Murari M. Choudhury
Jharkhand is a state in East India that the World Bank reports as having one of the worst poverty rates, the highest prevalence of child malnutrition and the most elevated infant mortality rates in the country. In response to the low health indicators and poverty facing the region, Murari M. Choudhury founded the Network of Enterprise Enhancement and Development Support’s (NEEDS). NEEDS implements programs on reproductive health, adolescent reproductive health and secure livelihoods in the most deprived regions of Jharkhand.
The first three years of establishing NEEDS was a struggle for survival. Our only capital was the money that I received after leaving my position with Catholic Relief Services and a borrowed computer from my son. As we worked to build a sustainable and successful organization, two of my colleagues and I received the opportunity to become Leadership Fellows and participate in the Visionary Leadership Program in Population (VLP).
The VLP training provided tools on basic management procedures and increased our knowledge on issues of sustainability, resource mobilization, system enhancement and governance. We applied these ideas to the management processes at NEEDS. At first, these changes were difficult for me, as I had a naturally directive leadership style, but the program helped me understand the positive results of building a shared vision. As I embraced these new techniques, I also practiced the process of shared vision building at the community level and have seen a positive difference within the community.
From our first struggling years to the present, NEEDS has established an excellent reputation with the communities it reaches out to and the government. The process of changing our management style paid off and had a visible impact on our work:
- We have been accredited by Credibility Alliance for good governance and transparency. At the time of our accreditation, we were the only NGO in India to have received full accreditation from Credibility Alliance.
- We were also chosen by UNITUS/USA as one of their ultra poor livelihood prototype program designs
- We became a strategic partner of VSO: India for promoting leadership, volunteering, good governance and inclusion
- We are enlisted with the NGO Give India
Despite these successes, I realized that NEEDS had its limitations. A critical mass of passionate leaders – not just in NEEDS, but across India – is necessary to bring about meaningful change. In order to achieve this, I created a group of activists and organizations committed to building each other's capacity to intervene on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH). With the vital support of several organizations that I had connected with as a Leadership Fellow and with support from other Leadership Fellows, I created the Development Intervention on Sexual Health of Adolescents (DISHA) network.
Through DISHA, we brought together 19 NGO’s leaders and their support staff, totaling 55 staff members, for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) trainings. These sessions are a form of mini-leadership training, with programs on organizational leadership, grassroots leadership and 360-degree feedback mechanisms. NEEDS has helped 4 of its DISHA partners to get partial accreditation with the Credibility Alliance.
None of the DISHA organizations had ever worked in adolescent sexual and reproductive health prior to their involvement with NEEDS. The organizations have undergone dramatic changes as a result of the capacity building training that NEEDS provided. Now 12 of these 19 groups have completed program planning under the mentorship of NEEDS and successfully run Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health programs. DISHA not only helps individuals to understand ARSH as a people's issue, it brings professionalism and system management to grassroots organizations.
Future Expansion
NEEDS has shifted its reproductive health projects into a larger maternal health program with New Health Vision and expanded maternal health threefold by involving DISHA partners. The organization has also started expanding its NGO networks beyond Jharkhand in order to increase its circle of influence.
A leadership program has been institutionalized within NEEDS and has secured resources for a Community Youth Leadership program. This program includes 45 youth who are trained through a 30 day module of leadership and volunteering. These youth are currently engaged in a wide range of community activities, including working within their communities for bringing change in RH behavior, accessing health services and influencing governments for improved health service delivery.
Individual Leadership Development
Leaders within NEEDS have grown in their personal leadership development as our organization has encouraged others to lead. Within NEEDS, Ms. Urrni Ray has emerged as an exceptional leader, managing our child protection and reproductive health unit. Through her leadership, we have developed new child protection, diversity, monitoring and evaluation policy and gender policies. These policy documents are now our guidelines for strategic planning through 2020.
One of our founding members has become a champion of the NEEDS' microfinance initiative and has since made it self-sufficient. This Microfinance initiative has been accredited by CGAP for transparency and governance, and accredited by MCRIL for systems and procedures. Furthermore, NEEDS itself has expanded to include a second line of leadership and a smaller layer of third line leadership.
Murari and NEEDS
My participation in leadership development trainings and subsequent follow-up opportunities through the LDM program has strengthened my confidence and improved my ability to visualize. In the past I preferred to do things myself, but now I work hard to help empower the people around me.
My exposure to the various leadership opportunities through the LDM programs has also helped NEEDS become a stable organization with very little staff turnover. The staff of NEEDS is proud to be part of this organization and our commitment to leadership development within the organization is a key to this success.