Observing the daily struggle of children travelling 4km to the anganwadi centre in Ragda village, Jyotsna Mohanta from Kharkhari village in Odisha recognised a pressing need. The homemaker and about 14 other members of her Maa Bhabani self-help group (SHG) decided to establish a mini anganwadi within Kharkhari itself. The SHG was entrusted with the task, and their mini anganwadi now serves children up to five years old, providing meals tailored to their nutritional needs. The young mother reflects on her journey, sharing the motivation that fuelled this community project in her own words.
Every parent dreams and works hard to give their child a better future, and education plays a crucial role in that. In my village of Kharkhari in Sukinda block, we faced a major challenge on this front due to the lack of a proper anganwadi centre and a mid-day meal programme.
I often saw TV advertisements showing how mid-day meals reduced dropout rates and helped countless families who struggled to provide nutritious food for their children. But here, the nearest anganwadi was 4 km away in Ragda village, and most families found it difficult to send their children there due to transportation and personal issues.
Most families in our village rely on the men for income, and they leave for work at 10 am, returning around 4 pm. The anganwadi hours clashed with the timing of the families’ primary livelihood activities, leading to low attendance.
Despite being a housewife, I couldn’t ignore this concern and felt compelled to do something for my village’s children. The breakthrough came when I, along with members of Maa Bhabani SHG, realised the need for a local centre that could provide regular homemade mid-day meals.
Their goal was to address an issue that could potentially affect the educational well-being of many children in our village.
Just deciding to act wasn’t enough. We had to work for it. In 2022, I participated in DISHA training organised by Tata Steel Foundation. There, I learned about many things and recognised the potential of women to change societal norms through a transformed mindset.
I applied these learnings and understood the role of Mission Shakti SHGs in making mid-day meal services a reality. We approached local leaders and the panchayat’s bookkeeper, expressing our interest in contributing to the future of these tiny learners with utmost care and love in our village itself.
The authorities saw our dedication and entrusted us with establishing a mini anganwadi. Today, we have four children — three girls and one boy — whom we care for daily from 10.30am to 1.30pm.
We prepare mid-day meals while other SHG members help the kids with writing letters on slates and reading. These children, aged 3-5 years, receive nutritional meals as prescribed by the administration. Each child is allocated a food chart, including 80 grams of rice, 50 grams of dal, 50 grams of potato, and eggs daily. Except for Mondays, we serve egg curry and rice, which keeps them full for a longer time.
Despite being a new initiative in our small village, we have received overwhelming support from the parents. They appreciate our solution, which does not disrupt their livelihoods and ensures their children receive essential services they would have gotten at Ragda’s anganwadi.
Our journey is still challenging as we currently teach and feed the children under a tree. To get an anganwadi building, we need at least 30 children to join our initiative. However, when people ask if our mini anganwadi is a success, I proudly say yes.
It is indeed a success for a woman like me, who was once confined by household duties but is now known as Jyotsna didi (sister). My success isn’t measured by the number of students we serve but by the value we add to the lives of these four children, and I will continue to do so. I am forever grateful for the support of my SHG members, who believed in my dream and stood by me through the tough initial phases.
Now, we dedicate ourselves fully to caring for these young children until they are ready to start school. I remain hopeful and determined to achieve a fully functional anganwadi centre in Kharkhari, where children and our SHG members can foster a beautiful relationship that transcends all forms of love. This tale of courage from some 15 women who wanted to bring a simple solution has turned out to be a lifelong blessing.
Reporting and photography by Devashish Biswal.
Devashish Biswal is a graduate of English journalism at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal. He has an eye for stories with the potential to grab people’s attention. His deep interest lies in covering human interest stories based on gender, tribal life, education, and culture.