The 'All Women Disaster Response Team' by the Kudumbashree District Mission of Kozhikode has been launched. Shri.Thottathil Raveendran, Mayor, Kozhikode Corporation inaugurated the All Women Disaster Response Team on 1 October 2018.

Named as 'Pink Alert', it is the first ever women only disaster response team in India. 'Pink Alert' which is formed as part of the Disaster and Relief Cell of Kudumbashree has 100 members in its first batch. The 100 member team of volunteers has come up under the Kozhikode Corporation Kudumbashree CDS. It is as per the directions of the National Disaster Rescue Force (NDRF), the specialized force constituted for the purpose of specialist response to a threatening disaster situation or disaster under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 that the 'Pink Alert' All Women Disaster Response Team is formed. 'Pink Alert' would follow the guidelines of National Disaster Response Force.

Women and children are always the most affected and most helpless during any calamity or disaster. It is on this realization that the All Women Disaster Response Team was launched. The team consists of women from various neighborhood groups of the age group of 25 to 45 who are selected on the basis of their health and willingness to volunteer for service. Smt. T. Shitha is the Chief coordinator and Smt. M. Sahaja, Smt. Shemimol and Smt. K. Smitha will be the coordinators of the programme. Pink and White colored overcoat with Maroon cap and brown canvas shoes is the uniform for the 'Pink Alert' All Women Disaster Response Team.

Even though 'Pink Alert' would work in the Kozhikode corporation premises, if needed, they would extend their services to inside and outside the district as well. Baby Memorial Hospital Trauma Care- Kozhikode (TRACK), an independent, non-profit organisation set up by a group of voluntary organizations like Rotary Club, Lions Club, IMA etc, officers of the motor vehicle department, Police Officers and people who are socially committed and interested in social service with an aim to render life saving assistance to accident victims will extend training for the 'Pink Alert' members. A two-day residential camp for the volunteers will be held soon under the aegis of Trauma Care to prepare them for the job ahead. Pink Alert is an afterthought of “Mazhayardram”, the flood relief programme of the CDS and the part of Kudumbashree's Disaster Management and Relief Cell. Pink Alert is an effort to ensure better presence of women in disaster management and distress relief besides rehabilitation.

Kudumbashree Women are actively selling the Navakerala Lottery which was launched by the Directorate of Kerala Lotteries, Government of Kerala in an an aim to collect additional fund towards the Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) for flood rehabilitation activities and for Rebuilding Kerala. Lottery tickets worth Rs 7.29 crore had been sold out so far. The lucky draw for the same is scheduled on 3 October 2018.

The Directorate of Kerala Lotteries aims to sell 90 lakh lottery tickets. First Prize of Rs 1 lakh will be given to 90 persons each and the second prize of Rs 5000 will be given to 100800 people. As part of the lottery selling, 1030 CDS out of 1064 CDS had took up the casual agency. Through this 14,989 Kudumbashree women are selling Navakerala Lottery tickets. They have sold 2,91,760 tickets so far. In connection with this, Rangashree, the community theater group of Kudumbashree Mission had been performing street plays for the publicity of the sale of Navakerala lotteries throughout the state. Kudumbashree Accounts and Audit Service Society (KAASS), Micro Enterprises Consultant (MEC) and other training groups had also took up the casual agency for selling Navakerala Lottery tickets and are active in selling the same. Rs 250 is the cost per ticket. While buying one book, they has to give only Rs 1943. By selling one book of 10 tickets, a Kudumbashree member may receive Rs 557 as commission. Also the CDS would get 10 % of the prize money of the winning tickets as agency prize and the rest of the amount would be given to the agent.

The Government of Kerala launched the Navakerala lottery in a bid to collect additional funds towards the Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF),the emergency assistance release mechanism granting immediate relief to families and individuals distressed by calamity, loss of life due to accidents and chronic diseases. The Government hopes to collect close to Rs 100 crore through the lotteries to be used for reconstructing the flood-battered state. The state government is printed 96 lakh tickets in nine series as part of the lottery.The target of this special lottery is to raise Rs 100 crore, which will be the net profit for the state government after meeting all expenses of this special lottery, if all the 96 lakh tickets are sold. Government of Kerala entrusted Kudumbashree Mission as an agency to sell tickets to increase sales.

