Profile of the organisation

1. Name of the organisation- Sri Ramanand Saraswati Pustkalaya

2. Registration No./Date/Place of Registration- 1019/93-94/4-1-1994

3. Place of Registration- Azamgarh

4.FCRA No./Date of Issue- II/ 21022/73(169)/ 2005 / ,Reg. No.- 136250046 / ,Date-- 09/ 08 / 05

4.Address-- Sri Ramanand Saraswati Pustkalaya, Jokehara, Azamgarh, 276136

5.Phone Number/Fax Number/E-mail- 09313842044 / srsp1993@gmail.com srsp1993.blogspot.com


6.Name of Responsible Individual ( Name/Designation/Phone Number / E-mail)-Sri Shesh Nath Rai / Secretary / srsp1993@gmail.com


7.Organizational Structure-


7-1. Year of Establishment- 1993-1994


7-2. Nature of the Organization- Social, cultural and educational


7-3. Number of Branches, Field Offices and their location - nil


8.Purpose of Establishment, Vision and/ Mission Statement



Vision:-

SRSP intends to combat two major biases of the Rural India related to cast and gender which may help creation of a just and equitable social order. It is committed to the goal of enabling Rural India to live life of dignity and respect.


Mission:-

SRSP works for the sustainable social and economic empowerment of women and dalits. The focus is on rights based approach through which these marginalized segments of the Rural India are sensitized about the dignity of their human existence. The tools of this endeavor are education, capacity building by skill up gradation, exposure to the laws of the land and international conventions and creative activities like theatre, music, and painting. Efforts are also made to involve these potential groups in such efforts like water conservation, forestry and preservation of oral and written folk traditions which may enrich their life. Special attention is paid to the improvement of their health and hygiene.



9. Main Activities of the Organization-
During more than one decade of its existence SRSP has turned into a prominent cultural centre of the country. Initially started with an aim to promote the culture of book reading, very soon it got involved in many other activities of community development. It took a moderate project of adult literacy with an aim of making every body in the village Jokehara literate and this target was achieved in three years. To sensitise villagers on gender and dalit issues many discourses were organised in which social activists like Teesta Setalwad, Shabana Azmi, Medha Patkar, Asgar Ali Engineer, and Acharya Ram Murti along with the hosting of writers, playwrights, poets, academicians, photographers and film and theatre critics. It was believed that the exposure to such a wide variety of experiences and ideas, the youth of Jokehara and its neighbouring villages would be able to come out of their caste and gender constraints.



Jokehara and the villages around it are like any other village of eastern Uttar Pradesh where caste and gender lines are very pronounced. SRSP, since its inception, has tried to mobilise the marginalised sections, specially women and dalits, against the social odds. It was not at all an easy task.. SRSP, had adopted a strategy to motivate dalits to challenge the system which denied them dignity and equality without provoking and inviting hostilities from the upper castes. SRSP had appointed a chamar, lowest in the caste system, as librarian. Initially this led to very strange situations. For example the librarian would not sit before an upper caste reader or an upper caste reader may find it humiliating to ask the librarian to help him in searching a book. During functions when their were visitors from outside the librarian would feel hesitant in sitting with them at the dining table and even if he sat, there was always a posibility that he would be ridiculed by an upper caste person. Gradually the situation changed and the dalit librarian was accepted as equal.


9. a. Theatre Brings Perceptible Changes In The Life Of Women

Social change through cultural interventions and theatrical activities helped a lot in bringing a perceptible change in the situation. The beginning was not a conscious effort. National School of Drama, New Delhi organised its first training cum production workshop in December 2003 at SRSP. Initially everyone was sceptical about the response of women to the workshop but to everybody's surprise large number of girls participated in the camp. For them it was like freedom from mundane, routine chores of a male dominated family life where they had very little elbow space for joy and creativity. It was another departure from the caste guided behavioural pattern. Boys and girls of different castes used to spend the whole day together singing, dancing and rehearsing. Initially there was a mental barrier among them but slowly and unknowingly it disappeared and they started to share their midday meal as well. The first theatre camp changed many things in the life of village Jokehara. Women started visiting library in more numbers. There was a perceptible change in the confidence level and they started participating more freely in the discussions organised by the library. Since then many theatre camps with the support of National School Of Drama, New Delhi, Bhartendu Natya Academy, Lucknow and North Central Zone Cultural Centre, Allahabad have been organised and it has further cemented the process.



9. b. Empowerment Through Income Generating Programmes


SRSP is actively engaged in economic empowerment of local community and developing their income-generation capacity. It is running two centres under the Community Polytechnic Scheme of government of India. One centre is imparting training in typing and shorthand and the other is engaged in stitching and embroidery. The objective of the programme is to make local young boys and girls learn vocational skills and become self dependent. These vocational courses have helped villagers, especially women and dalits, in developing their confidence. The library is also running a computer training centre. The organisation believes that a good number of these trainees will soon be able to start their own enterprises.



