Shabnam, formerly a teacher, is our Community Correspondent from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Being denied a much-deserved scholarship for completing matriculation with first division just because she came from a Muslim family did not stop Shabnam from pursuing higher education. Now the first graduate in her family, Shabnam believes that she has fulfilled her father’s dreams. Threatened by her progressive educational background,…

Shabnam Begum

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200 families in Uttar Pradesh are being forced to live without proper houses. All that stands between them and safe shelter is one ignorant Village Head. VV-PACS Correspondent Shabnam reports on the situation with the hope that you will hold the errant Village Head accountable for his lapses in getting the scheme to the people.

Call to Action: Please Call the Village Head of Movaiya Village on 09554650600 and ask him to make sure that the 200 people in his village get access to government funds to build their homes.

14-year-old Chanda has had a tough start to her life. For as long as she can remember she and her family have not had a proper roof to live under. Two years ago, the lack of housing proved to be fatal for Chanda’s mother who lost her life after getting very ill one winter. Chanda now supports herself by working as a wage labourer through the government’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

The entire situation could have been avoided had Chanda’s family been given access to the Indira Housing Scheme. This is a government scheme, which funds the construction of houses for families who live below the poverty line. In Movaiya Village, along with Chanda, 200 other families are entitled to this scheme and yet, not one family has been able to benefit from it. Their repeated requests to the Village Head have gone unheard.

Village Heads plays a crucial role in the allotment for money under the housing scheme, as they are the links through which information flows between residents and officials at a Block or District level. In this case the Head has neglected his duties in getting the lists of potential beneficiaries and also communicating these needs to higher-level authorities. You can help change this apathy by giving him a call; Show him that he is being watched.

About the Partnership: The Poorest Areas Civil Society (PACS) Programme and Video Volunteers have come together to create the Community Correspondents Network. The videos generated by the network will be able to highlight voices from the margins, providing skills to social communicators to provide advocacy tools to community based organisations.