|
|
|
|
NALAMDANA ANNUAL REPORT
2008-2009
Introduction
Nalamdana, meaning "Are you well?" in Tamil is the name of the non-profit Trust registered in Dec.1993. It is also the name of the dynamic group of people who banded together to create this organization. The core group at Nalamdana are from diverse backgrounds, but came together because of a common passion, for theatre, innovative communication and use of entertainment education to reach under privileged communities in Tamilnadu. They believe that such participatory communication techniques, make complex health and social messages easily understood
Nalamdana's Vision
To create positive social change through communication, for a healthier and better educated society. This is embedded in the belief that access to complete and correct information is a basic right for all communities.
Nalamdana's Mission
To use creative, innovative and entertaining behavior change methods with community participation, to enable target audiences to make better informed decisions about their own health and that of their families.
From the Executive Trustee's desk
The year of 2008-09 has been an eventful and productive period both in terms of work done and new milestones reached. Nalamdana moved into its own office premises in September 2008, after 15 years of working out of rented spaces. This new office apartment in South Chennai was specially designed for Nalamdana by lead architects Messr. Bharath & Associates who have always helped Nalamdana through its years of existance...
In terms of communication projects several key issues focusing in child rights and child protection were covered using many forms of art and entertainment. On the training materials side, Nalamdana has introduced novel video films, flip charts, audio tape and many more new scripts for dramas and role plays.
The team has also become a resource group for theatre training and designing and developing many modules for skills workshops on various topics: from basic health and hygiene, importance of nutrition, child rights/child protection, HIV& AIDS and reproductive health information, sex and sexuality, gender and stigma reduction.
This year saw the further expansion of the Make ART/STOP AIDS (MASA) activities in the Government Hospital for Thoracic Medicine (GHTM), formerly known as the Tambaram T.B. Sanatorium. The monthly role plays and dramas got further strengthened with the daily innovative cable radio "Thendral" further reaching two more new wards and the crowded ART out patient clinic. With strategic planning a 14 day ART message curriculum was developed and with extra impetus from TANSACS (Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society).
Nalamdana has created a host of jingles, special radio plays, announcements etc., which are all relayed for the 14 days that an HIV positive patient receiving Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) stays in the wards. This innovative and pioneering project has attracted a lot of national and global attention, being the first of its kind in a Government Hospital setting.
An external evaluation is being done to provide data for dissemination scheduled in Sep.09 which we hope will help in accessing further funding to continue this excellent work beyond the current project duration.
This year saw the completion of the three year "South India Girl Child Initiative" funded by World Education Inc., Boston. This initiative, as the name implies, addressed vulnerable girls in select sites in urban Chennai, empowering them through skills to identify and address their issues of concern. Through 2006 - 2008, Nalamdana has trained over 500 girls per year to reach several thousands of their peers using theatre, dance, music and creating tools like audio tape, flip charts and video short films.
They learned about basic health and hygiene, reproductive health, sexual rights and the importance of nutrition. World Education has continued to fund us in the same area of work under a new three year project to be launched in 2009, titled "Using Media to reach Adolescent Girls" (UMA) which will explore innovative use of participatory communication to deliver "life skills" and reproductive health education to target girls.
Information - Education - Communication Materials created under different projects included a Community Video experiment through an adolescent girls group. Two short video films were made by them on issues they care deeply about- gender discrimination and right to education. (See details under respective project report section) Nalamdana's training tool kit has been further strengthened with a new audio tape of songs by girls for girls, which got released at a colourful function in July 2008.
A video film on Alcoholism and Suicide was produced and got screened at a preview theatre in October 2008 at a special event with the founding trustee of Nalamdana joining us to release the previous year's annual report.
One flip chart on reproductive health, with focus on girl's puberty was done by children for their peers. It wast shared in a special IEC workshop, and later was field tested among children and teacher trainees. This new material is likely to be further developed through 2009-10 under the project UMA.
Pilot Projects Completed: The "Community Health Project" funded by the Deshpande Foundation was a one year pilot project which got completed by March, 2008 and this had paved the way for many activities in one urban slum. This site became the testing ground for many of Nalamdana's pilot interventions through 2008 -2009. Started in the summer of 2008, we embarked on a new pilot project "Safe Child" funded by ArtVenture, Singapore (now called ArtAction). This generated tremendous energy in four school sites and one urban slum. Nalamdana's special drama on Child rights and Child Protection got performed in all sites and also was converted into a digital training film. This is being completed in 2009. The very colorful pilot project report shows the amazing artwork done by these children from Government schools. Copies of this report are available at cost.
