1. 20 Mothers’ Survey conducted by JAS 10 mothers were surveyed in migrant workers contract sites. Of these 2 had a child younger than 6 months, 2 had a child in the age group 6 months to 1 and a half years. Three had a child aged between 1and a half and 3, and two had a child in the age group 3-6. Other 10 mothers were surveyed in Sunni tehsil, Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh. Of these 1 had a child between 6 months to 1 and a half, 6 had a child in the age group 1 and a half to 3 years, and 3 had a child in the age group 3-6 years.

2. 1. Who provides most of the child care In the case of migrant women most of the child care is provided by the mother herself and the other co-migrant women in the migrant colony. One of the women stays back to take care of all the young children while the others go to work. The women do staying back for taking care in turns. However if any child is sick the mother stays back herself. The women surveyed in Sunni tehsil are mostly working in their own small land holdings or are engaged in taking care of livestock (fetching fodder etc.). Most of the child care in their absence is done by mother-in-laws, sister in-laws, neighbours, older children or other female members of the joint family. In three cases elderly men were also contributing to taking care of the child.

3. Sunni Child Care Childcare in own home: 10 Friends and Relatives: 7 (also apart from home) Anganwadi centre: 6 (also for 2-3 hours)

4. Child Birth In Migrant colonies 2 had a child born at the migrant’s site itself while 1 had a child born in the Ripon (Deen Dyal Upadhyay) hospital. In Sunni 7 had deliveries in the hospital, 2 SC women availed of JSY.

5. 2. What gaps have you observed in the mother’s response in understanding the needs The women in the migrants contract sites in Shimla understood their children’s needs to be that of nutritious food. Immunization they said was being taken care of by a hospital in Shimla for free. For the children born in the camping sites and other children who had been brought very young but had been taken to the hospital for some reason or the other, mothers had knowledge of immunization programmes. The women were quiet on needs regarding security of the child and cleanliness etc.

6. In Tehsil Sunni The women were concerned that their children eat nutritious food and also about their security and other issues. They were confident that their traditional foods take care of all the needs. Their fears were that a hydro power project and a cement plant were coming up in the area and that their rich ecology and agriculture would be seriously affected. Thereby affecting their children’s health and overall development. Some mothers with children in the age group 3-6 complained that their children were being encouraged by the male members in the household to develop tastes for fast foods like chips etc.

7. Suggestions Regarding Anganwadi Centres No child or mother from the migrants’ (from Nepal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Rajasthan) sites in Shimla (urban) was going to an Anganwadi centre. They said they don’t know anything about the programme or if they can avail it. A basic problem that Anganwadi centres in Sunni are facing is that the 3-6 age group have more or less stopped coming to Anganwadi centres and are mostly going to private schools. Mothers of children aged between 6 months to 2 years get take home ration. Most of the children in the centres were aged between 1 to 2 and a half years.

8. Preferences 7 women in Sunni said they would prefer Anganwadi hours and staff to be increased as they felt more secure leaving there children there. They said mother in laws were also busy and sometimes their older children get late for school taking care of siblings. They said anganwadi centres should have 2 instead of 1 helper and the salaries of workers and helpers should be increased as has already been approved but not implemented.