Event Social Equality Friends of Anganwadi 13.12.2024 Dr. Suchita Krishnaprasad Creating a social dialogue forum for Anganwadi (Child Care) Workers championed by their beneficiaries Anganwadi workers (child care workers) stand in the front row, with their beneficiaries standing behind (children whom they took care of, who have now grown up). Also, standing from right to left - Ms. Mohsin Shaikh, Learning Innovations Program who explained how social media can be used to lobby for better working conditions for care workers; Ms. Gayatri Sharma, FES India; Mr. Ujjwal Uke, former IAS officer posted with the Integrated Child Development Scheme; Ms Shuba Shamim, Centre of Indian Trade Union and Dr. Suchita Krishnaprasad. The Government of India initiated the Anganwadi (child care) scheme in the year 1975 to combat child hunger and malnutrition in underprivileged sections of the society. Today it is the largest network of community workers in the world. Not only are the Anganwadi workers the most reliable ground level repositories of data on health of children, adolescents, pregnant women and lactating mothers, but they have also played a significant role in arresting infant mortality. These women come in handy when it comes to implementing any new scheme announced by the government, and that keeps their working hours uncertain. The COVID pandemic truly tested their mettle. They undertook perilous tasks in the journey of tracing- tracking- and treating the COVID patients when vaccines were not available and even suffered ostracization because of the nature of their work during the deadly pandemic. They reached out to the vulnerable communities with food and medicine supplies during the lockdown and also worked to assuage the phobia towards the vaccines, when they were finally available. While their valor is eulogized as Matrushakti (the Mother Energy), Anganwadi workers are volunteers and entitled only to an honorarium contributed by the Central and State governments. If the rate of return on community health is as high as 1$: 10$, (WHO: 2015), it is only appropriate that the beneficiaries who represent the civil society stand up as collaborators initiating a Social Dialogue process. Drawing upon the emotion of gratitude, this initiative aims to mobilize the beneficiaries of child care workers – that is, children who were taken care of by Anganwadi workers and have now grown up – to stand with them and support them. There are nearly 14 lakh Anganwadis in India operated by more than 27 lakh workers, in providing basic health, nutrition and education services to a population of nearly ten crores. In Maharashtra, this number is 1.08 lakh and nearly two lakhs respectively, and the number of beneficiaries is estimated to be about 70 lakhs. This can be a big source of support for the Anganwadi workers because the pool of beneficiaries has been gathering since last five decades! Bringing these beneficiaries together in support of their mentors can, therefore, be an important step towards creating a framework for social dialogue. This very idea led to the project ‘From Toddlers to Enablers: Mobilising Beneficiaries of Community Health Service providers in Maharashtra to Lobby for the rights of ASHA and Anganwadi Workers’, in 2022. A group of more than 40 workers from across Maharashtra was formed and online meetings were conducted to communicate the idea, and the purpose behind formation of the social platform ‘Friends of Anganwadi’. The Brainstorming Workshop in Pune Anganwadi worker Nivedita Waghmare receives a rose from her beneficiary who now has a job in the corporate sector With support from FES India, eight Anganwadi workers met eight of their respective beneficiaries and three parents at a brain storming meeting held in Pune. The beneficiaries include children who have grown up to become elected representatives, lawyers, engineers or have corporate jobs. The engineers promised to work out technical solutions and engage with the social media to demonstrate support for their former care giver. Parents could be a great support, too, in highlighting the good work done by these women, thereby urging more parents to bring their children to the Anganwadis. Every participant was strongly in favour of forming ‘Friends of Anganwadi’ to facilitate in creating an awareness in the wider society. Anganwadi worker Dilshaad Inamdaar (right in bright pink dupatta) brainstorming along with her mentee Piyush Gaikwad, an engineering student A Smart, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Based (SMART) goal document was presented to the participants. The Goal is: To initiate and sustain a meaningful Social Dialogue in support of about 4000 Anganwadi Workers and their work of enriching quality of human capital in Pune District by building a Network of ‘Friends of Anganwadi, Pune’ by the end of 2026. And the participants made valuable observations on how to work towards it. Based on suggestions received on using social media, a short video was produced featuring a young mother who complimented an Anganwadi worker for helping her son eat properly: https://www.facebook.com/reel/932307658240055 In this short video, Mrs. Pradnya Nigde expressed her gratitude at the Pune workshop towards Mrs. Rajni Pisal, an Anganwadi worker, for teaching her son how to chew and brining him out of an undernourished state. The video fetched more than 1000 views within two days of its posting on the social media platform. Please contact FES India at info.india(at)fes.de for a full report by Dr Suchita Krishnaprasad on this initiative. #### Dr. Suchita Krishnaprasad is a former Associate Professor and Head of the Economics Department at Elphinstone College, Dr. Homi Bhabha State University, Mumbai. She has also worked as a consultant and external collaborator with the ILO. Her area of expertise includes labour, development economics and industrial relations.