Nalamdana's Youth Education and Leadership Program also got very good response and many summer workshops were held for the 35 students being supported by us. We have been compelled to seek fresh donors for them as previous donors have reduced their support through 2008.
I am deeply appreciative of the tremendous work and co-operation extended by the Nalamdana staff team, who take full ownership for planning, execution and reporting of all projects. Their full co-operation with the Board of Trustees and their total commitment to this field of service is something to be truly appreciated in this challenging period of rising costs and dwindling donors.
On behalf of the Nalamdana team and the Board of Trustees I thank our funders and supporters, partners and well wishers for their continued support and faith in our work. I would like to record our sincere gratitude to the Kiawah Trust and Ms. Lynne Smitham for their support to us during the last five years.
We are committed to make a difference. We continue to believe that one small group of committed individuals can make a small but significant change to the world, where it matters most.
Nithya Balaji
Executive trustee
Report on Activities
April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009
Nalamdana's continued commitment
to HIV/AIDS:
Nalamdana has remained committed to this very important public health issue, believing HIV to be another life threatening infection, like many others. This year too, Nalamdana mainstreamed the issue of HIV & AIDS education into life skills sessions for children and college students through various funded programs. We also created more Indian language versions of the training materials already developed by us on this topic with the original grant from Ford Foundation.
The new Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam materials are available against bulk orders for NGOs and CBOs. The Nalamdana "Are You Well?" Program in Hospitals- project: Partners: Gere Foundation India Trust, NALAMDANA, The Govt. Hospital of Thoracic Medicine,Tambaram. Project in charge - R.Jeevanandham, assisted by Core team M.Sampath, P.Oyyavandhan, Nithya Balaji and project team: On site - Loretta Jhona, Bharathiraja, Deepan Chakravorthy & Samuel, Arivalagan and office support, part time actors team, Nalamdana.
Expansion of Nalamdana's
"MAKE ART/STOP AIDS" (MA/SA)
funded programs at the Tambaram Govt. Hospital for Thoracic Medicine (GHTM) was possible thanks to Gere Foundation India Trust, MA/SA parters and individual donations.
Monthly reach through drama, roving performances outside key wards and a totally innovate cable radiothat connects fourteen wards now (280 beds). The radio now also links the children's ward and special A.R.T. out patient clinic where at least 300 people wait to get the free A.R.T. medicines for HIV everyday.
The tremendous participation in the radio and post play discussions by patients, their families, care givers (doctors, nurses, counselors) and students on the campus has created a plan for expansion and scaling up in more centers. To create a model for dissemination, an external evaluation has been done through the summer of 2009 and MA/SA and Nalamdana hope to be able to share the findings soon. A special 14 day curriculum of messaging for A.R.T. was designed and is being implemented.
Nalamdana has been performing some 'role plays' in the Stanley Medical Hospital, funded by TANSACS in 2008 and hope to be able to expand this contact also.
The South India Girl Child Initiative
Funding partner: World Education Inc.,Boston and Hyderabad office of W.Ed.
Project in charge: P.Oyyavandham assisted by Core team of Nalamdana R.Jeevanandham, M.Sampath, Nithya Balaji and project team: Arivalagan, J.Bama, L.Jhona and resource persons. Nalamdana was one the four NGOs selected to design and execute a special communication project using theatre and arts to reach vulnerable girls in urban settings from 2006 to 2008. This three year project was completed by March 2008. The highlights are shared below:
Objective
To identify and reach target vulnerable girls in Chennai through participatory communication and empower them with knowledge and life skills to address issues of their concern.
The three areas of focus were reproductive health issues and HIV/AIDS, stress on importance of education and early nutrition. Strategy adopted was to address all these issues through the Child Rights and Life Cycle approach. Methods used were participatory communication using arts, to enable trained girls become agents of change. Help them reach their peers, and sustain their learning beyond the project period.
Outcome
Target girls in the age group of 12 to 16 years were reached through select schools (direct audience) who received skills. Target girls in the age group of 17 to 18 years were reached through select community colleges
The direct beneficiaries, who received training to reach their peers Total Direct Beneficiaries reached in 3 years of this project = 4065. Indirect Beneficiaries - trained girls in schools and adolescent girls, in college, reached through peer performances and drama. This secondary beneficiaries in three years added up to 12,195 girls.