Kudumbashree's representative presents paper on 'Engaging Civil Society Organizations in Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals' organised by Asian Development Bank at Japan. It is Ms.Caroline.C. Neriamparampil, Social Development Specialist at PMAY Technical Cell Kochi who presented paper on 'Engaging Civil Society Organisations in Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals' conducted by the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank Institute held in Tokyo, Japan from 26-28 September 2018.

To share knowledge about the contribution of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), discuss with CSOs, governments, ADB, and other development actors, on the importance of working with CSOs in advancing the SDGs, recommend ways to effectively engage CSOs in helping achieve the SDGs were the objectives of the programme.

According to Caroline, linking the financial inclusion and micro finance, especially Kudumbashree Mission was of great interest to Asian Development Bank and many participants. A good fruitful discussion was followed by Caroline's presentation. During the time she also shared the involvement of Kudumbashree Community Based Organisation members in rehabilitation activities during the unprecedented floods in Kerala.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) is an international development finance institution whose vision is an Asia and Pacific region free of poverty. Asian Development Bank (ADB) is committed to reducing poverty through inclusive growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration. Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) works with policymakers to identify strategies to reduce poverty and promote growth. It does so by conducting research with a focus on medium- to long-term development issues of strategic importance that affects the region and through capacity building and training activities that contribute to ADB’s overarching objective of poverty reduction.

Amidst unprecedented floods and the calamities caused, the teaching and the non teaching staff of Kudumbashree's BUDS Rehabilitation Centres (BRC) contributed Rs 1 lakh to Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF), the emergency assistance release mechanism granting immediate relief to families and individuals distressed by calamity, loss of life due to accidents and chronic diseases. It is the 270 members of the association of the teaching and non teaching staff of the 114 BUDS Rehabilitation Centres across the State who made this glorious contribution. The members of this association Smt. Sheeja Beegum, Smt. Ambika Kumari, Smt. Vineetha and Smt. Shanthi handed over the cheque of Rs.1 lakh to Shri. E.P Jayarajan, Minister for Industries, Commerce, Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Kerala on 14 September 2018. 

The staff of BRCs wanted to do something for the society and they collected the amount in no time. The BRCs at Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha Districts were drowned  and the staff were badly affected by the floods. Several staff have children who are mentally and physically challenged and many of them are the inmates of BRC. Even though many BRCs were badly affected by the floods, the staff came forward to contribute their share to the Government.

BUDS Rehabilitation Centres (BRCs) are day care centres for mentally challenged persons which are intended to fill a gap in the State’s existing system for providing care to the mentally challenged that caters only to persons up to 18 years of age. BRCs are meant for those who have already undergone special education through BUDS Schools or other centres. However, centres are also open to mentally challenged children who are unable to attend schools. BRCs are meant to train and support persons with special needs for equipping them with skills that make them employable.The staff of the  BUDS Rehabilitation Centres are contented that they could make their contribution to support the Government in rebuilding Kerala. 

Kudumbashree opened 4 coffee vending kiosks at Kerala Government Secretariat.Two coffee vending machines are installed at Annexe 1 and Annexe 2 and the two other  coffee vending machines are installed  near Chief Secretary's Chamber and Finance department. 15 women from Thiruvananthapuram Corporation were given training. Eksath Training Agency had extended the training for the women. The beneficiaries were extended training under the Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) of the centrally designed programme, National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM).

The initiative is working under the leadership of Smt. Diana, CDS, ADS Vice Chairperson of Valiyathura Ward, Thiruvannathapuram. Smt. Sherin, Smt. Princila, Smt. Viji, Smt. Malini, Smt. Mini. Smt. Preetha, Smt. Jolly and Smt. Baby are the other members behind this initiative. The coffee vending kiosks are receiving good responses and an average of 200 cups is sold per coffee vending machine. Cookies are also provided along with. They have also took up on call services. The Kiosk serves more than 60 flavors of tea. Natural seeds are used for making coffee. Sugar Sachets are served separately that the tea and coffee are served customized as per the needs of the customer. Space for cafe units had already been requested for making it more viable. They are also planning to serve ethnic snacks through the kiosk. Kudumbashree Mission is the nodal agency for implementing the centrally designed programme, National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) in Kerala.

