Witnessing Impact: A Field Trip to Jharkhand

"You'll have to travel to India regularly to understand our programs for poverty alleviation", Sriram V said as he was considering me for Head of Development - Bay Area for The/Nudge Institute - a non-profit working on the mission of poverty-free India, within our lifetime. He probably didn't realize this was a perk for me rather than an ask from me.?

I went on my first field visit last weekend to the state of Jharkhand - one of the states with high poverty density. We planned to spend a full day in different hamlets in Latehar, 3-4 hours from Ranchi, meeting Didis - the women from the ultra poor households that we are working with.?

I was technically excited about this visit, but there was an unease and I couldn't put a finger on what was causing it.?

The field trip

The morning started with a breakfast meeting at Chandwa block with the Community Development Officers - CDOs - our front line workers and their team leaders. We went over the Graduation Approach / Cash plus Care model to enable Didis to come out of extreme poverty with our Economic Inclusion Program (EIP). This 3-year program offers

1. Community-owned selection process to identify the most vulnerable households
2. Cash / asset transfer to kick start diversified livelihoods
3. Intense coaching on livelihood, literacy and life skills
4. Awareness and access to government entitlements available for these vulnerable households

This results in food security, income increase, regular savings and access to formal credit bringing these families out of extreme poverty.

First Pit Stop: Current Program Participants

We first went to Pakri, Chetag Panchayat to meet a current cohort in EIP consisting of?14 Didis from the Parhaiya tribe who have been in the program for 1.5 years (half way mark). The road had forest extending on one side and tiny rickety lanes on the other side that took us closer to the mud houses. Under a huge tree there were plastic sheets and mats neatly laid out, and the Didis were waiting for us. After exchanging "Johaar" (welcome) greetings, we all settled down.? Although I had braced myself for the lack of resources, the starkness left me speechless.

The group warmed up with introductions and one of the lead CDOs started asking questions, helping the Didis to open up and share their journeys.

Power of showing up

Why did you even trust The/Nudge (and our CDO who was their point of contact)??

Sangita Didi was prompt in her response, "First we thought it will be one of those programs that will give us loans and make even my grandkids be indebted to them!" Eerily it felt? like it came from a place of experience.?

But what changed??

"He kept coming every week. He showed up. Then we thought we would hear him out since he was so regular. Once we understood the program, he spoke to our husbands too. And finally we joined the group"

Building trust is easily the best first step anywhere, anytime. But in communities like these it is the only way forward.?

Meet users where they are

Learning the skills for livelihoods is essential. But how do we help Didis effectively when they have no literacy or self confidence??

The CDO visited them every week. After 6 months, Didis in this hamlet had chosen Goatery from the basket of livelihoods. First the CDO spent 30-40 minutes training them as a group - on how to buy goats, how to build a goat shed, how to deworm, vaccinate and castrate among other goat rearing techniques. After that they spent time as a group, the CDO went to each Didi's house for 30 minutes to go over their personal progress. To help them track, they had visual worksheets with the name of the goat with expected timelines of when it would be pregnant / ready for sale and how many goats they could have by the end of 3 years. They also taught them numbers and basic record keeping. The CDO showed how to deposit and withdraw money with bank accounts that they may have under the PM Jan Dhan Yojana.?

This was as much about skills as it was about building their self esteem and aspirations. Doing this patiently with rigorous handholding is crucial for success.?

Progress made

What difference did they notice after they got engaged with The/Nudge & EIP??

"My goats used to die when I tried to rear them on my own and I lost money. Now I know what to do!" Satni Didi exclaimed.

?"We don't have to go to Banaras or Patna to work in brick kilns. Working there was hard and harassment was inevitable." Added Poonam Didi.

Life after graduation

To learn more about what happens once they graduate from EIP after 3 years of intervention, we went to meet Fulmani Didi at Chautag in Kamta Panchayat also from the Parahaiya Tribe. Although she had graduated from The/Nudge program, she eagerly hosted us for an hour, putting off her lunch.?

"At the end of the program, I had multiplied 3 goats to 22 goats. I sold 5 and bought a cow that I gave to my daughter. I also got both my daughters enrolled with The/Nudge in the village they are married to. I have done grains this round for agriculture. I will be planting tomatoes and chillies next season. This year with the savings I will fix the house ceiling and next year, I will buy an auto to create a new source of income." I saw the pride in her CDO's eyes and Manita and Hira Didi had similar stories to share.?

Once the Didis realize they are capable of earning, they find their wings to fly. And this time without any hand holding!?

Where did that leave me?

I came back to my hotel after nearly 14 hours on the field and slotted the keycard and my room got electricity which meant multiple lights, fan, AC, TV, hot water was ready for use. And I remembered Sanchiri Didi's response when I asked her "Do you have electricity?"?

She beamed and said “Yes!”. She pointed to the lone light in the middle of a barren living room. This divide is hard to stomach and that was the unease.?

But I found my peace. Being part of the fundraising team at The/Nudge, we strive to provide a dignified life out of poverty and I have an opportunity to be the bridge creating access between the people in two ends of this wide economic spectrum.?