The Palanhar Plus Approach: Strengthening a Cash Transfer

The Palanhar Plus Approach
Strengthening a Cash Transfer Programme
for Orphans and other Vulnerable Children
in Dungarpur, Rajasthan
Save the Children
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Supported by Official Development Aid, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Finland
Copyright: Save the Children Finland, 2014
Cover photo credit: Harish Chanderiya
Text: Save the Children, N.R. Management Consultants India Pvt. Ltd
Layout: N.R. Management Consultants India Pvt. Ltd
The names of people have been changed to protect their identity.
The Child Sensitive Social Protection
Project in Dungarpur
Child Sensitive Social Protection (CSSP) is a Save the Children initiative aiming to reduce vulnerability and poverty of
children by ensuring that social protection measures lead to meaningful investment in children. CSSP is in essence a ‘social
protection plus’ approach meaning that cash or other social protection benefits flowing to households is not enough to
enhance children’s well-being, but that parents and other caregivers must be induced to invest in and care for children.
Hence, the CSSP project in Dungarpur is based
on a set of interventions that include improving
access to social protection; enhancing sensitivity
towards children’s development needs and rights
with parents, caregivers and other key adults;
and advocate with government to improve social
protection programming for children. The specific
project objectives are to:
n
Reduce
child labour and increase school
attendance and retention;
n
Improve
care for orphans and other vulnerable
children; and
n
Reduce
malnutrition.
The project covers 20 Gram Panchayats1 comprising 87 villages located in Bicchiwara and Dungarpur blocks.
Gram Panchayat (village council) is the lowest tier of local government in India
1
The Palanhar Plus Approach
3
Palanhar Yojana
Palanhar Yojana (caregiver scheme) is a monthly cash
transfer programme that aims to nurture, educate and
provide health care to orphans and other vulnerable
children in a family setting. The programme is available
for all children under the age of 18 years who have lost
either one2 or both parents, or whose parents fall into
any of the following categories - divorced, abandoned
or nata3; imprisoned for life, or; suffering from HIV /
AIDS, leprosy or disability. The programme is overall
coordinated by the Department of Rural Department
and Panchayat Raj. Applications are approved by the
department and the cash received is conditional on
under-five children attending the Integrated Child
Development Services (ICDS) scheme4 and the older
children being in school.5 Rajasthan is the first state in
India to introduce such a scheme.
Palanhar Yojana is highly relevant in Dungarpur. Ill health and traditional practices like nata have led to a large number
of orphaned children6 who live with relatives or grandparents, or in the absence of either, fend for themselves as childheaded households. The uptake of the scheme has however been fairly low.
Only widows can receive Palanhar, not widowers.
Nata - a woman leaving her husband for another man or a widow who remarries. Only widows are eligible for Palanhar. Divorced and abandoned only applies
to women.
4
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) is India’s primary social welfare scheme to tackle malnutrition and health problems in children below 6 years
of age, and pregnant and lactating mothers.
5
Rs 500 for children attending ICDS and Rs 1000 for school going children. An additional annual amount of Rs 2000 is given to caregivers of double
orphans.
6
Save the Children identified close to 1,000 orphans in 20 Panchayats in Dungarpur.
2
3
4
The Palanhar Plus Approach
Making the Programme Deliver more for
Children – a ‘Palanhar’ Plus Approach
A series of internal assessments of Palanhar
Yojana by Save the Children revealed that the
programme was not contributing towards
improving the lives of orphans and other
vulnerable children in the way it was intended to.
The reason for this was largely lack of support
to caregivers and children, and to the schools
and the ICDS centres to promote holistic
development and well being of the Palanhar child.
Hence, it became clear that merely providing
cash to caregivers is not an adequate strategy,
but that a ‘cash plus’ approach was needed. Save
the Children therefore embarked on a ‘Palanhar
plus’ approach which is ultimately meant to
illustrate to the Government of Rajasthan how
setting up ‘plus’ activities will profoundly enhance
Palanhar Yojanas impact on children.
The Palanhar strengthening, or plus programme,
intends to enable caregivers to cater to the
Palanhar child’s unique needs by creating a safe,
healthy and happy environment for the child to
grow and thrive in. With Palanhar children, the
focus is on making the child less vulnerable to the
changed circumstances through knowledge and
skills that help him or her adapt to the caregiver’s
family. Sensitization with the community is
The Palanhar Plus Approach
5
important to ensure understanding of and support to both caregivers and children. The roles and responsibilities of the
school and ICDS centre, where children spend a fair amount of time, are crucial in supporting and monitoring the well-being
of the children. The figure below summarises the framework of the Palanhar plus programme.
