INITIATIVES > CAPACITY BUILDING > AWAKENING A NEW CONSCIOUSNESS
AWAKENING A NEW CONSCIOUSNESS
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Atmashakti is an organisation that has been carrying out various employment initiatives in the tribal districts of Odisha. In 2010, Apeejay Trust supported Atmashakti´s initiative for improving the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) in seven districts of Odisha, with the clear objective of enabling 3 lakh families to be able to benefit from MNREGA.
Our funding support for this initiative helped Atmashakti to quickly implement the programme methodology and realise fast results. In 2010, community outreach workers identified potential beneficiaries under MNREGA and helped organise muster rolls, arrange for issue of job cards and increase job demands. What was significant is that within a year, by 2011, Atmashakti had created capacities and community strength to see a marked improvement in the delivery of MNREGA.
We soon began to witness the positive effects of
Atmashakti´s work, mainly in the way the community
started organising itself and advocating for entitlements.
What was particularly impressive was the way the women
of the area became more aware of MNREGA rules and
demanded shelters and clean water at work sites. We are
delighted to see that Atmashakti´s work is beginning to
create a newfound confidence and a sense of community
and as a result of these successes, we have extended
further funding to the organisation, to enable another 2.5
lakh families to benefit from MNREGA.
