outs. Based on various needs and issues 3028 individual contacts were made. 158 children under 358 have received vitamin A and polio drops.207 pregnant have received antenatal care and 186 new mothers post natal care. 349 parents have been motivated towards immunization. This has resulted in the community being made more aware of the facilities offered and having confidence in concerns to use them.

Visits to Tuberculosis Patients Homes

Concerns have interacted with families impacted by T.B with initial visits given and follow up visits after treatment was completed. 37 patients have benefited from  this and completed treatment. At present 8 patients are continuing their treatment through CUF. However 3 have discontinued due to alcohol problems and 2 unfortunately died due to severe health problems.

Women’s Health Awareness Group

 

Groups were formed by CUF team consisting of 12-16 members. In 463 group awarenes sessions through demonstration, role play, group discussions, debate and case studies, general awareness about health rights and facilities was better understood by the women among the 74 groups in 12 different communities.

 

 

Referral Services

The CUF team has worked towards building a rapport with the community which has lead to the referral services of 944 community members and services including hospitals, schools, training and jobs. 90% of referred members have benefited from using appropriate affordable services.

Women’s Saving Group

 

During this period towards economic self-reliance, 108 community women saved Rs. 2, 14,491/- in local bank, CUF contributed Rs.10, 401/- and total women received Rs.2, 24,892/-This was mainly  used  for their children’s education

Savings distribution April 2010- March 2011

No.	Name of the area	Name of the leader	Account no.	No. of women	Monthly savings	Drawn from Bank	CUF contribution	Total Rs
	Chettiappa front I	Sugunamma	18796	18	3,300	41,027	1,873	42,900
	Chettiappa front II	Swarna	18787	19	3,300	41,027	1,873	42,900
	Krishnappa lane II A	Adhirathamma	13904	9	1,300	16,020	880	16,900
	Krishnappa lane II	Shakuntala	12172	20	3,400	42,293	1,901	44,194
	Chettappa lane II	Prabhavathi	20445	6	600	7,439	359	7,798
	Krishnappa lane II B	Bhujamma	19704	22	2,900	35,812	1,888	37,700
	Krisnnappa lane	Lakshmi Devi	10873	14	2,500	30,873	1627	32,500
			Total	108	17,300	2,14,491	10,401	2,24,892

 

Details of savings 2011-12

No.	Name of the area	Name of the leader	No. of women	Account no.	Date of starting	Monthly savings	Date of maturity
1	Krishnappa lane III	Shakuntala	18	28614	23/7/2010	3,500	23/7/2011
2	Krishnappa lane II B	Bhujamma	18	49167	19.01.2011	2,800	19.01.2012
3	Krishnappa lane IIA	Adhirathamma	13	32130	24.8.2010	1,800	24.8.2011
4	Chettappa lane Front A	Swarna	20	46179	21.12.2010	3,700	21.12.2011
5	Chettappa lane Front BDA block	Cheeniyammal	18	26713	11.6.2010	3.200	11.6.2011
6	Krishnappa lane I A	Venkatamma	10	56398	15.02.2011	1,600	15.02.2012
7	Krishnappa lane I B	Christina	7	61178	17.03.2011	1,000	17.03.2011
					Total	Rs. 17,600

 

 

 

 

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Summer  Camp Computer Classes:

From April 2010– May 2010 during school holidays, 149 children from the community were taught basic computing skills by a teacher and community college students. Skills taught included Microsoft word, Excel, PowerPoint, paint and touch typing. PICTURE

Bhagya lakshmi scheme:

CUF team motivated 350 families to register in Bhagya Lakshmi scheme. 190 families received the bond for Rs. 1, 00, 000/- . The girl child will get this amount when she turns age 18.

CUF team motivated 58 families to register for Ration card and Voter identity card and 45 received it from Karnataka Government.

Computer Classes for Girls community:

Young girls from two communities were taught basic computer skills in a 4 month course.This encouraged them to become more familiar with a range of computer programs. To date 46 girls have completed the course and three have gained positions as office assistants.

Summer camps picture

152 children from Jeevanahalli and Janakiram communities attended a summer camp based on environment.    Various activities were organized focusing on issues of social responsibility and personal impact including protecting and encouraging others to be more aware of their environmental responsibilities. Creative activities were also organised based on the topic and a rally was organized in the local community educating  others by shouting slogans on environment and health. The summer camps helped in identifying school dropouts as well as raising consciousness in the community.