Kudumbashree Mission joins hands with 'Save the Children', a global non-profit organisation which was founded in the year 1919 and is India's leading independent child rights NGO, which run programmes in the remotest corners of India and urban areas to provide quality education and healthcare, protection from harm and abuse and life-saving aid during emergencies to children. Kudumbashree Mission and 'Save the Children' NGO have signed an agreement to reach out to 10,000 families from the most marginalized sections, to recover the losses due to the unprecedented floods and landslides across Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Wayanad districts. The agreement was signed between Shri. S. Harikishore, Executive Director Kudumbashree Mission and Shri.Santanu Chakraborty, Deputy Programme Director, Save the Children at Kudumbashree State Mission Office. Thiruvananthapuram on 19 September 2018.

As per the agreement, 'Save the Children' will work in the areas of WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), livelihood, education and child protection. The community level and the institutional engagement processes will be led by Kudumbashree Mission in the target locations. For the implementation of the on ground activities, Save the Children and Kudumbashree will coordinate with the Department of Social Justice, Department of Education and Department of Health at the district level for coordination of the activities. Post the Kerala flood response, continuing with the humanitarian aid to build back the lives of those severely affected, the programme will be implemented in a phased approach over a period of one year. Capacity building and Technical Assistance mechanism and plans will be developed between Kudumbashree Mission and 'Save the Children' on Child Rights issues in the state.

According to the Executive Director, Kudumbashree Mission envisages to make a change in the lives of children and through this initiative Kudumbashree's Balasabha will be strengthened to create a child friendly environment in the community. Kudumbashree Mission look forward to an on-ground action through the partnership with 'Save the Children'.

Save the Children works across 20 states of India and in 120 countries, on issues related to education, health, protection and humanitarian/ Disaster risk reduction (DRR) needs of children, especially for those who are the most deprived and marginalized. Save the Children believes that every child deserves the best chance for a bright future and that’s why we are fiercely committed towards ensuring that children not only survive, but thrive.

Micro Enterprise Consultant from Kozhikode contributed chit fund amount to Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF), the emergency assistance release mechanism granting immediate relief to families and individuals distressed by calamity, loss of life due to accidents and chronic diseases. It is Smt. Reena, Micro Enterprise Consultant hailing from Thorod Panchayath of Vadakara, Kozhikode who contributed the chit fund amount she gained from the chit of Nadakkuthazha Service Co-operative Bank. It was a chit with a tenure of 40 months duration and Reena is yet to pay the installment of another 16 months. Reena had received an amount of Rs 90,000 from the chit and she lent Rs 10,000 from someone and made it Rs 1 lakh and contributed to Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).

Reena is a socially committed member of Kudumbashree Mission that she had already contributed Rs 21,400 to Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) by pledging her golden bangle and had also contributed the dress materials she had bought for onam. Even though she had met with an accident recently and broke her leg, it doesn't pull her back from serving the society. Reena had also came up to sell Navakerala lottery which was launched by the Government of Kerala in a bid to collect additional funds towards the Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF). She had already sold 100 tickets so far.

Reena is delighted that she could do something for the whole society. She had been active member of Kudumbashree Mission from 2004 and it was during 2006 she became the Micro Enterprise Consultant. Reena had also took part in the Saras Fairs held at Jharkhand and Bangalore.

Veteran Journalist and Ramon Magsaysay Award laureate Shri. P. Sainath features article on Kudumbashree's Flood hit JLGs in People's Archive of Rural India. Under the heading 'Kerala’s women farmers rise above the flood', Sainath deals on how Kudumbashree women's determination outstripped the devastation caused by the unprecedented floods. According to him, savaged by the August floods, facing a looming drought, the women of Kudumbashree’s path breaking group farms are rebuilding, using solidarity as a strategy.

"Across the state, sangha krishi farmers who have lost almost everything – still pitched in with some contributions to help the larger Kudumbashree network raise Rs. 7 crores for the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. September 11 brought another poignant moment. That day, in New Delhi, Kudumbashree was awarded the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) prize for ‘Outstanding Performance in Farm Livelihoods.’ The first time the NRLM has given out such an award. " Sainath points out.

