Annual Report 2020-21

ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY ORGANISATION FOR PROSPERITY, EDUCATION & NURTURE DURING THE YEAR 2021

Organisation for Prosperity, Education & Nurture (O.P.E.N.) began with the aim to help people in need, irrespective of their caste, creed, religion or backgrounds.  When we talk of need, the enormity of the various needs is vast and opportunities and resources limited.  However, we began with providing training to women and girls in villages for handicraft work, extended to community health, mother and child welfare, development, education, earthquake and other relief works. 

In the present pandemic, we have learnt new ways and means to extend our help to people far and near.  As a wise man wrote long time ago, “Be thankful for your struggles in life, because without them you may not have stumbled across your strengths”.  So, with God’s mercy O.P.E.N. has been striving to strike a balance between the imbalance of needs and resources for the communities we serve.

PHILLIP MEMORIAL JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

While we served the communities in community health field, a need was felt to provide education to our future generations, to bring amongst them awareness, so that they could grow into fruitful trees that would be able to bear much fruit in times to come. Their learning would enlighten them to break free from the shackles of ignorance and disperse the darkness around in our society and widen its thought process. With this aim, Phillip Memorial School began in 2011 with five students.  On 31^st December 2019, the school was registered and recognized as Phillip Memorial Junior High School.  We have generally catered to students hailing from the lower income, socio-economic background families.  During the recent pandemic, the number of students on roll has dwindled and it has been really challenging to continue the school.  Presently we have classes from Playgroup to Sixth. 

During the COVID protocols, the school managed to continue to provide lessons to our students through WhatsApp, give homework, obtain responses, carry out corrections and advise parents and students of the mistakes. The new academic session 2021-22  was to commence from April 2021 but due to the second wave of COVID, Schools were closed from 10^th April 2021. Many students had neither turned up nor responded to telephonic messages and left school without paying up any fees.  Coaching classes after 10^th April 2021 were started again for the students with the consent of parents from September 2021.

In December 2020 the School Annual Programme was conducted online (couple of photographs are given below).  Despite the limited resources and without much practice, the students performed very well.  Later in January 2021, on Republic Day all teachers attended unfurling of the National Flag in school and then on Independence Day on 15^th August 2021, students of Class VI joined us on the school campus for flag hoisting and singing the National Anthem and our students again performed at homes and shared their performances with us, which were uploaded on YouTube. On 19^th December 2021 the Annual Programme was held in the school, where after two years students could perform on the stage.  The parents were also very happy to see their wards performing and enjoying.  Some of the photographs on various activities are appended.

DISABILITY INCLUSIVE LIVELIHOOD INITIATIVES PROGRAMME   (DILIP)

The aim of this programme is to create means of reducing poverty and building self-esteem, which is the underlying source of all growth, nation-building and contentment in life. It is closely connected with basic human rights. Development can be sustainable only if it is equitable and inclusive.

The programme too was affected badly by COVID-19 pandemic with lockdowns and the spread of infection interrupting the follow up of families.   We encourage persons with disabilities to get involved in livelihood activities so that they can be supported by resources, knowledge, skills and networking so that they are able to live life to the fullest, despite their handicaps.  Selected beneficiaries are from a mixed background with varied disabilities, age, occupation, skill, location and interests.

Despite the lockdowns, our Disability Co-ordinator visited families and was able to conduct a survey, wherein she has identified three families that could be helped out through this programme.  Mr. Mohit Chauhan of Pithuwala and Mr. Sehban of Harbhajwala are both Polio patients.  Zakira, of Mehuwala Naya Nagar suffers from mental issues. 

COMMUNITY LAY LEADERS’ HEALTH TRAINING COURSE (CLHTC)

The last two years have been very challenging and painful all over the world and India too has faced the brunt of COVID-19.

In the year 2020, 33 candidates were able to complete the first contact programme of CLHTC and due to the COVID Protocols their 2nd and 3rd contact programmes could not be conducted.  Meanwhile in 2021 “COVID SURAKHSHA COURSE” for 300-plus CLHTC candidates who had completed their training uptol 2019 was conducted online and books were provided to them to study at home which they have completed through the on line training  and also completed the assignments which were checked and forwarded to CMC Vellore by the  Cluster Training Officer. 80% of the candidates have done the course.  The remaining 20%  candidates who were unable to do because of network problems, are working hard to complete the same.

During April to June 2021 the Cluster Training Officer was able to go to the villages to encourage the CLHTC trained people who were providing health services to the villagers and provided them with  Covid Relief/Prevention Kits and Rations to 128 candidates. We also arranged to send by post the Covid Kits to 112 candidates where it was not possible to go.  A couple of photographs are attached. 

COMMUNITY HEALTH PROVIDERS’ COURSE (CHPC)

CHPC is a shorter course than CLHTC and provides the community workers some basic training in community health. In the midst of the two pandemic waves, during March 2021, we managed to conduct Contact Programme-1 of six days each in two batches.

The first training was conducted in Dehradun in which 17 trainees from various parts of Rishikesh participated. The second training was conducted at Gurugram wherein 24 trainees from various parts of Punjab, Delhi and Haryana attended.  Later COVID kits and ration kits were also provided to these trainees as were provided to the CLHTC trainees.

ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY ORGANISATION FOR PROSPERITY, EDUCATION & NURTURE DURING THE YEAR 2021

Organisation for Prosperity, Education & Nurture (O.P.E.N.) began with the aim to help people in need, irrespective of their caste, creed, religion or backgrounds.  When we talk of need, the enormity of the various needs is vast and opportunities and resources limited.  However, we began with providing training to women and girls in villages for handicraft work, extended to community health, mother and child welfare, development, education, earthquake and other relief works. 

In the present pandemic, we have learnt new ways and means to extend our help to people far and near.  As a wise man wrote long time ago, “Be thankful for your struggles in life, because without them you may not have stumbled across your strengths”.  So, with God’s mercy O.P.E.N. has been striving to strike a balance between the imbalance of needs and resources for the communities we serve.

PHILLIP MEMORIAL JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

While we served the communities in community health field, a need was felt to provide education to our future generations, to bring amongst them awareness, so that they could grow into fruitful trees that would be able to bear much fruit in times to come. Their learning would enlighten them to break free from the shackles of ignorance and disperse the darkness around in our society and widen its thought process. With this aim, Phillip Memorial School began in 2011 with five students.  On 31^st December 2019, the school was registered and recognized as Phillip Memorial Junior High School.  We have generally catered to students hailing from the lower income, socio-economic background families.  During the recent pandemic, the number of students on roll has dwindled and it has been really challenging to continue the school.  Presently we have classes from Playgroup to Sixth. 

During the COVID protocols, the school managed to continue to provide lessons to our students through WhatsApp, give homework, obtain responses, carry out corrections and advise parents and students of the mistakes. The new academic session 2021-22  was to commence from April 2021 but due to the second wave of COVID, Schools were closed from 10^th April 2021. Many students had neither turned up nor responded to telephonic messages and left school without paying up any fees.  Coaching classes after 10^th April 2021 were started again for the students with the consent of parents from September 2021.

In December 2020 the School Annual Programme was conducted online (couple of photographs are given below).  Despite the limited resources and without much practice, the students performed very well.  Later in January 2021, on Republic Day all teachers attended unfurling of the National Flag in school and then on Independence Day on 15^th August 2021, students of Class VI joined us on the school campus for flag hoisting and singing the National Anthem and our students again performed at homes and shared their performances with us, which were uploaded on YouTube. On 19^th December 2021 the Annual Programme was held in the school, where after two years students could perform on the stage.  The parents were also very happy to see their wards performing and enjoying.  Some of the photographs on various activities are appended.

DISABILITY INCLUSIVE LIVELIHOOD INITIATIVES PROGRAMME   (DILIP)

The aim of this programme is to create means of reducing poverty and building self-esteem, which is the underlying source of all growth, nation-building and contentment in life. It is closely connected with basic human rights. Development can be sustainable only if it is equitable and inclusive.

The programme too was affected badly by COVID-19 pandemic with lockdowns and the spread of infection interrupting the follow up of families.   We encourage persons with disabilities to get involved in livelihood activities so that they can be supported by resources, knowledge, skills and networking so that they are able to live life to the fullest, despite their handicaps.  Selected beneficiaries are from a mixed background with varied disabilities, age, occupation, skill, location and interests.

Despite the lockdowns, our Disability Co-ordinator visited families and was able to conduct a survey, wherein she has identified three families that could be helped out through this programme.  Mr. Mohit Chauhan of Pithuwala and Mr. Sehban of Harbhajwala are both Polio patients.  Zakira, of Mehuwala Naya Nagar suffers from mental issues. 

COMMUNITY LAY LEADERS’ HEALTH TRAINING COURSE (CLHTC)

The last two years have been very challenging and painful all over the world and India too has faced the brunt of COVID-19.

In the year 2020, 33 candidates were able to complete the first contact programme of CLHTC and due to the COVID Protocols their 2nd and 3rd contact programmes could not be conducted.  Meanwhile in 2021 “COVID SURAKHSHA COURSE” for 300-plus CLHTC candidates who had completed their training uptol 2019 was conducted online and books were provided to them to study at home which they have completed through the on line training  and also completed the assignments which were checked and forwarded to CMC Vellore by the  Cluster Training Officer. 80% of the candidates have done the course.  The remaining 20%  candidates who were unable to do because of network problems, are working hard to complete the same.

During April to June 2021 the Cluster Training Officer was able to go to the villages to encourage the CLHTC trained people who were providing health services to the villagers and provided them with  Covid Relief/Prevention Kits and Rations to 128 candidates. We also arranged to send by post the Covid Kits to 112 candidates where it was not possible to go.  A couple of photographs are attached. 

COMMUNITY HEALTH PROVIDERS’ COURSE (CHPC)

CHPC is a shorter course than CLHTC and provides the community workers some basic training in community health. In the midst of the two pandemic waves, during March 2021, we managed to conduct Contact Programme-1 of six days each in two batches.

The first training was conducted in Dehradun in which 17 trainees from various parts of Rishikesh participated. The second training was conducted at Gurugram wherein 24 trainees from various parts of Punjab, Delhi and Haryana attended.  Later COVID kits and ration kits were also provided to these trainees as were provided to the CLHTC trainees.