The organisation had successfully run a project of rearing honeybee which was supported by CAPART. Under this programme 50 economically backward farmers have been given honey boxes with other accessories. The organisation has given them training and provides them with regular support. The project is expected to give them a regular and sustainable source of livelihood. With the completion of this project , more beneficiaries are expected to be covered under this programme and the project may be replicated in other areas.
At present SRSP is running a training course for motorcycle and scooter mechanics.30 young boys , mostly from the marginalised sections are enrolled in the programme. Nehru Yuva Kendra, New Delhi is supporting it.
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is supporting SRSP in its endeavour to organise grass root women self help groups. Many such groups have been organised so far which are not only sensitising their members about their rights and dignity as a person but also upgrading their skills through various training inputs so that they can earn a decent livelihood. These self help groups have linkages with banks. Efforts are on to develop some of these into small level entrepreneurs.



9. c. Physical Fitness and Sports Activities-

Physical fitness is the strength of any community. SRSP has started a volleyball nursery where about 80 boys of different age groups are learning the game under the watchful eyes of a trained coach. SRSP has also established a gymnasium which provides the youth of the area an opportunity to exercise and maintain their physical fitness.



9. d. Our Partners-

Over the years SRSP has not only diversified its activities, it has also established fruitful relationships with institution/organisations like National Book Trust, National School of Drama, Sahitya Academy, Ministry of Culture-Government Of India, North Central Zone Cultural Centre, CAPART, Raja Ram Mohan Roy Library Trust, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare - Govt of India, Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India, Nehru Yuva Kendra, OXFAM and NABARD.

The year 2007-08 has been quite spectacular for the organisation as lots of activities ranging from health care , women empowerment, capacity building and income generation to cultural mobilization kept the young and energetic team of the library busy through out the year. Following is the summary of activities-



Activities related to health and cleanliness :



Two retired CMOs of U.P.PMS , Dr. R.A.Mishra and Dr. Raja Ram provided free medical services to the villagers of the adjoining villages. Every month one of them visited the organisation , stayed there for two/three days and checked needy patients. Their visit proved of immense value to the poor people.



The organisation carried on the RCH programme in the Badrao Block of Mau district. More than five thousand families of the block were covered in this programme.Specially the children from 0-6 and young mothers were benifitted.Villages were sensitised on issues like immunization and nutritious food to the pregnant and children.



Regular awareness programmes were organised on AIDS. Volunteers from the organisation went to the near by Dhabas and tried to educate truckers on issues related to AIDS. Poster and painting competitions were organised for the school children.





Activities related to skill up gradation and income generation :



The computer center run by the organisation expanded its activities both in terms of quantity and quality. Four more computers were acquired this year and average strength of the classes remained more than fifty. Similarly the typing training facility attracted large no of boys and girls of adjoining areas. Local women took full advantage of the sewing and tailoring training center where new machines were added this year. An old car was donated by a well wisher this year and with this the organisation started a motor driving school where local boys are learning motor driving at a very nominal fees. Another spectacular achievement was tie up with two prestigious institutions for skill up gradation and income generation. School of Management and Retail Training (SMART) Varanasi entered into a formal agreement with SRSP and have started imparting training in the field of retail trading. It is expected that after completing training these boys and girls will find suitable placements in the fast increasing retail sector. Kala Gao , a well known center of ethnic art and craftsmanship in Lucknow , has trained and given designs to the women attached with our sewing center and has promised to market their produce. Results are awaited.





Cultural activities through out the year:



Whole year witnessed lots of activities in this area. More than seven hundred new books were added this year. With the financial support of Raja Ram Mohan Roy Library Trust Kolkata, a new wing for the children was opened. A two days national discourse on life and works of great Hindi poetess Mahadevi Verma was organised with the support of Sahitya Academy New Delhi on 27 and 28th 0f January 2007.A large number of writers and critics participated in it. A painting workshop was organised from18 to 25th of June. More than 30 boys and girls participated in this residential camp and learnt various aspects of painting. Three days workshop of writers for children was organised by National Book Trust, New Delhi from 29 to 31st of July 2, 2008 in which children's writers from all over the country participate , deliberated and interacted with child readers. A second workshop of the year on painting was again organised from 26 to 31st of December 2007 which again attracted large number of young participants and was a huge success.





Theatre, like previous years, was an activity which lasted the whole year. The drama repertory of the Library was invited by Pash Pustkalaya Karnal, Haryana and they performed in various district headquarters of Haryana. Bhartendu Natya Academy , Lucknow organised a theatre workshop from 20th May to 20th June 2007. 37 boys and girls from Azamgarh, Mau, Ghazipur. Jaunpur and Sultan participated in this residential production cum training workshop. The second theatre workshop was organised by National School of Drama, New Delhi, 20th December 2007 to 20th January 2008.Again it was a huge success and 43 participants from adjoining districts participated in it.



Sponsered by Sahitya Academy, New Delhi,a two days' seminar was organised on the occasion of birth centenary of the great Hindi writer Hazari Prasad Dwivedi on 29th and 30th of December. Large number of writers ,teachers and admirers of Hazari Prasad Dwivedi participated in it.


Other activities:



Throughout the year the organisation tried to sensitise the villagers on such issues like environment. water conservation, organic farming ,.Panchayati Raj ,RTI, Domestic Violence Act and NAREGA. Seminars, discussions and poster exhibitions supported by Nukkad Nataks were organised.The physical fitness programmes with the help of Volley Ball nursery run by the organisation continued the whole year.