Schools and ICDS centre – engages
with and monitors the development
and well-being of the child
Community – supports
caregivers and promotes
inclusion of the children
Caregiver – provides a
happy, safe and nurturing family
environment
The child – has skills to
communicate, solve problems
and take decisions and
feels cared for
6
The Palanhar Plus Approach
Training Modules for Caregivers and
Children
To take the Palanhar plus programme forward, a training manual is being developed comprising six training modules for
caregivers and children respectively. These are being tested and refined through various participatory activities carried
out by social workers engaged by the CSSP project. A few of the activities in each module are illustrated below.
Overall, 37 activities have been designed for Palanhar children and 20 activities for caregivers. Training modules for school,
ICDS and the community are under development and will be taken forward shortly.
Caregivers’ Manual
Palanhar Children’s Manual
Module – My Child and Me
Activity 1: My Unique Child encourages the caregiver
to appreciate the good qualities of the child.
Module – Me and My Family
Activity 1: Finding Friends helps the child to form groups
and bond with his/ her peers.
Activity 2: My New Family helps the caregiver to
understand what can be done better when the child
enters the family.
Activity 2: I am Special celebrates the uniqueness of
each child.
Activity 3: My River of Life makes the caregiver recall
own childhood experiences to understand the
Palanhar child’s perspective and needs.
Activity 3: I Belong to a Community takes the child on a
village walk to help develop a sense of belonging to the
community.
Purpose: Encourages the caregiver to understand the
vulnerability and needs of the child.
Purpose: Instills child’s self-confidence and
self-awareness, builds empathy and opens up
communication with the family and larger community.
Focus: The child’s sense of belonging.
Focus: The child’s sense of belonging.
The Palanhar Plus Approach
7
Caregivers’ Manual
Module – My Healthy Child
Activity 1: Food and Nutrition encourages the caregiver to use the best local food for protein and nutrient
intake of the child.
Activity 2: Stopping the Contamination Route makes aware the caregiver of how to prevent contamination
of food and water and the spread of related diseases.
Purpose: Encourages behaviour change and builds awareness of linkages between health, nutrition and
hygiene.
Focus: The child’s health and physical well-being.
Palanhar Children’s Manual
Module – A Healthy Me
Activity 1: My Clean Hands teaches the child the importance of hand washing with soap.
Activity 2: The Best Food I Can Eat teaches the child how food is critical for the body and mind by
categorizing food that helps the child grow.
Activity 3: Safe Homes makes the child understand how everyday life in the home can be safe and secure.
Purpose: Makes the child responsible for personal health and hygiene, and aware of diseases, nutrition,
safety and security.
Focus: The child’s health and physical well-being.
8
The Palanhar Plus Approach
Caregivers’ Manual
Module – My Happy Child
Activity 1: Positive, Only Positive encourages the caregiver to develop a caring and respectful attitude towards
the child and lead by example.
Activity 2: What I Say and How encourages the caregiver to learn new ways of expression and communication.
Activity 3: A Drop in the Bucket makes the caregiver realise how a positive or negative remark can affect the
self-esteem of the child.
Purpose: Encourages caregivers to communicate with and listen to the child, adopt positive values and
discipline techniques.
Focus: The child’s self-expression and self-worth.
Palanhar Children’s Manual
Module – A Happy Me
Activity 1: Opportunities Chart emphasises problems the child faces, and how it can be resolved by seeking help.
Activity 2: I Can Cope helps the child learn about emotions of fear and sadness and ways of coping.
Activity 3: Who is My Friend helps the child to differentiate between a good and a bad friend.
Purpose: Enables the child to express and cope with emotions, understand problems and constructively
contribute to improving the situation.
Focus: The child’s self-expression and self-worth.
The Palanhar Plus Approach
9
Improving communication skills and relationships
meenu is 11 years old and studies in class 6.
Both her parents have passed away. Her mother
died at the time of delivering Meenu’s younger
brother and her father died afterwards due to long
term illness. After her parents’ death, Meenu’s
paternal uncle took custody of her and her
younger brother. Both were linked to the Palanhar
scheme by a field associate of the CSSP project.
Meenu and her uncle are regular participants in
the Palanhar plus programme and till date they
have attended eight sessions. Her uncle is highly
appreciative of the activities undertaken. Meenu
has shown a lot of improvement in her personality
and communication skills. It has also been observed
that Meenu’s relationship with her uncle’s children
has improved.
10
The Palanhar Plus Approach
To take the Palanhra plus programme forward, a training manual is being developed comprising six training modules for
caregivers and children respectively. These are being tested and refined through various participatory activities carried
out by social workers engaged by the CSSP project. A few of the activities in each module are illustrated in the table
below.
Photo:
Overall, 37 activities have been designed for Palanhar children and 20 activities for caregivers.Training modules for school,
ICDS and the community are under development and will be taken forward shortly.
Photo: Harish Chanderiya
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Save the Children, Bal Raksha Bharat
Rajasthan State Programme Office
42 Vrindavan Vihar, King’s Road
Jaipur 302021
Rajasthan, India
Phone: +91-141-4035881, 3220881
www.savethechildren.in