8 June 2005
Gajapati
Gajapati Area Development Programme (ADP) works with 231 villages, each of up to 60 households, of Gajapati District, in Orissa State. The main people group in the area is the Soura tribe. Around 18 per cent of the population are from other low caste gourps.
Gajapati District is mostly forested and hilly. The climate is extreme – hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. There is little rainfall except during the monsoon season.
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 Gajapati ADP
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Education
Many children drop out of school because of the distance they have to travel to their school. Some cannot afford associated fees and others have to work at home. Limited places in government schools also restrict numbers.
World Vision has established tuition centres for preschoolers, children who cannot attend school and illiterate adults.
Gajapati ADP improves school attendance by educating parents and providing stationery, school bags, bicycles and hostel fees. It encourages parents to enrol their daughters in school and supports young people in vocational education.
Health
Tuberculosis (TB) is a major health issue. Other common problems include night blindness, neo-natal tetanus, diarrhoea, malaria and HIV/AIDS.
TB is treatable, but it is spreading in Gajapati due to poverty and illiteracy. A TB eradication programme identifies and treats people and educates communities. The ADP encourages people to go for voluntary HIV testing and counselling. It also educates communities about HIV/AIDS prevention.
Pregnant women are educated about breast-feeding, pre- and post-natal care, immunising children and registering babies for birth certificates. The ADP supplies vitamin A to prevent night blindness and assists children with disabilities. It also drills and chlorinates wells and builds sealed toilets.
Agriculture
Agriculture, especially shifting cultivation, is the main economic activity in Gajapati ADP, but many farmers do not have land.
The ADP levels previously unused land, creating more fields for agriculture. For landless families this is a major step towards becoming debt free, as they can produce their own food and grow cash crops such as cashew nuts.
Check dams, which store monsoon rains, are constructed, as are with rainwater harvesting structures. The dams are also used for fish farming, which increases incomes and decreases the price of fresh fish.
Income generation
Agriculture alone is not sufficient to sustain families in this area, so people migrate for work during winter and many have to borrow to purchase food.
Women of Gajapati have formed a cooperative to buy cashew nuts and sell them to middlemen. By buying all locally grown cashew nuts, they ensure farmers are paid a reasonable price for their product. The same system is used for tamarind fruit, turmeric tubers and other agricultural products.
The ADP has constructed roads, improving access to markets. During times of crop failure it supports families by paying them in rice or cash for activities such as road or dam construction.
Sustainable development
World Vision started Gajapati Area Development Programme in October 1993. The ADP is working with the community to increase its capacity to access resources for ongoing development without World Vision’s direct assistance. We will keep you updated on their progress.
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