Aiming to reduce the gap in the well being status between socially excluded groups and the rest of the population, the Department of International Development, the Government of the UK initiated the empowerment program under three following themes: livelihood, health and education. The project is being implemented in 451 villages of 64 Gram Panchayats in the 3 districts of West Bengal, namely Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Murshidabad.

With the objective to help the excluded community to regain their belief and hope, the project intends to aware the community of their rights and of the responsibilities of the duty bearers. The project ensures that the excluded communities are participants in their own development and are included in the decision making processes. One of the major steps towards the fulfillment of the objective is the formation of a strong community organization which will lead the whole process.

“Swadhikar”, a district level confederation of the women CIGs, has been formed under this programme. It is responsible for generating awareness about the discriminations faced by the women from the minority and socially excluded community and act on the issue for a solution. This will ensure the ownership of their rights and sustainability of their initiatives.

The programme mainly focuses on three major areas:

1. Livelihood (ensuring work and land rights)

It helps and ensures the poor families in the rural areas to access the work opportunities under the “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act”, without any discrimination, ensure the right for fair wages, especially for women and raise awareness among the community about the land rights for women.

2. Health

NOSKK put constant effort to ensure the participation of the excluded group into the programmes, like “Janani Suraksha Yojana” (JSY) & “Rastriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY)” in collaboration with the block and district level partners. It also ensures that all the eligible beneficiaries will get the benefit of these schemes.

3. Education

Under this, NOSKK tries to ensure to bring back the school dropout children into the mainstream and as well as work on ensuring the Midday meals for all school children. Therefore, the organization works closely with the concerned stakeholder at the block & district level.

Specific project outcomes:

•  100% of the target population get work under NREGA and have a Job Card
•  80% women of the target population get access to NREGS
•  70% landless household will get skill building training
•  100% of the eligible targeted women population will get benefit from JSY
•  Increase in female literacy rate up to 80%
•  100% of the eligible target population will be enrolled in RSBY