Masauli is a village in Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh, India. Masauli has a population of a thousand residents, who are segregated into different corners of the village based on their castes.
Chamrauti (people of the lower castes), Bhabnauti (people of the higher castes, including Brahmins), Lohran (people working with iron tools), Kohran (traditional potters) and Dhobhiyan (washermen), occupy different corners of Masauli.
We at Udbodh did a comprehensive survey in all parts of Masauli asking people about various issues they face. Few dominant issues that came up:
1. Extremely bad elementary education system. Only 1 girl out of 100 goes to college.
2. 60 percent of children in grade 5 could not read a grade 2 text.
3. More than 50 percent of children drop out from middle school.
4. There are only two houses with a toilet in the whole village.
5. Due to lack of education and centres of skill development people migrate. More than half of the families in Masauli have someone or the other working in a city like Delhi or Mumbai.
6. Electricity supply is only for 4 hours a day which is inadequate for farming or any other commercial purpose.
7. No proper health services in the vicinity. People have to travel 10 kms. for the nearest clinic.
8. Women are discriminated at every step of their lives.
In short Masauli lacks basic amenities and is heavily underresourced.
Udbodh is trying to bring a positive change by launching a fellowship programme where young, committed and talented individuals will live in the village for 2 years and reform the elementary education system. We are also collaborating with local authorities, panchayats and other relevant bodies to raise awareness about different government schemes and push for better education and sanitation.
Udbodh aims to work for as long as it takes to empower the people of Masauli with skills, resources and knowledge to make informed and correct choices that take them forward.