Voices from Below: A Photo Voice Exploration In Indian

Sundarbans

Why Photo Voice?

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To empower Voices of those most vulnerable

To empower Voices of the ‘second sex’

80 women respondents across three blocks in Sundarbans have participated in the photo voice process braving the monsoon and the floods. The photos presented here have been selected by the group themselves through a series of discussions.

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Whose voices from Below?

Mothers with children 0-6 years of age, who also are

Crab and fish collectors Living on embankment Schedule Tribe Religiously minority community Women headed households Community with large agricultural

land

Shifting the research to the community….

1. Establishing rapport with community through group meetings and informal interactions

2. Selected group leaders through community consensus

3. Selecting participants with the help of the leaders

4. Training on use of camera and consent forms

5. Piloting, learning and modification

6. Data collection and supportive visits

7. Fortnightly group meetings

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A minority community woman, who rarely ventures out, learn to use a camera during a Photo Voice fortnightly group meet

Expressing and raising Voices….

1. Brainstorming with participants to select pictures and narratives

2. Meets with local panchayat, civil society representatives and grass root health workers

The pictures and narratives from Below

LivelihoodWater and Sanitation

Food insecurity and malnutritionExisting Health Care Services

AccessibilityShelter

Water and Sanitation

During every high tide I have to face hardships to get drinking water for my children

It is better to defecate in the open than polluting our ponds

This pond is our only source of water but is too saline after Cyclone Aila

We cant even get fish from the saline water for our children

Livelihood

Crab catching is very strenuous and we are forced to risk tiger attacks

‘Meen dhara’ (prawn seed collection) allows the dirty water to get inside the women, causing uterus cancer. There are lot of examples in our village

The government has robbed us of our livelihood for saving the trees and the tigers

Our men has migrated to other states in search of work after Cyclone Aila

FOOD INSECURITY AND MALNUTRITION

Our lands have become barren after continuous flooding of saline water

Fish in our ponds cannot survive in saline conditions

Our children are growing up to be malnourished

This young mother is herself malnourished; What would happen to the baby?

Health Care Services

This health facility remains closed most of the time. The doctor hardly comes here.

Without any doctor, we depend on quacks. They always give us costly antibiotics to our children

For snake bites we mostly go to the traditional healers

Accessibility

Seven years after Cyclone the jetties have not been reconstructed. Women and children are most at risk

For at least six months in a year the roads remains muddy and slippery. How does one travel in the night?

This is the road to health centre to access the school and the immunization facility. We have stopped sending our children during high tides since Cyclone Aila.

Our only means of transport to take pregnant women and elderly to the nearest primary hospital

Shelter

The river has encroached upon lands. We are forced to live here with our children. We pray that floods does not engulf us during night

We have nowhere to go. We would face whatever Gods have in store for us

We can’t simply leave our elderly and flee the islands. We still live in makeshift shelters. Government seems to have forgotten us

oThank You