Audio Tape of Songs Created
Aseema Trust and Nalamdana (Partners on this project from Chennai) released a CD (audio tape of 8 songs) called "KUYILLUM MAYILLUM" meaning "Cuckoo & Peacock" to symbolize the songs created by vulnerable girls.
The audio release function held at the Kalakshetra auditorium was attended by special invitees and over 500 school girl students from different institutions. The audio CD was formally released by the Consul General of the United States of America in Chennai, David T. Hopper and first copy was given to special guest; Ms.Shakuntala Sharma, Secretary, The Children's Garden School in the presence of special invitee Shri. S. P Balasubramaniam, noted playback singer who had also sung one of the songs with the girls as chorus.
Speaking on the occasion the representatives of Aseema Trust, World Education Inc and Nalamdana stressed how this project helped reach vulnerable girls, and how each song was on an important issue, as identified by these young girls. The song and dance tape is being distributed free in local schools and slum communities where both organizations work.
Nithya Balaji of Nalamdana announced that every CD supported with a donation of Rs.50 will help Nalamdana donate Rs.5 of that towards a very special CARE school in Kuchinerla, Andhra Pradesh, where this partner NGO rescues 100 girl children per year from bonded hazardous child labour.
The Safe Child Project
This unique one year pilot project started and completed within 2008-09 addressed Child rights and Child protection.
Partner: ArtAction (Formerly Artventure), Singapore.
Sites: select schools and urban slum areas of Chennai.
Project in charge M.Sampath, assisted by Nalamdana core team: R.Jeevanandham, P.Oyyavandhan, Nithya Balaji. Project team members: Arivalagan, J.Bama and l.Jhona along with special resource persons and Nalamdana drama team.
Objective
To create awareness about Child Rights and Child Safety among target children in urban Chennai, empowering them with information and life skills
Methodology
To use Arts and participatory communication. To engage target children and enable them reach their peers with information on child rights and tips on protection against child sexual abuse.
Outcome
Over 1000 children in the age group of 12 and 15 years reached directly through drama, theatre training, dance and music training. These groups of trained children performed for their peers reaching totally over seven thousand children. Project sites included five schools and four residential communities (city slums). All materials made are being used in other projects through 2009. Field tested drama is being converted into video short film to be released in late 2009.
Digital Training Films
"Maya Changu" (Magic Conch)
Nalamdana decided to create a short film on Child Rights and Child Protection, by converting one of their field tested dramas into a video film. Acted by the Nalamdana group, outdoor shooting was completed by January 2009. Post production work was carried over to 2009 as further funds were sourced to complete this film through 2009.
"Nandavanathil.." (In a perfect garden..)
A special function was held in Nov. 2008, attended by our founding trustee Ms.Uttara Bharath, to screen this Tamil short film on Alcoholism and Suicide, which was scripted, directed, produced by R.Jeevanandham and core team, and acted by Nalamdana. The annual report for 2007-08 was also released by Ms.Bharath at this function.
Capacity Development
Special Theatre training workshops for rural volunteers identified by UNICEF:
This UNICEF funded project in Krishnagiri district, Tamilnadu, from September 2008 to December 2008, was called "Nalam - Nalamariya - aaval". The project was to create awareness about sanitation, water and toilet use, through Nalamdana's dramas, as well as train some of the local youth and volunteers who were already working in the area, to use theatre and create drama's and perform the same over 2009.
NALAMDANA as Trainers
Under the UNICEF WES (Water, Environment and Sanitation) Project; Between October and December2008, Nalamdana trained 83 village volunteers in Theatre, through 10 day long training programmes. (All the trained participants were given certificates)
These volunteers were able to perform street plays and roving plays, (role plays) in real villages by the end of the training program. Nalamdana also staged a special drama on the subject of health and sanitation in 10 villages in Krishnagiri district prior to the theatre training. This helped us reach 4533 village residents with this target message and also helped us recruit promising people for the theatre training.
As a continuation of this project, UNICEF has approved further training to be undertaken in more blocks of this district through 2009, covering more than 80 more village volunteers up to March 2009, which may result in trained teams covering this district, using theatre to improve the sanitation and hygiene practices of residents.
Nalamdana has followed up on this project by planning a "link project" through the rest of 2009, helping eight trained teams to continue to perform in their blocks, monitoring their stage shows and helping them become sustained theatre teams beyond the duration of the training program.
