Community Networks during Covid-19

Working with communities helps to one understand and apprehend the diverse needs and complications of the vulnerable or marginalised groups. Community participation is especially necessary during these unstable times as vulnerable sections can provide correct information about the current knowledge or rumours being circulated, and various stigma or barriers that they are enduring. Also they are the most suited to work with others from their community and make collective actions. We know that the lockdown in India has hit people differently among the various socio-economic groups where the poor and marginalised sections are worse off with hunger deaths, increasing domestic violence, and so on. Among these evils, Kudumbashree, the poverty alleviation and women empowerment programme of Kerala government provides an interesting example of how community networks can help in these unprecedented and difficult times.

Kudumbashree originated in 1999 after two successful pilots ran in Alappuzha and Malappuram districts of Kerala. The primary domains of this programme are economic, social and women empowerment. This programme aims at economic empowerment by helping the women build enterprises like microfinance, collective farming, livestock farming, and many more. Kudumbashree aims at social empowerment by adopting inclusion of the vulnerable sections of the society through destitute identification, rehabilitation and various children’s programmes. Some notable programmes for women empowerment include gender self-learning and elimination of violence against women.