Government T.B program :

In 2010-2011, 6 half a day awareness sessions were conducted by doctors and health visitors from Cox town, Broad way and Robertson road dispensaries of tuberculoses. This lead to a better understanding of the 4 CUF team members attending on treatment and investigation procedures .These inputs are invaluable in both community and child care work. On 18^th March 2011 T. B awareness program was organized for Janakiram community members in  the Community hall. Local Counsellors sponsored snacks and the PA system. Program organized by RNTCP DOTS of Cox Town dispensary, Broad way dispensary, St. John’s and Ambedkar hospital medical team were part of the team.  250 community people participated in the program.

RNTCP DOTS Broad way Dispensary gave certificate for DOTS CENTRE .

DEVELOPING COMMUNITY BASED APPROACH FOR PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF ANAEMIA:  Was initiated in November 2010 by Dr.Michael & Dr.Bhagyaraj.

(All India co-ordinated project) * CW’s identified adolescents and young married women in Janakiram layout.

*Displayed recipe demonstrations on using locally available green leafy vegetables and other iron rich food created awareness about the same for the identified group.

*Anthropometric and biochemical measurements was done and haemoglobin was assessed and were  dewormed .Frequent follow-ups were done to encourage their dietary habits to prevent anaemia. * Contacted 700 families and motivated 650 adolescent girls and married women from Janakiram layout community.

* Enrolled 195 adolescent girls and 114 married women.

*Haemoglobin tests and deworming done for 125 adolescent girls and 62 married women.

*Green leafy vegetables9 live demonstration  sessions done for 175 adolescent girls and married women.* People have better understanding about the causes of anaemia now.

*People understood the importance of utilizing locally available foods to prevent anaemia.

*People started practising better methods of cooking to retain nutrition.

Internship for Karnataka State Council trainees in Child Welfare.

8 trainers of KSCCW partook in 15 days practical teaching over 6 months to improve their teaching skills and practical knowledge on child care. The children of CCC benefited from activities organized by the trainees.

Monitoring visit from Karnataka State Council

Mrs. Theresa and the team from KSCCW visited concerns 15 times to suggest ways to improve the quality of work through evaluation of the program.

Monitoring visit from CIF (Concerns India Foundation)

On the 7^th &20^th of September 2009 Mrs. Fatima (Mumbai) and Mrs. Anitha Mathew visited concerns projects to give suggestions for improvements. Evaluation was conducted to help improve the program and remedial inputs suggested .

CALENDER OF EVENT

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OUR  SINCERE  THANKS TO

Coordinator and volunteers of i-to-i

Concern India Foundation Bangalore

Mrs.Hema Hattangady & Mr. Mukund Bapat team members of Schneider Electrics Pvt. Ltd. Bangalore

Cox town dispensary DOTS centre RNPTC Bangalore

Karnataka State Council for Child Welfare Bangalore

Vathsalya Charitable Trust  Bangalore

Indian Centre for Research and Development of Community Education, Chennai ( ICRDCE))

Living Hope Community Church, the ISLE OF MAN &ASK outreach trust (Action Saves Kids )The ISLE of MAN

HI (Help India ) UK

Network for Social Change UK

National Union of Teachers, Birmingham,UK

Rotary, Manchester breakfast

Rotary, Rams Bottom

St Peter’s Church India fund (Manchester)

Credibility Alliance Mumbai and New Delhi

Indhra Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) New Delhi

Common Purpose team

Committee members of Concerns Community College

 

THE GOVERNING BOARD & ADVISORY COMMITTEE:

STAFF DETAILS

Gender	Paid full time	Paid part time	Paid consultant	Volunteers
Male	0	0	2	0
Female	5	17	5	4

 

Distribution of staff according to salary levels as on March 2011

Paid to staff INR	Male	Female
>5000	0	27
5,000- 10,000	2	2
10,000- 20,000	0	2

 

Issues and Challenges

Most programs planned were implemented.But we had to do more related programs for better impact.The challenges were lack of infrastructure, trainers and discontinuation of trained staff.

Since our programs are in different premises which are away from each other, difficulties are faced in co-ordinating various activities and more timeconsuming.

The interference and nonco-operative nature of land lords of  our rental  buildings to run programs continuously affect our working atmosphere.

Even though there are many challenges, we are encouraged to continue to work and move forward to make some difference in  the life of the underprivileged community.

On 14^th May 2010 Concerns team (Emerson Samuel, G.C and Y.S.) visited B.E.O. officer regarding registration of concerns Child care centre which was an issue related to Annie’s repayment of building advance.

Irregularity of the students of the community college is also a big challenge. This hampers effective training.

CONCLUSION:

The all round year reporting was indeed so eventful that CUF has a sense of satisfaction in achieving its objectives in tune with whatever envisioned on behalf of the communities of its concern. CUF, over the years pledges to continue with its vision driven programs to fulfil its commitment to the disadvantaged communities and thus make a distinct mark and difference.