Timbaktu Collective - Militha

Project Brief: Militha (Inclusion) is an effort to form a sustainable autonomous organization to improve livelihood of disabled people and to promote and protect their rights.
Project Type: Children with Disabilities (description)
Primary Focus: children with disabilities (description)

Secondary Focus: vocational training

Area: Rural
Supporting Chapter Contact: London
Status: rejected
Project Steward: Ramakrishna Peeta
Project Partner(s): Manikandan V
Other Contacts: Venkatesh Balakrishna
Project Address: , C/o The Timbaktu Collective, ,Chennekotha Palli Village (post),Chennekotha Palli,
Andhra Pradesh  515101
Tel: +91 8559 202335/339, 240335/33
Stewarding Chapter: London
Jul 2012UFloridaUSD 5000
Jul 2010UFloridaUSD 5000
Apr 2010LondonGBP 5000

Total = $17920.7

Exclusion is the root cause for pathetic situation of disabled people in rural India and they are not being able to access even limited opportunities available for them. Organizations for disabled people in poor communities are just about emerging. One of such organization is Timbaktu collective which started Militha (means inclusion) program in 2001 to improve livelihood of disabled people in 46 villages of Anantapur District in Andra Pradesh. Since 2001, Militha program improved quality life of few hundred people by early childhood stimulation, inclusion in peer groups in play, games, education, child right activities, household activites, and increasing livelihood options. Timbaktu collective works in 140 villages and Militha program identified 1042 disabled people and initiated work with 626 members. This proposal was aimed to work with people in remaining 94 villages besides strengthening the existing work for next three years. Activities through this project are institutional building (Prathibha), advocacy, livelihood support, inclusive education, rehabilitation of disabled people and program management.
Main target group is disabled people of age 0 and above in 140 villages where Timbaktu collective works in Anantapur district. Indirect beneficiaries are expected for 15000 families with whom Timbaktu collective works.
Major Goal is to enable disable people and their families to form their own organization to promote and protect their rights and provide services to disable people.
Specific objectives include
# Institutional building (Pratibha) towards a sustainable autonomous organization,
# Advocacy and campaigning to inculcate a rights based culture in Prathibha work,
# Livelihood support towards economic self sufficiency,
# Inclusive education for promoting a culture of inclusion in family, community and in the mainstream education system,
# Rehabilitation intervention for inclusion and participation of disabled people in family and community life,
# Program management for Prathibha to take ownership of Militha.
Timbaktu collective has been working since 1990 for sustainable development in the drought prone Anantapur district of Andra Pradesh. It focuses on landless, small and marginal farmers with special emphasis on women, children, youth and dalits. With local self governance being the underlying theme of Timbaktu collective work, they formed numerous Community Based Organizations (CBOs) of the rural poor, to work in the areas of:
# Regeneration of forests in common lands (Revenue waste lands and Reserve Forests)
# Revitalization of agricultural lands belonging to small and marginal farmers
# Rejuvenation of traditional water-harvesting structures (tanks, kuntas, wells & other water bodies)
# Developing a relevant banking system with rural women from marginalized families
# Relevant education for the rural deprived children
# Education and organization of youth and Dalits.
# Awareness building on local self governance (panchayats)
# Awareness building and empowerment of disabled people
# Networking with other voluntary, civil society, community based and mass organizations at district, state and national levels.

Timbaktu Collective has been actively supported by Asha for Education. To learn more about Asha's support to Timbaktu Collective please visit the project page link given below.

Timbaktu Collective page on Asha for Education's website
http://www.ashanet.org/projects/project-view.php?p=204

Project Co-ordination team:
Asha London Chapter:
Neil Gandhi neilDOTpDOTgandhiATaexpDOTcom
Ramakrishna prkgoudATyahooDOTcom>

UFlorida Chapter:
Sharan Asundi sharan_asundiATyahooDOTcom
Akshay Kumar Reddy akshaykumarreddyATgmailDOTcom