Success Stories: Transforming Lives, One Village at a Time
At People’s Rural Education Movement (PREM), our 40-year journey has evolved from a small literacy movement into a massive force for change, impacting over 2,000,000 lives across Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
A Legacy of Change
Below are the stories of how we are turning challenges into opportunities for Adivasi, Dalit, and Fisher folk communities.
Data at a Glance: Our Reach
- Model Villages: 100 villages created as "Models in Excellence".
- Education Support: 100,000 children supported (60% are girls).
- Youth Placement: 6,000 youth secured professional placements.
- Women Trained: 42,500 women received Life Skill & Income Generation Training.
- Youth Leadership: 39,338 youth underwent leadership training.
The "Golden" Revolution: Upgrading Tribal Livelihoods
In the Kandhamal district, tribal farmers struggled with low market rates for their turmeric (Haldi) produce. PREM recognized that the quality of the crop was key to increasing income.
- The Intervention: We introduced high-quality turmeric varieties from Assam and Kerala for a pilot test with Adivasi farmers.
- The Result: The scientific intervention raised the curcumin content of the turmeric from 1.9% to 5.9%.
- Economic Impact: Consequently, the market value of the produce tripled, rising from Rs. 15/- to Rs. 45/- per Kilo.
- Scale: With support from NORAD, Norway, this success paved the way for turmeric cultivation to be replicated in 500 villages.
Digital Empowerment: The "BridgeIT" Entrepreneurs
Rural communities often lag in access to digital services. Through the BridgeIT program, in partnership with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), PREM is turning unemployed rural youth into "e-entrepreneurs".
- The Story: Young men and women from socially disadvantaged communities in Rayagada and Gajapati districts are trained in IT, entrepreneurial skills, and life skills.
- Community Impact: These entrepreneurs now provide essential services such as online banking, cash withdrawal, and functional literacy training for adults in their villages.
- Key Figure: Entrepreneurs like Ajit Sabar and Sabitri are now running their own e-enterprises, providing banking solutions where none existed before.
- Focus: A strong emphasis is placed on empowering young SC/ST women to become business owners.
Defending Childhood in Daringbadi
In partnership with Educo, Spain, PREM launched a targeted initiative to combat high rates of child marriage and child labor in the Daringbadi block of Kandhamal.
- The Mobilization: We formed 96 Adolescent Groups comprising 4,497 members (aged 12-18).
- The Action: These adolescents have taken a solemn oath to report child marriage cases and refuse early marriage themselves. They organize street plays to create massive awareness about the consequences of child labor.
- Education Recovery: We successfully motivated school dropouts to return to their studies. In a notable success under our UNFPA partnership, 7 girls who had dropped out returned to pass their exams, and one married woman returned to join college, setting a spectacular example for her community.
Resilience in Crisis: The COVID-19 Response
When the pandemic struck, PREM mobilized its network to protect the most vulnerable—migrant workers and Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
- Humanitarian Aid: We sensitized 25,000 families and distributed dry food packets and water to 5,000 migrant workers walking home on highways.
- Health Protection: We distributed 7,000 sanitary kits to PVTG families in Gajapati and Rayagada districts.
- Hygiene Campaign: Our "Achhi Aadat" (Good Habits) campaign reached 12,143 people across 101 locations to promote handwashing and mask usage.
Preserving Heritage: The Traditional Healers
Recognizing the value of indigenous knowledge, PREM organized workshops for traditional herbal physicians from five tribal academies (Mundari, Santali, Lanjia Saura, Kandha, and Saura).
- Documentation: We documented treatments and medicinal plants, translating them into Odiya and local tribal languages for future generations.
- Sustainability: We established herbal gardens at the Panchayat level to ensure these medicinal plants remain available to the community.
Data at a Glance: Our Reach and Achievements
Metric | Achievement |
Model Villages | 100 villages created as "Models in Excellence". |
Education Support | 100,000 children supported (60% are girls). |
Youth Placement | 6,000 youth secured professional placements. |
Women Trained | 42,500 women received Life Skill & Income Generation Training. |
Youth Leadership | 39,338 youth underwent leadership training. |
