NATURE – a Journey of Twenty-Five years

Civil society plays a crucial role in societal development, creating social space for collaborations that are based on the core values of trust, service and the collective good. The role of civil society organizations has evolved significantly and will continue to change in the future. Their capacity to contribute to societal development will rely on diverse factors, including resources, technological developments and the increasing role of Social Media. Similarly, NATURE’s evolution as an organization has also been influenced by the larger changes in the society over the last twenty-five years.

NATURE was started in the early nineties of last century by a group of socially conscious people who wanted to work with a tribal population who were not able to break out from the vicious cycle of poverty, isolation and exploitation in Ananthagiri Mandal of Visakhapatnam District. After initially working as an unorganized group responding to needs of communities they interfaced, the group of volunteers felt the need to get organized and started NATURE, registering it as a non-political and non-religious organization with the aim of working for the most backward sections of the society, the scheduled tribes and scheduled castes. Their goal was promoting an equitable and just society with a focus on children and women.

The impact-generated accounts for holistic transition in ideas, pulse, and vision, involvement and connecting development to a way of life connotes transformation in bridging collaboration to development indices. People-centric, community managed, all-inclusive contexts signifies raising people to approximate capacities, elevating potentials, negotiating with service providers on the equitable distribution of resource, wealth and needy services. We enable vulnerable communities to organize and have control over the resources and delivery system is the quintessence vision of NATURE.

The dimensions of civil society organizations have been to master the enabling process for the vulnerable sections of the society. Preservation of Eastern Ghats has been one driving force for NATURE, an agency involved for over 18 years of Tribal, Rural and Urban go through that has imprinted its impact in various social, economic and developmental aspects deriving its strength from a realm of deprivations and needs of the society.

Its committed practice to enable the structuring of vulnerable for being able to tap up the full potentials has envisaged the programs of NATURE with the end purpose of initiating the community in understanding the magnitude of their empowerment for welfare and towards self-sustenance.

All these years of steadfast renovations have witnessed an array of activities, which are stable, permanent, and a bit extension towards empowerment, a realization of rights, provision of amenities and sustenance. The progress made in a Tribal segment has gained movement in terms of the reach, access and coverage towards potential growth. The socially useful and productive activities have been put on the threshold in a way involving the communities towards ownership and communities committed for rationale.

The early days (1992-1999)

Initial work depended upon the opportunities that presented through support from like-minded agencies. One of the initial interventions was undertaking child rights promotions campaigns in tribal communities of Visakhapatnam with support from Child Rights and You (CRY) in 1992. Further, NATURE partnered with various line departments of Govt. of Andhra Pradesh Joint Forest Management Project (APJFM), Janmabhoomi Jalasamrakshna and Formation of Mahila Mandals and DWACRA Groups to strengthen community participation and development of Forest, Income Generation and Livelihood Enhancement in tribal areas. Then NATURE strengthened its partnership with the Government in 1999 by managing NCLP schools for mainstreaming out-of-school children (drop-out and never-enrolled) in schools. The collaboration with Government was further expanded with the implementation of the Reproductive and Child Health Project (RCH) bringing the much-needed health services for children and women to remote tribal communities.

JFM and CFM

• The community forest and joint forest management of world bank- Govt. of AP program combine is essentially a design to improve the livelihoods of forest dwellers, natural resource management, community-owned development initiatives, organizing guided initiatives for advanced and alternative livelihoods plans in 44 villages of Ananthagiri, Arakuvalley and Dumbriguda Mandals of Visakhapatnam District (Visakhapatnam and Paderu Forest Divisions).
• This program has modelled the formation of diversified livelihood plans, education, health, community halls, drawing up of environmental protection plans, preservation of Flora and Fauna, Water Harvesting Structures and Watershed Management is an integrated program for the Tribal populace.

The learning period (2000-2007)

Based on its learning experience, NATURE expanded its coverage area and portfolio in the next eight years in partnership with various agencies. One of the first long-term projects implemented by NATURE was the Partnership for Sexual Health (PSH) project with support from Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust (HLFPPT) and in collaboration with Andhra Pradesh State AIDS Control Society during 2000-2007. With this project, NATURE started expanding its work to the nearby non-tribal areas of S.Kota in Vizianagaram for prevention of HIV among high-risk groups. S.Kota is a key town where tribal populations from nearby Visakhapatnam tribal areas visit to sell produce and buy essential commodities.

