The Women of NEEDS;
Commissioned by NEEDS Jharkhand and JDot Productions
© All photographs by Meenal Upreti
NEEDS wants to create value-based communities of dignified and informed citizens, comprising the erstwhile marginalized and the oppressed from the perennially underserved regions in place with pride.
Santhali men and women gather to perform a tribal song at night.
Rosmoni, a MATE turned Mukhiya sits on her scooty outside her house in Jama, Dumka district.
Kajal Kumari, a MATE and Secretary from Ghosasingha smiles inside her house.
Sushma Verma, a MATE from Sindhwariya monitors the construction of an irrigation well.
Rosemary, an 18-year old MATE from Dumka district monitors the construction of a pond by filling master roll, checking job cards and uploading on the MGNREGA site.
Ruby Devi, a Bagwani Sakhi from Giridih walks down a plantation site for regular inspection.
NEEDS gender expert, Rinku Pathak rides a bike to reach villages in Dumka and Jama.
MATES and labourers smile for a photo with Rupa, NEEDS Gender expert in Giridih.
NEEDS' gender expert, Rupa, trains SHG women and MATES to use the MGNREGA app on phone to check their job cards
and payments.
Kajal Kumari, a MATE and Secretary from Ghosasingha explains her SHG women and MATES to use the MGNREGA app on phone to check their job cards and payments.
NEEDS team members conduct a PRA meeting with Santhali women and the Sarpanch to demonstrate GIS
planning through mapping.
Mukhiya Basanti Murmu leads a 'Kaam Mango' session in Dumka village. Santhali women demand for work and MATES make notes of their demands.
MGNREGA MATES and village heads attend a Gram Sabha meeting, commonly known as 'Aam Sabha' conducted by NEEDS.
A woman demands for work during a 'Kaam Maango' session in front of her village Sarpanch.
Ruby Devi, a Bagwani Sakhi from Pahadpur block speaks in front of a reluctant man during a Gram Sabha meeting, commonly known as 'Aam Sabha' conducted by NEEDS.
MGNREGA MATES from Pahadpur block show their job cards in front of their Panchayat Bhawan.
MATES from several districts learn how to measure ponds and plantation sites in a 3-day training conducted by NEEDS
to become Barefoot Engineers.
MGNREGA labourers dug pits for new crops on their plantation sites.
Ruby Devi, a Bagwani Sakhi from Giridih helps other MGNREGA labourers to climb up the plantation site.
Ruby Devi, a Bagwani Sakhi measures the distance between mango plants with a MGNREGA MATES on a plantation site.
Rosemary, an 18-year old MATE from Dumka district monitors the construction of a pond by filling master roll, checking job cards and uploading on the MGNREGA site.
MATE Rosemary monitors the construction of a pond | MATE Rosmoni helps women with Government schemes in her village.
Ruby Devi, a Bagwani Sakhi from Giridih walks down a plantation site for regular inspection.
Suhagini, an IFS entrepreneur feeds her ducks, given by NEEDS, one early morning.
An aerial view of an IFS entrepreneur, Suhagini's patch of land where she grows strawberries with other didis from her SHG as a part of cluster cultivation.
Suhagini's fields are lined with drip irrigation for better yields and less wastage of water.
Children run through paddy fields in Belkupi village.
Santhali MATES play football conducted by NEEDS to build confidence and team work.
