Youth Awareness Program, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh

It has been recognized that youth populations are the capital for nation building.

However youth of our rural stratum have a different story, a story with increasing difficulties engulfed with poor living standards, unemployment, deteriorating services, social unrest and political instability. A major chunk of the youth population in our country is from the rural stratum. With increasing food shortage, rural to urban migration, Inadequate housing, health care and education; and high rates of unemployment, youth of the rural is now among the most disadvantage group. Often they have limited access to educational programs that are geared to their situation and needs. Many rural youth drop out of school at an early age. School syllabuses are designed toward academic accomplishments and to the urban areas than to learning skills useful to rural life. Rural young women have even greater difficulties than young men as they are often not given the same opportunities in education, training and Involvement in rural development activities. Hence the conditions of the rural youth are now in grim and it is now to uplift them from this disturbing situation and provide them with all the empathy to sustain and grow by themselves . A joint effort to guide them for the nation building approach as the world of the future depends on the youth of today.

As an initiatives and a goal towards rural development LIW has taken the approach towards guiding the rural youth in an approach towards the basics, to motivate and a moral boost which help the youth to enhance there conscience and self decision making approach towards their responsibilities. Improving their capabilities, improving their skills and abilities, developing leadership and the ability to work well with others in group and community situations. This approach will improve their knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviour which are of vital importance in the implementation of sustainable agricultural and rural development programmes.

A two day Youth awareness program training was conducted. An objective to train the trainees who will lead and mobilize the youth for a holistic approach towards nation building. Dozens of Youth were mobilized and they attended the training. Topics covered in the training were:

1. Counseling- Rural Villages are filled with lots of misconception and lack of understanding. Counseling is an integral part of social work and youth who are trained for counseling can do wonders and bring a change in themselves and the society itself. With the conscious of the youth of the rural towards urban drift, trainees can counsel the youth towards the available potential of the village resource and bring light to their livelihood. Youth who are lured towards towns in the hope of greater opportunities for employment and better education could be changed and impart a better light for global view. An initiative towards to think locally and act globally.

2. Communication-The rural youth is left without entrepreneurial role model, low skills development opportunities, few job prospects. Many rural youth are not exposed to a variety of self-development possibilities, often lacking diversity and activities that could prepare them for careers or involvement they may not have considered. Communication problems are one of the major reasons for these youth who are left out of the population. 

3. Perception-The United Nation describes one of the more significant characteristics of young people is to live under conditions that encourage their imagination, ideals, energy and vision to flourish on the benefit of their societies (United Nation, 2007). They need to be imaginative, energetic and visionary for the benefit of their societies. As information and youth represent two of the largest in country development, it is important to understand the rural youth’s perception towards information sources and usage. They are expected to use the information for several reasons such as to complete a task, to solve a problem as well as to decide.

4. Domestic Violence-In our society, violence is bursting. It is present almost everywhere and more intense right behind the doors of our homes. Behind closed doors of homes all across our country, people are being tortured, beaten and killed. It is happening in rural areas, towns, cities and in metropolitans as well. It is crossing all social classes, genders, racial lines and age groups. It is becoming a legacy being passed on from one generation to another. Hence training the youth towards understanding domestic violence act action plans for tackling Domestic violence in their areas was a must.

It said India is among the 16 countries that have reduced open defecation rates by at least 25 percentage points. The progress termed as "moderate" by the UN report.

It said India is among the 16 countries that have reduced open defecation rates by at least 25 percentage points.

India has made “moderate” progress in reducing open defecation rates among its population and has succeeded in providing access to improved drinking water to more people in urban and rural areas, according to a UN report.

The Joint Monitoring Programme report titled “Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water: 2015 Update and MDG Assessment” released by the UN Children’s Fund and the World Health Organization said one in every three or 2.4 billion people on the planet are still without sanitation facilities, including 946 million people who defecate in the open.

It said India is among the 16 countries that have reduced open defecation rates by at least 25 percentage points. In India’s case, there has been a reduction by 31 per cent in open defecation, a progress termed as “moderate” by the report.

“The Southern Asia region, where the number of open defecators is highest, has also made significant improvements.  Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan have all achieved reductions of more than 30 percentage points since 1990,” the report said.

“The 31 per cent reduction in open defecation in India alone represents 394 million people and significantly influences regional and global estimates,” it said.

The report, however, noted that in India, there has been very little change over the last 20 years in reducing open defecation among the poor.

The report further said that India has “met its target” of increasing use of drinking water resources to its population. India was among the nine countries that succeeded in halving the proportion of the population without improved drinking water in both rural and urban areas.

The other countries are Belize, Egypt, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Paraguay, Tunisia and Uganda. From 71 per cent in 1990, India now has 94 per cent of its population with access to drinking water sources, the report said.

The report, however, warned that the lack of progress on sanitation globally threatens to undermine the child survival and health benefits from gains in access to safe drinking water.

“Until everyone has access to adequate sanitation facilities, the quality of water supplies will be undermined and too many people will continue to die from water-borne and water-related diseases,” said Maria Neira, Director of the WHO Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health. Access to adequate water, sanitation and hygiene is critical in the prevention and care of 16 of the 17 ‘neglected tropical diseases’ (NTDs), including trachoma, soil-transmitted helminths (intestinal worms) and schistosomiasis.

NTDs affect more than 1.5 billion people in 149 countries, causing blindness, disfigurement, permanent disability and death.

The practice of open defecation is linked to a higher risk of stunting –- or chronic malnutrition -– which affects 161 million children worldwide, leaving them with irreversible physical and cognitive damage, according to WHO. Plans for the proposed new sustainable development goals (SDGs) to be set by the UN General Assembly in September 2015 include a target to eliminate open defecation by 2030.

This would require a doubling of current rates of reduction, especially in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, WHO and UNICEF say. Sanjay Wijesekera, head of UNICEF’s global water, sanitation and hygiene programmes, said what the data really show is the need to focus on inequalities as the only way to achieve sustainable progress.

“The global model so far has been that the wealthiest move ahead first, and only when they have access do the poorest start catching up. If we are to reach universal access to sanitation by 2030, we need to ensure the poorest start making progress right away,” Wijesekera said.

Access to improved drinking water sources has been a major achievement for countries and the international community.

With some 2.6 billion people having gained access since 1990, 91 per cent of the global population now have improved drinking water -– and the number is still growing.

Although some 2.1 billion people have gained access to improved sanitation since 1990, the world has missed the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target by nearly 700 million people.

Today, only 68 per cent of the world’s population uses an improved sanitation facility -– 9 percentage points below the MDG target of 77 per cent.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/india-reduces-open-defecation-by-31-per-cent-un-report.

Source:http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/india-reduces-open-defecation-by-31-per-cent-un-report/