Stories of Impact

One of the primary missions of each Community Video Unit is to encourage local people to take action on the issues presented in the videos.  Here are some of the changes that have taken place in communities as a result of this work.  Water

  • The government re-opened a water treatment plant and brought clean water to 3000 people after the producers exposed a dangerously high level of flourosis. The local community also agreed to invest in the treatment plant
  • Water supply increased in two Mumbai slum areas after screenings of a film on water, with the government promising to start providing water 24 hours a day in one area
  • A village received cleaner drinking water after they learned the appropriate depth for water wells and demanded the government dig them to that depth
  • There was three times the amount of participation in a Mumbai water campaign

Land

  • 750 villagers filed reports of land rights violations with NGO staff in response to a film made for the NGO’s land campaign, significantly increasing the likelihood that those villages will become part of the government’s land reallocation program

Health/Sanitation

  • Doctors started attending patients in four villages after villagers were informed it was their right to have a doctor present in the clinic every day
  • People questioned the village doctors about the doctor’s failure to process malaria samples on time, after learning what the correct process should be in the film, and report that the doctor is now much more responsible
  • One local youth helped 90 people receive food ration cards after being inspired to help
  • The government provided dustbins in one slum area in response to a film on garbage, and local people began working more closely with a rag-pickers union to organize around the issue of garbage, with a local NGO succeeding in organizing many more meetings on the issue than they had previously
  • Villagers organized clean up rallies in three villages at two CVUs after being inspired by films on cleanliness

Government & Infrastructure

  • The local government repaired the only road connecting several villages within days of producers filming it and exposing it on camera, and allocated Rs. 300,000 for long-term road repair in the area
  • Attendance increased from an average of seven people to over forty people at Gram Sabhas (the annual village-level meetings) in at least two villages due to an increased enthusiasm for participating in local government affairs
  • The government brought electricity to two villages after local people learned it was their right and organized a rally outside of the government office
  • The government ordered that action be taken to clear water from a group of 20 submerged houses, after seeing the footage of the flooded village
  • The government suspended the official running the ration shop at the villagers’ demand, after they learned what the correct prices should be and that he was over-charging them
  • More than 20 Political candidates, other NGOs and local people organized additional screenings of a film on the Bombay Municipal Elections because they felt the film provided critical information that voters needed

Employment

  • 150% increase in applications for a job-training program for youth
  • The upper-castes employers in a village started paying the minimum wage after people in that village learned what they were supposed to be paid
  • One young musician from the slums got a record deal after being featured in one of the magazines, where he spoke about his dream of being a professional musician

Community

  • Upper caste people have started to come forward to ask a Dalit (“Untouchable”) organization for their assistance for the first time ever because the CVU is succeeding in projecting unity between the two communities, and is delivering results on issues of concern to all communities
  • Hindus and Muslims came together in one area for the first time since the riots, to watch a film on communal harmony, and ended by wishing each other best wishes for their upcoming festivals on the microphone. This experience brought out many positive statements about the need for peace from the community, and it also led the producers to overcome their fear, with one Muslim producer saying that after the film she has the courage to go into Hindu-dominated areas
  • A group of five villagers from different castes decided to organize a dinner where they would eat together as a symbolic gesture against caste
  • Communities come forward to help with the screenings by providing electricity, space and water and tea to the producers at all CVUs
  • More than 300 people coming forward to offer to volunteer with a CVU
  • Two Dalit producers entered the temple for the first time in their lives in their villages because of the presence of the camera
  • Upper-castes and lower-castes sit together for the first time ever in villages during screenings
  • People finally enrolled in a slum redevelopment program for the first time, after years of an NGO’s unsuccessful efforts in that area, because the film finally convinced them it was worthwhile

Finance

  • People successfully accessed government loans after learning about the opportunities in the Video Magazines
  • Local villagers are now demanding that the local moneylender charge them the proper rates