Other Capacity Building Workshops
For MSM groups, women and children happened as part of various projects. Nalamdana trainers also trained differently abled children for World Vision in one urban setting. They undertook special theatre workshops in urban slums, schools, colleges, medical students in hospital setting, and for women's groups.
The Working Holiday Concept
Nalamdana has always welcomed volunteers through our past projects. As described on our website, we had a team of college students from Dartmouth Colege, U.S.A. who visited us during Sep. 2008 and spent around 2 weeks, working with our team in urban areas. This kind of exposure for the college students from abroad has widened not only their exposure, but brought in rich cultural exchanges between our staff team and the visitors. We welcome such planned short stay working stints, through which the students also contributed towards cost of many programs in the field.
NALAMDANA Youth Education and
Leadership Program
Programme Coordinator: M.Sampath, assisted by Core team Nalamdana and special resource persons.
Highlights of this program:
Under this scheme, 35 students per year from localities within Chennai who attend different schools (corporation and private) are selected and supported with fees, uniforms and books through scholarships from Nalamdana. Each year, as the students complete their 12th, a new batch is selected for the next year keeping the total at 35.
As of this date, over 200 students have been supported. Of these, all of them complete their twelfth grade, while a few have chosen to move into other livelihood training courses after their tenth grade. A few have established themselves in various professional fields like dental hygiene, engineering related firms, while some outstanding performers have been recruited by leading Software Companies. Some of them have pursued college education with help from other donors, some of whom were sourced by Nalamdana.
34 students have been supported under this program, in 2008-09 Local sponsors are sourced annually for these scholarships. Resource persons volunteer their skills. Nalamdana also organizes summer workshops and day trips. The summer workshops held at Nalamdana office for these children include interactive sessions on improving English skills, communication skills, using theatre, radio plays and popular art forms.
These sessions are conducted by in-house trainers as well as volunteers and special resource persons. Such activities have built their character, self confidence and ability to compete in the world for higher education, jobs and also create leaders among them. Activities summary, undertaken during reporting period:
1. English language lessons by Ms. Prema Raghunah
2. Interactive Spoken English by Kaveri Bharath
3. Theatre training by Iko and Nalamdana core team
4. Trip to Library, accompanied by Bama and Arivalagan
5. Creation of flip charts on Reproductive health, assisted by Bama and Ramesh. Final versions were made with input from the core team, and were made into a short film by R.Jeevanandham, Project Director, Nalamdana
6. Field Trip with students organised by P.Oyyavandhan, (Senior Core Member), as part of Nalamdana's community service to Vairavan Kuppam in Pulicat area north of Chennai. Overnight stay program included a drama by Nalamdana on Child rights, and sports for local children organized by the scholarship students.
7. Special Event: Annual meet and thanksgiving in June, The chief guest was Dr. Nirmala Ravishankar, (Board Member, Friends of Nalamdana, U.S.A.) Two former students announced their willingness to support new students, at this event - a proud day for Nalamdana.
8. Computer classes by Deepam Group's volunteers: this was done at Nalamdana office by a committed group of IT employed who continued to reach out to slum children through Nalamdana through 2008 - 2009, after taking basic training for the Scholarship students
9. Videography sessions by Anushka Meenakshi
The following were the top marks obtained in the 2009 board exams, among the Nalamdana Youth Education & Leadership Program students:
10th Grade:
R. Praveena: 93.6%
T.Revathi: 91.2%
R.Brindha: 89%
12th Grade:
A.Praveena:78.6%
R. Srimathi: 70%
V.Deenadayalan: 63.5%
Sources of Income 2008 - 2009 Project Funding
Sources Purpose Amount in USD/Rupees
World Education Girl Child Project 15,000 USD
ArtVenture Safe Child Project 7000 USD
Nalamdana's own funds used as co-fund and fixed cost 5000 USD
Gere Foundation India Trust and MA/SA Arts in Hospital project
Asha for education Student Support 2000 USD
For Audited Accounts and Balance Sheet, 2008-2009, Please see Finance Report >
Financial Challenges
As many of the funded projects were concluded in March 2009, Nalamdana was forced to seek financial support from local donors. It is hoped that the general down trend in the economy globally will soon ease and project funding will pick up. We welcome support from individual and corporate donors to help us tide over this situation.
All donations to Nalamdana are exempt from IT under 80G Nalamdana also has FCRA approval to receive donations from anywhere in the world.
Contact information >
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