Throughout the feature, he explains about the will power and courage that the Kudumbashree women had drawn from their solidarity. He also explains the working of the sanghkrishi units of Kudumbashree who cultivates on the leased land. He says that their success and efficiency means that unlike elsewhere in the country, banks run after them, not the other way around. P. Sainath undoubtedly says that Kudumbashree could well be the greatest gender justice and poverty reduction programme in the world.

Sainath had made notable mentions about Kudumbashree Mission and the Kudumbashree JLGs during his speech at Laadli Media Awards, the largest awards system in Indian journalism that are specifically given for promoting gender sensitivity in the media. During his speech, he also appealed to the journalists to go out and write about Kudumbashree Mission.

He had visited a few flood affected lands of Kudumbashree JLGs recenltly. People's Archive of Rural India (PARI) is a digital journalism platform in India founded by Shri P. Sainath himself who was the former rural affairs editor of 'The Hindu' daily.

Please see the video here

The meeting of the Co-operative Bank Presidents in Wayanad was held at District Bank Auditorium, Kalpetta, Wayanad on 20 September 2018 regarding the disbursement of the Resurgent Kerala Loan Scheme. The meeting was called to give awareness to the bank presidents on how to process the loan  applications. 20 out of the 27 co-operative bank presidents attended the programme.The representatives from District Bank ( Agriculture wing manager, loan section manager), NABARD and Lead Bank. A linkage mela including nationalised banks and co-operative banks was also organized at Panamaram on the same day itself.

The new interest free loan scheme ( Resurgent Kerala Loan Scheme) was introduced by Government of Kerala to give loans up to 1 lakh for those who lost their utensils and livelihood during flood. Kudumbashree was selected as the agency for implementing the loan scheme. 

Kudumbashree- Kerala State Poverty Eradication Mission bagged seven Awards including Skoch Award for Corporate Excellence and Skoch Order of Merit Awards. The Skoch Award for Corporate Excellence (Bronze) has been awarded to Kudumbashree Mission for Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY). The Skoch Order of Merit have been awarded for Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY), Kudumbashree School Capacity Building programme for 43 lakh Kudumbashree NHG members, Kudumbashree Facility Management Center, Homeshop, Kudumbashree Women Construction Groups and Amrutham Nutrimix for qualifying amongst the Top Corporate Excellence Projects in India. The Awards were distributed at a function held at Constitution Club of India, New Delhi on 19 September 2018.

DDU-GKY, the skill training and placement programme under the Ministry of Rural Development ( MoRD) occupies a unique position amongst the other skill training programmes due to its focus to the poor rural youth and its emphasis on sustainable employment through the prominence and incentives given to post placement tracking, retention and career progression, which is being implemented in Kerala state through Kudumbashree Mission. Kudumbashree School is the informal education programme which aims at the personality development and social, cultural, educational empowerment of women executed coordinating with the NHGs envisaging to improve the intellectual quality of common women.
Kudumbashree Facility Management Center provides facility management services to major public and private sector companies such as Kochi Metro Rail Limited,Vyttila Mobility Hub, Panampilly Nagar Walkway Maintenance etc and has become an epicenter for providing employment for women by providing thousands of women employed with its clients. The Home shop is a mode of community marketing, which promotes the sale of locally produced products of Kudumbashree micro enterprise units, by employing the women, thereby creating market for the products and source of income generation for the women. It is a model emerged out of the explorations for establishing marketing channels for Kudumbashree's products.

It was on anticipating the huge shortage of the labour force in the near future because of various determined Government campaigns of mass housing,that training was extended to women in construction sector which resulted in the formation of the construction groups in the state who can take up construction of houses, buildings and roads. Presently, Kudumbashree women construction units are constructing the LIFE Mission houses in various places across the state. Amrutham Nutrimix is a nutritional food supplement suitable for six months to three year old children as Take-Home-Ration (THR), prepared by the Kudumbashree micro enterprise units with the patronage and guidance of Kudumbashree. using wheat, soya chunks, bengal gram, groundnut and sugar as basic ingredients.

Skoch Order of Merit constituted by Skoch Group, a think tank dealing with the socio economic issues with a focus on inclusive growth since 1997. By bagging the Skoch Award for Corporate Excellence (Bronze) and six Skoch Order of Merit Awards for various programmes, Kudumbashree Mission has achieved National recognition.