Heavy workload, low remuneration mark a day in the life of an anganwadi worker

Pune, Maharashtra: From scheduling lessons to cultivating habits and etiquettes, anganwadi workers strive to do their job efficiently under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). The ICDS aims at providing preschool non-formal education to children and enhances their health and nutrition, thus breaking the malnutrition trend in India.101Reporters followed the daily routine of Suman Nanaware (52), a farm labourer-turned-anganwadi worker at Kurangwadi village in Pune district. Despite her limited education (class 7 pass), Suman’s confidence and learning aptitude played in her favour when she applied for a balwadi instructor’s job. At that time, she was paid only Rs 100 per month.Balwadis impart non-formal education to children, while anganwadis focus on their education, nutrition and immunisation from birth up to six years. Unlike anganwadis, balwadis do not monitor pregnant and lactating mothers. After Suman’s husband lost his job, her salary was not enough to support the family. So, in 2000, she took up the job of an anganwadi worker and has been nurturing the young minds since then.Morning (9.30 am to 12 pm)Around 9.30 am, anganwadi helper Kamal Nanaware (42) opens the centre. While she sweeps the only classroom present, Suman sets up the timetable and plans lessons for the day. At 10 am, the students start arriving. An Anganwadi Classroom swept clean (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)Suman uses the Poshan tracker app to record attendance. Although she has eased into the process of using the app, she is also required to enter the attendance in a register. The morning prayers start at 10.30 am and continue for half an hour.Teachers and students reciting their morning prayers (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)Twenty children study at this anganwadi. However, 10 children are absent this day due to widespread conjunctivitis. After the prayers and first lessons, the children line up for washing hands before having breakfast around 11 am. To meet their nutritional requirements, lapashi (sprouted beans) is served. Anganwadi has a separate kitchen to make breakfast and lunch and a storeroom to keep grocery items. It also has a filtered tap water system. Kamal ensures cleanliness around food and water facilities. She ensures that every child receives proper supplementary nutrition.Anganwadi Helper while cooking the breakfast (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)Children forming a line to wash their hands (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)Children having nutritious food at Anganwadi (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)After breakfast, non-formal preschool activities begin. It involves teaching Marathi and English alphabets, storytelling and identification of daily use items. Digital TV and pen drive are present for audio-visual learning. Children taking a digital class, learning letters (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)"Under the digitalisation campaign, we now have a Smart Anganwadi. So we have two smart TVs, one given by the village panchayat and the other sponsored by the Maharashtra government. We face difficulties during load shedding, generally every Thursday and during most part of the summer season. We return to the traditional teaching method of using a blackboard and chalk then,” says Suman. “The lessons taught here make our children aged between three and six school-ready. They are encouraged to give self-introduction, and read and write letters. Physical education is another important component. Kids enjoy drill,” she adds.Anganwadi children enjoying the mass drill (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)Afternoon (12 pm to 2 pm)Until 1 pm, non-formal schooling activities continue. Along with the teacher-student interaction, peer-to-peer activities foster the learning process. Children try their lessons on the slate and helper Kamal maintains classroom discipline. At 1 pm, lunch break begins. The menu has dal (lentils) and rice, which will provide supplementary nutrition and combat stunting in children. Both Suman and Kamal eat dal-rice along with children. An interaction with women during the breastfeeding week to spread awareness (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)"My day begins at 6 am. I freshen up and help my daughter-in-law with household chores. I used to look after cattle and do farmwork earlier. Now I monitor labourers on my farm, mostly on Sundays... We have block level meetings twice in a month,” Suman says, while explaining how she balances her work-life schedule.Suman and children gather in the backyard for some outdoor fun after lunch. They have a kitchen garden, from where they get vegetables to include in their daily diet.After 2 pmAfter the children leave, Suman gets busy with registration tasks. "Poshan app has reduced my work burden. But there are mobile network issues,” she says. From 2.30 pm, she goes on home visits in the village and speaks with parents to understand their concerns. "The app allots us home visits to pregnant women, newborn children and lactating mothers. There are one to two such home visits per week, where we consult and guide new mothers on the importance of breastfeeding. If the baby is below standard weight, we take the child to the doctor for further treatment. We keep a close watch of the baby's progress. These activities are generally carried out with the help of an ASHA worker,” Suman says.A home visit after school hours (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)The government has raised the honorarium of anganwadi teachers to Rs 10,300 per month since April, but the demand for pension has been pending for a long time. Low honorarium and more hours of work create difficulties at times. However, Suman says they hardly hamper her passion, dedication and commitment for effective service delivery under ICDS. After a long day at work, Suman gets ready for her daily satsang (meditation) by evening. Ask her how she feels about the day, she replies calmly, "Work is real worship!"  Edited by Pranoti AbhyankarCover Photo - Opening of aanganwadi - Beginning of day (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)

A bus ride to empowerment from Nasrapur

Women from this nondescript village near Pune in Maharashtra unlock the opportunities to get educated and employed, thanks to the launch of bus services to the city For the people of Nasrapur village, their gateway to education, employment and empowerment is just a bus ride away. Located 36 km from Pune city, Nasrapur is a thriving example of how mobility can improve the quality of life. Students, labourers, working women and senior citizens form part of the burgeoning crowd, whose dreams and aspirations are dependent on the bus service. Here are some insights from the conversations with the daily commuters, who are keen to make new friends and refresh old ties during the two hour travel to Pune.(Above) Tickets for different long-distance bus routes mentioning their respective prices; (below) A board at Katraj bus depot with information about bus routes and schedule  (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters) "Ten years ago, there was only one state transport bus to Pune from our village. The journey in itself was a very unpleasant experience due to the poor condition of buses, lack of good roads and the resulting fear of accidents," says Swati Zende (32), who was a student then. Girls who travelled to the city for education and job opportunities preferred hostel accommodation over the uncertainty and insecurity attached to public transport back then. Parents were also reluctant to send their children for higher studies, while women hardly thought of securing a job after education. Accessing health facilities was also difficult. All these problems remained until public transport service under Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) began.Girls and women using PMPML services for their daily commute to schools and workplaces (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)Students take the bus to reach their schools every day (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)Things began to fall in place when the residents of Bhor and Nasrapur approached the state government for an improvement in public transport facilities. After several meetings with local political representatives and PMPML employees over the course of 2020-2021, a decision to start new bus routes was taken. "When these buses began to ply, parents encouraged students to commute daily instead of staying in hostels. The buses were easy on the pocket as PMPML offered student passes. Women and elderly also got the benefits of passes that offered travel at subsidised rates," Zende informs.  Passengers alighting at Vinzar bus stop from bus no 296 that runs with a regular frequency on the Katraj-Vinzar route via Nasrapur (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)Some bus stops are arbitrary points on the road (above) while others are in pretty rundown condition (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)A man finds a spot to rest in a crowded bus (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)A ticket checker interacting with a group of senior citizens travelling on the bus (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)A crowded bus in the evening, as everyone is heading home (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)Today, women of Narsapur need not worry if they are travelling late. Even at 9 pm, they can travel alone, which was something very uncommon a decade ago. Though the frequency has improved, the buses are still jam-packed in mornings and evenings. Looking at the crowded buses, one can easily say that more women are enjoying the benefits of empowerment. And it encompasses not just students or working women, but even daily wage labourers and housemaids. No wonder, why Chris Gethard compared public transport with a magnifying glass that shows civilisation uр close.In the absence of adequate bus services, such private vans (above) and shared autos step in to fill the void (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)Edited by Pranoti AbhyankarCover Photo - A picture from the reporter's journey (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)