Soma, a 7 year old boy was walking with his drunken father on a rough road in the Bonda hills. The father slipped and fell, breaking a liquor bottle and Soma who was following, fell on a broken piece which pierced into his stomach. He looked down to see his stomach bleeding, and a piece of flesh pushed out. Though he spoke to his father about it, his father was oblivious to everything. After walking for 6 kms they reached home. By this time, half of Soma’s intestines were bulging out. Nevertheless, the brave Soma tried to sleep beside his father who slept peacefully. At dawn, Soma looked in horror as the whole intestine was hanging out. Now the father sat up and took notice of his son! He was brought to Asha Kiran peripheral clinic in the Hills. Since he needed surgery, he was transported by bike to Asha Kiran Hospital, Lamtaput which is about 100 kms away, and was operated on. Soma lives today to narrate the horrendous experience he had years ago. The Asha Kiran staff staying in the Bonda hills experiences these kinds of cases regularly.
The Bonda tribe is one of the most primitive tribes in India live on the hills called the 'Bonda Hills', Khairput block of Malkangiri District, Orissa. They are known among themselves as Remo (man). They are divided into Upper and Lower Bondas. The Upper Bondas live in 32 villages, 5,565 population located in the Hills. They are hostile to outsiders and still retain their distinctive socio-cultural features. Their unusual appearance and dress, the notorious homicidal tendencies of the men, the unfamiliar language and the inaccessibility of their abode separate this tribe from the rest of Orissa. The Lower Bondas live at the foot of the Bonda hills; maintain a symbiotic relationship with the surrounding peasant communities. The traditional and primary occupation of the Bonda is shifting cultivation. However, they also engage in gleaning, collection of forest products, hunting, fishing, animal husbandry and settled cultivation. The making and selling of soft brooms and liquor, and the seasonal sale of vegetables largely through the barter system, are some of the ways of generating income. The income is meager and cash in hand is a small amount. The expenditure is on food, rituals, ceremonies, health and entertainment. The Asha Kiran team is staying with them for the last 11 years and facilitating them for their betterment.
Goal: To empower the Bonda community towards the holistic development in the area of health, education, food security through increased social organization and community participation.
Different activates of the unit:
- Health
- Clinic
- Community health visits
- Education
- Adult literacy class
- Preschool
- Helping in Government primary schools
- Development
- Developing Kitchen gardens
- Formation of Grain banks
- Documentation of natural resources
- Facilitating NREGA work
- Language development
- Production dictionary
- Anthropological Documentation of Practices