The following activities were conducted during January to March 2009:

A) Nutrition and education support to children of IDPs:
Eight nutrition and education support centers were started for the children, pregnant
women and lactating women in five mandals of Khammam district where
malnourishment was high and children were prone to death. 234 children, 12 pregnant
women and 21 lactating women (total of 267) have been identified and supported
with food and 143 children with education.

Tabular form of the nutrition and education support centers:

B) Medical support:
Not only taking proper steps to ensure the visits of ANMs and other Health Workers to the settlements of IDPs, encouraging the IDPs to visit the local primary health centers for their health needs and pursuing the staff of the government health centers to treat the IDPs as local tribals but also
a) Private Medical Practitioners of respective areas being associated with the project
are visiting habitations of the IDPs and providing treatment with medicines
b) Providing information on108 ambulance services and 104 mobile health services of the state government to the IDPs.
c) Holding training programmes with selective persons to make them as Community
Health Workers, to deal with emergencies and to take the needy persons to government hospitals.
 

 Pics: Health camp and the Visit of District Malaria Officer of Khammam

IDPs treated, during the visits of the private medical practitioners:

• To compile entire data of IDP’s
• To send representations to the relevant government departments with required data
• To collect signatures of eminent persons and the IDPs on the representations to be sent to government
• Also to send all the representations to UNICEF
• To organize all party round table meet in Hyderabad
• To make an appeal to MLA of Bhadrachalam to raise the issue in the forthcoming assembly session

(Entire process and minutes of the meeting is annexed )

D) Training on NREGS to the active youth of displaced tribal on 8 March 2009:
As the project felt need for the training on NREGS, to the active youth of displaced tribal, because in summer, particularly in the absence of agricultural work only chance of livelihood is NREGS, so it was decided to have training on NREGS to the youth, that would put efforts to get job cards. If at all it is found that the concerned authority is reluctant, to approach the court of law, as the Act prescribed that an adult job seeker shall be provided 100 days of work in a year, particularly in off-seasons.
Mr. P.S. Ajay Kumar and Mr. Prakash, field assistant, NREGS programme have attended as Resource persons to the training. 40 displaced tribal youth residing in various settlements of Khammam district have attended to the programme.
Key areas were discussed in the training:

Salient features of the NREGA

• Procedure to apply for the job card by a job seeker
• Identification of a work in Grama Sabha and how the applications are submitted before the relevant authorities
• Entry of muster rolls and calculation of wages and procedure of getting wage
• Facilities being offered to women and PWD at the work place, travel and other facilities as the act prescribed

Methods of participatory and group discussions were held through out the training programme.

 Pic: A Displaced woman before the Media on the day of returning back 

Preparatory meeting:
Initially, a meeting with the IDPs, willing to go back to their native places was held at the
office of ASDS, on 5 March 2009, representatives of around 58 families of Lingagiri
village attended to the meeting and expressed their wish to return home to start collecting forest produce as it is peak season for the collection of forest produce and right time to prepare their fallow lands for the cultivation for the next season.
Mr. Kopa Kunjam and Chabbilal of VCA, Dantewada were present at the meeting to inform the tribal what is going on in Chhattisgarh now, experiences of Nendra and what precautions must be taken, after back home.
Discussions were held on filing claims for compensation, intimating District Collector and SP of Bijapur, arrangements of basic needs till they start their own earnings, means of transportation and other arrangements.

Started from Charla:
On 17 March, 64 displaced tribals including 30 men, 27 women, 2 boys and 6 girls from 44 families have left for their native place from Charla of Khammam district.
(Details of the entire process and list of the persons who went back is annexed here )

F) A two days orientation programme for the Active Youth among Displaced Tribal:
A meeting of Internally Displaced Tribals held on 23 and 24 March 2009 at the office of ASDS, Rekhapally to empower them as they protect their rights themselves and would make appeals to the government of Andhra Pradesh, demanding civic amenities being available for the people of Andhra Pradesh by considering them as internally displaced persons as UN guiding principals prescribed.

IDP youth attend  the meet
84(10 women and 74 men) from 24 settlements falls in 6 mandals of Khammam district have attended to the meeting. As the meeting decided, a committee of IDPs was formed with 45 members of 24 settlements, and the participants to the meeting came to a consensus and framed the roles and functions of the committee as:
· All the committee members should represent entire people’s grievance and aspirations of their settlements in the meetings
· Keep all the IDPs informed of formation of the committee, decisions held
· Also the committee should inform the other IDPs that the developments and
changes that are taking place at their homeland such as back home programmes, efforts being put by the civil society organizations of Andhra Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh
(Full details of the meeting is annexed)

G) N R E G S extended to the IDPs:
This year IDPs have got NREG job cards, who applied last year. These cards would help
them a lot as the NREG works will be happening large scale in summer. From the IDPs point of view getting some work in summer is very crucial virtually it saves them from starvation.

Job cards have sanctioned to the IDPs in February and March, 2009:

On the team’s enquiry Veka Muttayya shared that he is having two elder brothers and one
younger sister. He has been suffering from fever for the past one month, and was taken to a traditional healer but his treatment did not yield any positive results, his condition started to
deteriorate gradually and blood was coming from the mouth while coughing. It was unable to him to explain his situation to the team.

Then the team enquired the people gathered over there about there livelihood and all. They replied as- they were the villagers of Nendra of Konta tahisil and after they escaped from the Judum’s attack on their village they could reach to Ringala village of Chintoor mandal, where
they have relatives too. And they are of 13 families had taken 5 acres of land on lease for collective cultivation and sharing the crops. As they were facing severe food shortage people are
becoming anemic and getting TB kind of infections. Last year, among them one person died of blood vomiting, when all were subjected to severe starvation. Likewise, now Veka Muttayya had
sickness.

Then the team decided to take him to the area hospital of Bhadrachalam immediately.
Accordingly very next day Mr. Venkatesh of ASDS took him to Bhadrachalam, and after he underwent all the necessary tests, it was confirmed as he got Tuberculosis. And as the doctor prescribed, he was provided all the medicines along with a month’s ration with eggs. Now he is recovering slowly and the project staff also following up the case, regularly.