9.
SEWA ACADEMY
9.1 INTRODUCTION
Developing
women’s strengths & abilities, facilitating their exposure
to new information, knowledge & skills and stimulating
their growth & leadership have been main concerns of
SEWA. Capacity development of SEWA members has always been
an integral part of SEWA activity since its inception. In
order to further the SEWA movement among the members, the
SEWA Academy
was formally registered in the year 1991.
SEWA Academy is the focal point of SEWA’s each training and capacity building effort. In a very
basic sense, SEWA
Academy
functions as ‘University’, providing our members their first
introduction to a formal learning environment. It is also
known as the “training center”
for the poor self-employed women. SEWA
Academy
plays an important role in furthering the SEWA movement
among the women. In a grassroots movement like SEWA’s,
leadership must blossom from below so that the organization
can remain dynamic, effective, and unified. To evoke and
inspire such grassroots’ leadership, education is fundamental.
Besides education and capacity building, it is also important
to understand the life and work of self-employed woman and
carry that understanding to the women themselves as well
as to policy makers, activists, academics, and the general
public.
The following are the major activities: member education;
orientation training of resource persons on SEWA’s
principles, strategies and approaches; media resource development;
and research at field level to feed into and update the
training activities.
9.2 MAJOR ACTIVITIES
Given this background, the activities undertaken by
the Academy are as follows.
- TRAINING
- LITERACY
- RESEARCH
- COMMUNICATION
9.2.1 TRAINING
Our training programs help to develop women’s self-esteem,
confidence and leadership skills. These training programs
help to take further the SEWA movement. These trainings
help to develop the local women’s self esteem, confidence
and leadership. SEWA believes in participatory training
and has developed a cadre of barefoot trainers from its
members. These barefoot trainers impart trainings to other
members. Different tools such as audio-visual equipments,
games, posters, group discussions, role-play and field visits
are used to impart these trainings.
The training programs conducted for the members fall
in two main area viz. a) vocational trainings and (b) capacity
building trainings. Different topics covered under the training
programs are SEWA ideology, objectives, values, importance
of organizational strength, economy, the importance of literacy
and research. Details of different training programs conducted
during the year are given below.
Various
Trainings Conducted During the Year
| Sr. No. |
Name Of The Training |
No. Of Trainings |
No. Of Trainees |
| 1 |
Members’ Education |
1 |
37 |
| 2 |
SEWA Movement |
69 |
1,756 |
| 3 |
Orientation to SEWA |
4 |
97 |
| 4 |
Organisation |
4 |
158 |
| 5 |
Kadam |
8 |
149 |
| 6 |
Training To Trainers |
2 |
57 |
| 7 |
SEWA Bharat |
3 |
69 |
| 8 |
S.G.S.Y training (Organisation training) |
14 |
284 |
| 9 |
S.G.S.Y training (Leadership training) |
13 |
266 |
Other Activities :
Conducted Training with SEWA Lucknow.
Given Training process information
to Kaori Honda – research student from Japan, who spend his one month at
Academy. In that he was taken face to face interview of
training women who came in training. Also he was taken interview
of spearhead team,
Banksathi, old bank members.
Prepare ‘sangathan’
training module.
9.2.2 LITERACY
SEWA’s members are women. They are poor, self-employed and
illiterate too. On demand of these members, SEWA had started
literacy classes in the year 1992. The classes are organised
in the members’ own locality. The curriculum and methodology
for literacy classes is designed based on SEWA’s focus.
In year 2004 as per the collected data, Ahmedabad city and villages have in all 93 divisions working
with 1395 women. During the year, a special programme under
ICT - computer literacy for adolescent girls was initiated
at the demand of our literacy. The objective of this course
was to provide the members’ daughters with skills for future
employment generation, as well as equip them to help the
existing business of their parents with this they are learn
primary English language which is useful in their daily
life and easy to understand computer and their commands.
In Computer literacy they learned MS-Office Package and
how to use internet. 70 girls participated in the 6-month
training programme.
9.2.3 RESEARCH
The
research team of SEWA
Academy undertakes action oriented research
with a unique grass roots perspective utilizing scientific
based research tools, so as to bring SEWA members in the
main stream of the world.
The research team serves as a link between policy
makers, government officials and our members.
Activities
undertaken in the year 2004
-
In year 2004
SEWA
Academy’s researchers went to research
institutes of Mumbai and Pune,
which led to their development.
-
Researchers
of SEWA
Academy increased the usage of S.P.S.S
software.
-
Presentation
of study on Akashganga was made
at Youth Festival organised in Delhi.
-
Final Presentation
of study on Garment with N.C.A.E.R. -Delhi
and SEWA Academy
researchers at Delhi.
-
Research methodology
training taken from Yashda, Pune, the training was given by N.I.R.D. institute, Hyderabad.
-
Total Research
– 26
Reports
Prepared by research Team - 15
Research
ongoing - 11
Some of the completed Research Studies :-
à
SEWA @ Thirty
à
Reforming the
Poor (Agriculture, Construction, Gum Collector)
à
Study of Child
Care
à
Our Body our
Life: Part-2
-
Profiles prepared
by Research Division – 9
-
Proposals prepared
by Research Division – 14
-
Write-ups prepared
by Research Division – 10
9.2.4 COMMUNICATION
The
struggle and achievements of the poor self-employed women
are communicated with the help of print and electronic media.
Following
are the major media resources:
a)
Ansooya
Ansooya is fortnightly news letter for SEWA members. Different
stories of the members are published in this newsletter
and the issues of the women are taken to the macro level.
| Annual Members |
Distributed
at welfare centre |
Lifetime
Members |
Complimentary
|
Total |
| 1,485 |
311 |
1,086 |
160 |
3,042 |
Through
‘Ansooya Feature Service’ this year two article published
“Cancer atle Cancel
nahi pan kem
nahi sir” – Jayhind, Rakheval, Mumbai Samachar.
“Kagal mathi kanchan melvata behno” – Jayhind, Rakheval, ‘Avaj Sachaino’.
b)
Akashganga
Akashganga
magazine is published every month in order to ensure holistic
development of the adolescent girls. This magazine contains
different information on health, puzzles, poems, history,
science, stories and quizzes. The girls also contribute
their own stories, poems and other information.
| Year |
Published |
Sold
per month |
Complimentary |
Total
per month |
| 2004 |
12 Periodicals |
1,475 |
40 |
1,515 |
c)
Video
SEWA
Video SEWA is an audio-visual tool, which effectively
takes the issues of the poor women at the national and international
level. With the use of latest technology this medium has
proved to be very effective.
Activities undertaken by Video SEWA in the current
year are listed below.
| Activity |
Units |
Viewers |
| Replays |
398 |
16,046 |
| Duplication |
673 |
|
| Logging |
221 |
|
| Edit |
20 |
|
At
National Level - Shooting
At Mumbai IT
Users Award function.
At Delhi One World Mission " 2007 Future Plan" Workshop.
SEWA's Movment Traning
|