IVCS Rural Development Fund

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Rural Development Fund progress report

July 2007 - January 2008 progress so far

• £3,226 to complete construction of the new eye clinic
  
  
• £15 to assist with general running costs of the APK project
  
  
• £162 to subsidise the publication of the April 2008 issue of the academic journal "International Journal of Rural Studies"
  
  
• £150 specified donation to Jafar Pur Junior High School (a new village secondary school set up on the initiative of the local community, with assistance from the APK project)

• £3,990 to start construction of the new eye clinic
  
  
• £412 to cover staff salaries for the new Village Resource Centre for six months (the Village Resource Centre, part of a national initiative, will help villagers to access computer information which is relevant to them, such as land records and information about farming methods)
  
  
• £375 for the annual science fair, a lively and popular participative event which presents science, health and technology issues to school students from the whole of the surrounding area.
  The main attraction of this year's fair (held in October) was a competition between models of science experiments from various schools and colleges. 19 prizes for best models were awarded to teams from eight colleges. Visitors and local newspapers were full of praise for the exhibits and the event.
  
  
• £784 specified donation to Jafar Pur Junior High School (APK staff will meet with the head teacher to decide how best to use this donation)
  
  
• £244 to assist with general running costs of the APK project (maintenance of school and college buildings and vehicles, running costs of electricity generator)
  
  
• £162 to subsidise the publication of the October 2007 issue of the academic journal "International Journal of Rural Studies"

July 2006 - June 2007 report

Rural Development Fund bank account

Balance of RDF at June 2006: £4,490.84

Transfers into RDF account during year: £6,473.50 (of which £4,215 was earmarked for the Health Fund)
Interest during year: £111.13

Transfer to India July 2006: £25
Transfer to India January 2007: £500

Balance of RDF at June 2007: £10,602.67 (of which £4,215 is earmarked for the Health Fund)

The money transferred to India was used as follows:

• £25 for drawing plans of the proposed health clinic
  
  
• £500 for training and workshops for NGOs in Bihar relating to two important new laws (of this, £137.50 was spent during 2006-7, and £362.50 has been carried over into the next accounting year):-
  
  India has recently enacted two important new laws which have the potential to improve the lot of poor people: the Right to Information Act and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The intention is to improve transparency in official dealings and provide work for the poorest section of society. However, those who work among the poor and especially the rural poor are already finding that the implementation of these acts is far from trouble-free. Already, people are finding their paths to information blocked by un-co-operative officials and those entitled to employment are being pushed to the bottom of the queue in favour of others who are not in fact eligible for the scheme but have sufficient funds to grease the palms of those in charge of implementing it.
  
  At a recent meeting, a group of small NGOs (local Indian charities) in the state of Bihar shared their concerns with representatives from our partner project, who agreed to support them. The funds will be used to enable training to take place in five different zones in Bihar so that NGO workers will be able to advise people of their rights and help them to follow the necessary steps to ensure that they get those rights.

In addition, funds already held in India (carried over from the previous year's transfers) were spent as follows:-

• the remaining £325.30 carried forward from 2004-5 was spent on training sessions for local NGO workers to help them make the best use of the new Right to Information Act. The training sessions were held in Bulandshahr district and at APK. Some of the money was also spent on establishing a western U.P. branch of the NGO network "UP Voluntary Action Network". UP is such a huge state that the project director had been keen for some time to form a small branch and that has now been done. It is called PAWAN.
  
• £250.00 of the PGRRM scholarship money (see 2005-6 report) was spent, leaving £305 carried forward to the next accounting year

A further £270 (for another eye camp) was donated direct to the APK project (not through IVCS); this money will be held until the next eye camp can take place

Donations for rural development from the Treasurer's Account

In addition to the above, donations were transferred to India from the IVCS Treasurer's Account as follows:

• £350 donated for an eye camp:
  The camp was held from 7th to 12th May. 293 patients were examined and 19 selected for cataract operations which were carried out in the Community Hospital, Bilari. All other patients were treated in Amarpurkashi and free medicines were provided.
  
• £702 donated to support the APK project generally, and used for maintenance of project buildings and vehicles, hospitality and the science fair (see 2005-6 report for details of why this support is so important)
  
• £169 donated to support the APK project generally, and used for hospitality, and diesel for the generator

For full details of the wide-ranging activities of the APK project in 2006-7, please see the progress report for 2006-7.

