Who is Reaping the Benefits of India’s High Economic Growth?

As all Mohalla Classes, the one in Bhaisani village too started with the sole aim to bridge the learning gap and to ensure that children, who lost two precious years of school, can be mainstreamed into formal schooling. Thirty children have been coming to the Mohalla Classes for the last two months. Of the 30, 19 are girls and 11 are boys. The Classes are continuing with regular school.

Oxfam India-HDFC stepped in with the installation of Smart Classes/Digital Learning Lab. Under this initiative, computers were installed to make government schools more computer-savvy; these were installed in three schools—Middle School in Indaut Village, Middle School in Rampur Village and the Senior Secondary School in Amar Village—in Nalanda District. Each Smart Class has six computers powered with solar energy. Computer teachers from local computer coaching centers were hired to train students and teacher; the trainers undertook a 52-hour course that were designed by the NIIT Foundation.

With monetary support from the Oxfam India-HDFC initiative, Sangita Devi has enhanced and taken over the once part-time grocery shop from her husband and is now running it full time. She has added a cosmetics section and plans to do more in the days to come. She is earning INR 3000 every month from the shop.

Bati Hantal is one enthusiastic farmer. At 65 not only has she diversified her farming practices and increased her farm income, she is also an inspiration and a driving force for women farmers in her village, her SHG, and her Farmer Producer Group. The Oxfam India-SDMC Trust project, with support from NGOs WORD and Prastutee, was started in the Semiliguda and Pottangi blocks of Koraput in February 2021. The project aimed at strengthening 2000 economically vulnerable, and small and marginal women farmers from the tribal communities.