Rural Creche Initiative
The "Rural Creche Initiative" project's goal is to enhance community awareness and foster greater interest in nurturing the nutrition and developmental requirements of young children. It will facilitate more robust alignment with various government schemes based on demand and empower Gram Panchayats to take the lead. Additionally, it will empower mothers to improve the well-being of their young children while also participating in livelihood activities.
The project aims at providing comprehensive early childhood care and nutrition services for holistic development of children in the age group of 6 months to 3 years.
REACH
2126 households, 77 villages
REGION
Gajapati, Kandhamal and Kalahandi districts of Odisha
PROJECT STATUS
Ongoing
TIMELINE
September 2023 to August 2026
BUDGET
₹8.86 crore
PARTNERS
Azim Premji Foundation - Philanthropy
ACTIVITIES
- Engage in consultations with the Gram Panchayat Coordination Committee (GPCC) to discuss the establishment and management of Rural Creches, covering their purpose, objectives, operationalisation.
- Scoping survey through the GPCC to enumerate the children in the target group.
- Conduct community-level orientations and concept seeding meetings to assess interest and gather information from the target group, followed by selection of Creche site and Creche Caregiver.
- Form Creche Committees constituting Creche Caregivers, ASHA, AWW, two representatives from Village Development Committees, two representatives from SHGs, the ward member, and the GPCC member.
- Identify suitable places for setting up Creches by the Creche Committees with facilities like space to accommodate 20 children, separate kitchen, and a toilet.
- Equip the Creches with anthropometric equipments, water storage units, bedding, linen, and do necessary repairs and painting.
- Enroll children as needed, create Child Cards with basic details, and record l measurements during enrollment.
- Conduct periodic anthropometric measurements to record weight-for-age and height-for-age and register results in the Child Card.
- Provide monthly feeding support for Creche, including snacks, eggs, fuelwood, and transportation costs. Offer additional support such as hygiene materials, stationery, play items, clothing, and footwear.
- Conduct quarterly audits of Creches for proper financial and procurement management, coordinated by GPCC and FCO Steering Committee with reports reviewed in quarterly GPCC meetings.
- Identify and refer growth faltering children to health centers for follow-up and treatment.