July 2005 - June 2006 report

Rural Development Fund bank account

Balance of RDF at July 2005: £4520.66

Income during year: £645
Interest during year: £80.18

Transfer to India January 2006: £755
There was no transfer to India in July 2005

Balance of RDF at June 2006: £4490.84

In addition, £580 already held in India (remaining from the previous year's transfer) was carried over into this accounting year. Of this, £254.95 was used for a training session for NGOs (see below), leaving a balance of £325.30 carried forward to 2006-7.

The money transferred to India was used as follows:

• £555 for scholarships (4 x Rs 10,000 each) to allow 4 graduate students of limited means to enrol on PGRRM course (a post-graduate diploma course in rural development and rural resource management). This course, which involves hands-on social work, equips students with both the theoretical and the practical skills they need to be effective workers in local development charities. The scholarship money will be held in the project account until suitable applicants are found.
  
  
• £200 was donated to another organisation, which runs self-help groups in Orissa:
  In November 2005, the IVCS General Secretary and Field Director visited some of the Self-Help Groups set up by Prados Pati, one of the B.Ed. lecturers at Gramodaya College, Amarpurkashi. Most of the groups consisted of women and all were situated in villages. "We were struck by the poverty that made Uttar Pradesh look quite well off in comparison and also by the cleanliness we found everywhere. There was no litter of any kind. The village lanes were spotless, as were the homes. One village where tribal families lived, had successfully taken on a sanitation project and used proper toilets instead of the nearby fields. The astonishing thing about this was that they maintained the toilets themselves and shared them with other families. We were also impressed by the training in local arts and crafts that we saw being given to women who would then go on to make and sell a range of products in the nearby towns."
  
  
• £254.95 was used to run a training session for other less-experienced NGOs (small grass-roots charitable organisations run by local people within India).
  The IVCS General Secretary explains the reasons for this training as follows: "Many people who work for NGOs in western UP do not understand the philosophy or aims of NGOs and often have inappropriate aspirations. These workers are based in rural areas and are potentially important agents for change so it is vital that they have a genuine understanding of this kind of work. The training was given in the form of a two-day residential workshop with a mix of lectures, discussions and question-answer sessions. Afterwards, trainees felt more confident about running their organisations and able to draw up programmes for action in their own areas. They also formally joined the network for western UP NGOs."

Donations for rural development from the Treasurer's Account

In addition to the above, donations were transferred to India from the IVCS Treasurer's Account as follows:

• £201 donated for an eye camp held earlier, in February 2005
• £300 donated for an eye camp held in November 2005; a very moving article about this particular eye camp can be found here
• £200 to subsidise the publication of the academic journal "International Journal of Rural Studies"
• £630 donated specifically to allow the PGRRM course to be advertised more widely
• £1922 donated to support the APK project generally, and principally used in the following areas:
  • maintenance of buildings and project campus (schools, clinic, degree college, office, garden) and elecricity generator (Even for those project activities funded by government grants, there is no allowance for building costs, so this assistance is much appreciated)
  • cost of running the project jeep (which is used as an ambulance for clinic emergencies and during eye camps, and for project business during the rest of the year)
  • annual science fair, a lively and popular participative event which presents science, health and technology issues to school students from the whole of the surrounding area
  • transport and travel costs of project staff
  • hospitality (to facilitate networking with like-minded individuals and NGOs) and public relations

For full details of the wide-ranging activities of the APK project in 2005-6, please see the progress report for 2005-6.

July 2004 - June 2005 report

Rural Development Fund bank account

Balance of RDF at 15 July 2004: £5094.14

Transfer to India : £1205

Balance of RDF at July 2005: £4520.66

The £1205 was transferred to India to fund training for Self Help Groups as described in the web page on the SGSY scheme.: This is for four 4-day residential training courses, each for 50 trainees; the cost per training course is £301.22. (A more detailed cost breakdown is available). All trainees are Self Help Group members, below poverty line.

Two of these courses took place during the year (at a total cost of £625), leaving a remainder of £580.25 carried forward to the following year (see report for 2005-6).

Donations for rural development from the Treasurer's Account

In addition to the above, donations were transferred to India from the IVCS Treasurer's Account as follows:

£2,435 was donated to support the APK project generally, and principally used as described under "general donations" for the July 2005 - June 2006 report above.

July 2003 - June 2004 - account opened

Rural Development Fund bank account

The account was opened on 15 July 2003 from donations (£5030) transferred from the treasurer's account.

Interest: ££56.12

Expenditure: None

Balance of RDF at 15 July 2004: £5094.14

Earlier donations