Sheopur and Malnourishment

The recent Global Hunger Report has put India at no 102 spot, below even Ethiopia and Rwanda (not just Pakistan and Bangladesh). A rigorous study done across all districts in India by Consultant Group Sattva based on Government’s National Family Health Survey (NFHS) has put Madhya Pradesh as the worst in malnourishment across all states and UTs of the Union. Among 10 worst districts in the whole country, 5 are said to be in MP. Sheopur district of MP is among the worst 3 in the whole country. It is located in North MP and is a part of the Chambal region which was once infamous for its dacoits. Though the Sheopur district has 23 % adivasis, they are mainly concentrated in one block of Karahal which has 90% Sehariya tribe. Sheopur district as a whole has 53% stunted children, 55% underweight children and 78% anemic children. The situation of Karahal block in these parameters is expectedly much worse with more than 80% stunted and underweight, and more than 90% children anemic. A block-wise ranking would have placed Karahal to be the worst in the country by a considerable margin.
My first ever visit to Sheopur was just 5 months back. There are 1.3 Lacs of Sehariya people in Karahal block. Out of which around 20,000 to 25,000 are in age-group of 3 to 14. A simple calculation suggested to me that if we set up 100 of meals cum education centres (Seva Kutirs in this very block) we can cater to more than 10 thousand children. With a little more effort we can reach all Sehariya children through Seva Kutirs. This thought has consumed me since then. Seeing the situation we shifted 2 of our braveheart sevavratees in Sheopur to set up Seva Kutirs there. Slowly more people were permanently camped there. 10 Seva Kutirs have already been started with 1000 children there. We have now 70 people working in Sheopur, with 60 of them from Sehariya community themselves.
We have 131 Seva Kutirs in MP now catering to 11 thousand children in age group of 3 to 14 years, but our future expansion, to a considerable extent, will be in Sheopur.
I thought of sharing this and seeking good wishes and blessings of all our friends, supporters, and wellwishers.