SAHAJ- Society for Health Alternatives

Context

For the last five years, SAHAJ has worked with the urban poor on issues of comprehensive women’s health (including what we call ‘social health’ - promoting peace and harmony between communities who have been instigated by the state/ political parties to be at war with each other), and claiming entitlements through rights based approaches. SAHAJ’s mandate calls for engagement in community monitoring for social accountability.
Website
www.sahaj.org.in
Area of Work
Gujarat (India)
Contact Person
Renu Khanna

Approaches to implementing Community monitoring/ accountability

The approach is based on the following actions:
  • Conduct mass meetings in the bastis/slums (sometimes 3 or 4) to find out what the burning issues are.
  • Ask people whether they are willing to come together to solve these issues.  Ask whether they are willing to form an action committee, what could be the criteria for selection of the action committee members. Identify with them who from amongst them could be members of the action committee.
  • Engage in capacity building exercises – inform them of their entitlements, legal standards etc. Undertake skills development for data collection, documentation, writing applications, dialogue and negotiation with duty bearers.
  • The above is an ongoing process interspersed with specific civic actions for rights claiming.

Results and Lessons

  • Community monitoring has certainly awakened local slum dwellers and tried to normalize the idea of proactive action for entitlements. Especially the youth have been charged with a new energy.
  • The media coverage that a local campaign against a corrupt Public Distribution System depot holder, resulted in statewide impact. Citizens’ groups in distant districts of the state launched similar campaigns. After reading the press coverage the State department in charge of the PDS, carried out raids against other corrupt PDS depot holders.
  • Citizens groups have built better relations with public institutions just by engaging with them.
  • Providers and administrators are getting used to the idea that collectives of ordinary people can approach them with solutions and suggestions and not just complaints.