Vibrant Village Program (Anjaw, Arunachal Pradesh)- Uday Sharma

Uday Sharma
The villages of the easternmost district of India, Anjaw in Arunachal Pradesh where the sun rays first touch the land of India to take permission to shine ahead over the rest of the country by all means must be called the first village of the country.
The Anjaw story which started with the objective of strengthening the border villages of India by making the villagers the first line of defence is a story of making friends with the odds of the land and taking their support in favour of the story. The facilitator of the story who braved all odds until they stood in support to allow the story to progress is Shri Uday Sharma. Uday Sharma ji, the Project Director for Vibrant Village Program at Anjaw District, when he started his journey to Anjaw little did he know how and what is going to unfold in the coming days.
The story started on a good note as the Anjaw district administration led by the Deputy Commissioner took the first step to pave the way for us by introducing us to MLA of Anjaw, the HODs of the district Adm., the Pradhan of different villages and their Gaon Buras. The program was welcomed with open arms by wings of ITBP, Army, Airforce, BRO and Local Police Adm as well.
But this was just the beginning. As the story progressed the team under the leadership of Uday Sharma ji started meeting the local population, almost 80% of which belong to the tribal community and very shy and apprehensive to outside people. Next, the scattered population over the widespread border villages falling under Kibithoo, Walong, Hayuliang, Metelinag and Chaglagam circle of the district, the difficult terrain, frequent landslides, incessant rains, no internet connection, limited streets lights to travel at night, low literacy level resulting in poor awareness among people, absence of financial literacy and rampant availability and consumption of alcohol were the major challenges that the team had to face in order to bring the transformation that the project started for.
Breaking the communication barrier and gaining the trust of local people by visiting door to door was the first major achievement of this initiative. Once we made a home for ourselves in the heart of the villagers we knew we had found our way. Our local heroes Dawa Jangmu Meyor and Sonam Chunduk Meyor whom we met in Kibithoo and Walong respectively resonated so well with the program and its objectives that they became the champions of the program helping us connect better with the community.
Human Development Activities were the initial activities of the program. Under this head programs were conducted for each and every segment of the society and was wholeheartedly participated by all of them. These programs involved men, women and children from villages, District Administration, Army, Airforce, ITBP, BRO and Local Police.
Separate youth special Youth Leadership Training Program were conducted keeping in mind the requirements and problems faced by the youth of Anjaw.
These programs resulted in enhanced productivity, low stress and high spirit among participants. Many of them quit smoking and alcohol after attending the program, they became more aware towards their kid’s future and started looking at life from a broader perspective where they could see them at the providing end instead of being on the receiving end perpetually.
Skill Training Program was another major initiative in order to provide vocational training to women and youth of Anjaw to enable them locally to find ways of livelihood and become financially more stable. Mushroom Cultivation Program, Natural Farming and Solar & Electrical Training Program was a major skill training provided to the youth and women of the villages.
Village Infrastructure Development was done by doing Solar Electrification of Government Higher Secondary School, Walong. A Solar Panel of 6 kWP capacity was set up to provide uninterrupted power supply to GHSS Walong. Under this activity not only solar panels were installed and bulbs were set up but wiring work for all 8 classrooms was done.
One Smart Classroom was also set in GHSS with one Interactive LED Panel, Set top Box and Digital Learning Content to allow students to learn much beyond what they are taught in school syllabus in a technologically advanced manner. The teachers of the school were trained to operate the LED panel along with installation. To the benefit of students of school the Smart Classroom works without the internet.
Two Sports Events were organised during the project in order to add more and more people with the program. One of these events was a Cricket Tournament which continued for 9 days and saw participation of 23 villages of Anjaw district. Another sport event, Khel Mahotsav was organised in collaboration with 20 Punjab Regiment, Kibithoo where our 30 youths participated and made the program successful.
These events were successful in not only engaging and rekindling interest of youths in sports but also in raising awareness on the importance of alcohol de addiction as part of these events. Sports events were a great opportunity for the team members also to connect and reconnect outside work and revive and refresh their spirits.
Impact Numbers
- Circles Covered – 5 out of 8 circles of Anjaw District
- Villages Covered – 53 Villages
- Capacity Building Program – 223 people from 23 different programs
- Youth Leadership Training Program – 125 youths from 5 different programs
- Community Awareness cum Mobilisation Program – 1653 children and adults from 30 plus workshops
- Menstrual Health and Hygiene Program – 42 adolescent girls and women
- Skill Training Program – 279 youths and women from 32 plus villages
- Village and Household Surveys Conducted – 120 Households and 20 villages
- Homestay Survey conducted – 19 Homestays from 3 Circles
- Cleanliness Drive – 4 drives in 4 villages involving 300 plus people
- Sports Tournament – 2 sports tournament organised involving 150 plus participants
- Number of people impacted – 2835 direct and indirect beneficiaries
There were many other small and stand alone initiatives undertaken in order to make these numbers happen and the list is endless for those activities. As we completed our journey from odds to success, what kept the team going under the leadership of Uday Sharma ji was the faith in goodness and an unwavering commitment to see the change that we wish to see happening in front of our eyes with our own efforts. The Anjaw story stands as an expression of community development and transformation through selfless volunteerism of not just HUM but also of Anjaw District Administration, Village Administration, the Defence wings deployed there and the youths with shining eyes who resonated with the need of the time, the time for change for Anjaw.