Unnat Bharat Abhiyan- students work for rural development despite the pandemic.

A total of 22 students and three faculty members (Lt. Akshay D. Mandlik (HoD), Dr. Fr. Augustine Lourdu (PG Coordinator) and Dr. Alan Godfrey) from the Department of Social Work conducted 3 pilot visits and have selected 2 villages in Anekal Taluk for currently carrying out the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, a programme by the Government of India. As part of the on-going programme, a total of 94 households have been surveyed in the two villages. Meetings with the stakeholders in the community were also held and a Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) was conducted to gain a better understanding of the villages. The students noted that in one of the selected villages, the number of school dropouts was high. This motivated the students to organise a street play on the importance of education. The gathering was also informed about the existence of certain scholarship schemes that could be used to support their children’s education. It is important to remember that all of these efforts are being undertaken at a time when the pandemic has struck fear in the hearts of millions of people in the country. Despite the danger posed by this deadly virus, the students have chosen to undertake this important programme. The Department of Social Work salutes your bravery and dedication to the rural community!