Success stories like a village achieving 100% electrification by fighting bribes, and 50% of hungry children improving in malnutrition grades with help of ragi program, and introducing the haybox, an innovative way to cook rice that saves fuel and time, and at Rs 70 is one the few products that can be made and sold in a village!  Latest from Srikakulam district:  View html   |  Download report

Related Report:  Key observations of NREGA in AP.

Report of Srikakulam Integrated Development Project
AID India, Srikakulam, March 2009

Introduction

    Our effort in Srikakulam district is unique for AID India in that we attempt to tackle multiple issues, gaining insight into integrated and sustainable development in a geographic area of about 30 villages located in Santakavita, Ponduru and G. Sigadam mandals.

    What started during 2000 – 2004 with women's groups, children's libraries, and income generation had by 2007 grown to encompass malnutrition , kitchen gardens , livelihoods and electricity .  In 2008 tools such as the Right to Information (RTI) and programs such as National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREGA), campaign against corruption in anganwadi services have also come into focus, and more people in these mandals are asserting their rights using these tools and joining these campaigns.

    Across the villages there is growing trust and expectation from AID India.  The strength and success of each initiative in Srikakulam is feeding into the other initiatives here.  The volunteers and workers drawn from the villages have made good progress often times taking up tasks that challenge their own community interests (in the case of those belonging to more privileged communities) or prejudices.

    There are quantifiable markers of progress in each area that we detail in this report, such as  achievement of 100% electrification by fighting bribes (sangharsh) and 50% children improving in malnutrition grades through ragi program (nirman).  The work in Srikakulam underscores the importance of the sangharsh, nirman and seva approach of AID for holistic development.