In 2002, a decade after its inception, NATURE partnered with CARE International to implemented one of its most successful Project – Sustainable Tribal Empowerment Project (STEP), in collaboration with Government of Andhra Pradesh. The overall objective of the project was to improve the quality of life of the poorest and most disadvantaged members of tribal society through community empowerment. The project's objective was in perfect alignment with the aspirations of NATURE’s founders and provided an excellent opportunity to sustainably improve health, education, household income and food security of tribal households in Visakhapatnam by strengthening 2397 CBOs with the capacity to plan and manage their community development activities through action-oriented learning approaches. This project also provided the organization to implement activities at scale with the implementation spread over more than 600 tribal habitations across Ananthagiri, Araku Valley, Dumbriguda and Hukumpeta Mandals of Visakhapatnam district with the trained cadre of 600 Tribal Youth as a village development force.

NATURE continued to expand its portfolio by implementing two livelihoods interventions for tribal women and families with support from Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) and Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CED) in 2003. It further expanded its strong partnership with CARE International by implementing the Integrated Nutrition and Health Project (INHP) for children (0-5 years) and women (Pregnant and Lactating) in tribal, rural and urban areas of Visakhapatnam during 2004-2009.

NATURE implemented three small, but significant interventions during 2005-2006 that guides its philosophy and future work. This included its initial work at strengthening civil society movement by supporting tribal NGOs to undertake advocacy for the realization of tribal rights with support from Action Aid, which was one of its first initiatives to support budding tribal organizations to improve their efficacy. Another important work was its first partnership with Coca-Cola Beverages India Pvt. Ltd., a corporate, to implement water management structures in tribal areas. The third was a partnership with UNICEF, its first with UN agencies to strengthen Community Based Organizations (CBO) in improving access to water and sanitation in tribal communities.

Consolidation phase (2007-2013)

NATURE grew as an organization to partner with like-minded agencies to implement projects at scale and deepening its sectoral interventions to demonstrate impact. This was shown in implementing projects at scale pan-district. One of the key projects implemented was Balasahyoga with support from FHI360 in all 34 of Vizianagaram district. Balasahyoga, meaning “active support to the child,” was a comprehensive response to the wide-ranging needs of children affected by HIV and AIDS. With most of the HIV interventions focused on adults and prevention of HIV.

Balasahyoga aimed at addressing the multiple vulnerabilities of children affected by AIDS (CABA) and their caregivers with a comprehensive package of services. It promoted the yet to be announced UNAIDS 90-90-90 strategy of identifying and diagnosing all children and their caregivers at risk of HIV, initiating positive children and their caregivers on care treatment; and retaining them on treatment. It used HIV cascade as a tool to identify and provide services to individuals based on their needs and vulnerabilities.

The project reached out to 10,000 individuals (4500 children and 5500 caregivers) across 3000 families and provided a comprehensive package of services across the continuum of care (health, education, nutrition, psycho-social support and safety nets) to improve the quality of life of children and their families. NATURE demonstrated significant and sustained results with more than 95% eligible individuals provided HIV test and also more than 95% positive individuals initiated on treatment based on eligibility prescribes by the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO). Further, NATURE continued to deepen its work in HIV by extending prevention services to migrant population; implementing community-based HIV testing in remote areas through Mee Nestham mobile testing services; managing of HIV-TB co-infection; and providing care and treatment services through Community Care and Support Centre with support from APSACS during this phase.

NATURE also expanded its work in areas of child protection and education by implementing a range of interventions. This included implementing promoting an innovative intervention called ‘Stronger Voice to Excluded Children in Government & NGO Policies and Programs” with support from Save the Children and DFID Supported - IPAP (2009-2014) in tribal areas to promote participation of children in child protection and development activities.

Another intervention was “Promoting Inclusive and Child-Friendly Schools” with support from Save the Children aimed at making children friendly (2011). The rich experience of NATURE in implementing child-focused education and child protection programs resulted in it being awarded the CHILDLINE-1098 project to identify, rescue and rehabilitate children in need across Vizianagaram district with support from the Child line India Foundation and Ministry of Women and Child Welfare of Government of India from 2011 onwards as Collab Organization.

NATURE also expanded its health portfolio by implementing innovative approaches in enhancing access to health and nutrition services. One of this was strengthening of Fixed Day Services for delivering health and nutrition services at Anganwadi Centers in select communities in tribal, rural and urban areas of Visakhapatnam district. Another important initiative was enhancing awareness on tobacco control across coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh through facilitating community participation in collaboration with civil society organizations.

This intervention aimed at effective implementation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTPA). Another important collaboration of NATURE was a partnership with National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR) for impact assessment of services under the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) of Government of India in 2010.

