Dimapur, April 5 (MExN): Students of North East Institute of Social Science & Research (NEISSR) began their ten-day travel to Kangching village in Longleng district for their rural camp on April 5. 43 students from second semester and four faculty members representing different tribes and communities from different parts of the country are part of the team.
According to a press release from NEISSR, the objectives of the camp are to expose the students to rural areas, help them understand rural lifestyle and realities. It is also an exercise to help the students experience group living, sharing and adjusting with fellow students, the release said, adding different activities like medical camp, awareness programmes, cleanliness drive and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), a study of village structure and functioning and analysis etc., will be done to help the students and the villagers during the rural camp respectively.
The other objectives of the rural camp are to understand the rural social system with special reference to disadvantaged population; to know the nature of government intervention in relation to the issues encountered by the disadvantaged population in the region, the related structures of decision making and intervention; to develop the capacity to critiques the interventions of both voluntary organizations and the government agencies in relation to the disadvantaged population, the release added.
During the course of the rural camp, the students are expected to do home visits in the village in order to know about the rural life and the challenges associated with it. The home visit will also enhance the students to identify dynamics that influences the life of rural population. Students are also expected to take up survey during the rural camp on issues like health, education, transportation etc. in order to develop a common understanding on the said themes. Discussion with different groups like children, youth, women, adult and elderly is another important activity of the rural camp. Through these activities, students are expected to study the social, economic, cultural, political aspect of the village.
Further, the students will be engaged in making different types of maps that will highlight the social, structural as well as profile of resources available in the community, according to the release. The social work trainees are also expected to organize camps for awareness generation on issues like health, education, nutrition, government aid and schemes and programmes. During the stay in the village, the students will be engaged in community cleaning and all other activities pertaining to the same. Sports and cultural events are also another important component of the rural camp, where students will organize sports and cultural events in collaboration with local youth, youth clubs and voluntary organization.