Demonstrating Impact and influencing Policy implementation (2014 onwards)

The past four years have seen NATURE scale up efforts to influence effective implementation of development policies through demonstration of models and advocacy with Government through participation in various forums on platforms. This has been well supported by NATURE’s partners who see significant value in strengthening systems for delivery of development initiatives at scale. One of the key initiatives of NATURE for demonstrating models has been the implementation of the CHETANA program with support from the UNICEF where in models for delivery of services to children (5 years) and women in areas of health and nutrition in remote tribal areas have been demonstrated and adopted by Government. Another significant effort of NATURE is the scaling up of community-led water and sanitation initiative to further the goals of the ‘Swatch Bharat’ in Srikakulam District. Similarly, NATURE has piloted and demonstrated models that demonstrate effective implementation of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (Adivasi Odiya, Kui, and Konda Bharathi) in tribal areas to enable tribal children to attain enhanced levels of learning as well enable them to continue education with support from NEG FIRE.

NATURE has also expanded its portfolio to include Disaster Preparedness and Disaster Response. It has piloted an initiative to ensure children led disaster preparedness in North Coastal Districts of Andhra Pradesh which are prone to cyclones during 2014. NATURE also delivered disaster relief and rehabilitation services during and the aftermath of Cyclone Hudhud that shattered the coastal areas of north eastern districts of Andhra Pradesh with support from Save the Children, United Way of India and ASSIST.

Based on its implementation of tribal development programs at scale in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram District, Child Fund India partnered with NATURE to provide Child Centric Sponsorship Child Development Project in Tribal Areas of Vizianagaram District. The project aims to supplement the community empowerment efforts of NATURE with leveraging resources from Government programs and schemes for comprehensive development of children and their families in 50 villages. This long-term effort aims to demonstrate that investment in Child Development initiatives through Life Cycle Approach Interventions result in long-term poverty reduction as well as enhanced quality of lives of children and their families.

The period also saw an enhanced participation of NATURE board members in policy implementation, especially for children and women. The Director and Secretary of NATURE were selected as Chairperson for Children Welfare Committee (CWC) of Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts during 2011-2014. Subsequently, the Director of NATURE was selected as the member of the first Andhra Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (APSCPCR) and acted as In-Charge Chairperson during 2014-2017. Further to this, The Secretary of NATURE also got nominated as the Chairperson of the APSCPCR in August 2017. These recognitions provided NATURE and opportunity to influence effective implementation of policies for the protection of children and ensuring their overall development.

Support of Key Stakeholders

The growth and evolution of NATURE is a testimony to the commitment and dedication shown by its board and each of its staff members to the development of society over the last 25 years. But, it would have not been possible without the support of all stakeholders who have supported and collaborated with NATURE to implement various programs. This includes the lakhs of families from the most deprived families, especially children and women, who trusted NATURE and actively participated in all its activities. The thousands of community based organizations (CBO) who mobilized and ensured participation of the most vulnerable families in the development process, all the Government Frontline Field Functionaries and outreach workers who responded to provide space for participation of community in the development process and representatives from various Government departments at Panchayat, Mandal and District levels who encouraged NATURE with their unrestricted support and cooperation.

NATURE would also like to thank all its partners, Government agencies and Both Print & Electronic Media for their support in the implementation of various activities as well as providing space and platforms for exchange of ideas and perspective that resulted in enhanced results and impact.

 

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

• “JEWEL OF INDIA AWARD” for “Education and Socio-Economic Development” and “Certificate of Excellence” through ”International Institute of Education and Management - New Delhi” for outstanding services in Community Empowerment and Development.
• Appreciation Award by Govt.of Andhra Pradesh for Service during Hudhud Cyclone Relief – 2014.
• NATURE Director Appointed as a Member in Andhra Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), by State Government Vide G.O.M.S.No.11 dated 19-02-2014. Acted as In-charge Chairperson (2014-2017).
• State level Best NGO award 2013 APSACS, Health & Family Welfare Department, Govt.of Andhra Pradesh.
• NATURE Secretary appointed as a Member in Vizianagaram District Child Welfare Committee under JJ Act 2000 and 2006 by State Government Vide G.O.M.S.No.9.
• My Frame 2010 UNICEF awarded for Children as Media Producers, Collaboration with Hyderabad Central University.
• Best Award NACO-SACS for community care centre 10 Bedded Facility for HIV Positives.
• Best TI Implementing Partner and graded ‘A’ in NACP-II & III Evaluations.
• Best Tribal Development Organization by Andhra University, Visakhapatnam.
• Appointed as the member in District Committee of MTP-1976 Act Implementation in Visakhapatnam by District Collector.
• NTCP – COTPA Act Member in District Advisory Committee, Visakhapatnam.
• Best Convergence Partner Award and felicitation in Vizianagaram by Women and Child and Medical and Health Department.
• Leading and Facilitating Non-Governmental Interventions in North Coastal Districts of AP for UNICEF, APACR, SSA, Medical and Health, Women and Child, Forest, Agriculture Department, NIMR, DKA-Austria, Child Fund India, Child Line India Foundation, Save the Children, NEG FIRE, FHI, MVM etc.