Inside the Sathiya Welfare Society awareness camp that brought Mukhyamantri Jankalyan (Sambal), Ayushman Bharat, and a village’s worth of paperwork together under one roof in Charban
On a June morning in Charban, a small village under Gram Panchayat Charban in Betul Block, something quietly significant happened. Sathiya Welfare Society (SWS) set up a Community Awareness Camp on Social Issues and Entitlements — and by the end of the day, 62 households had taken a concrete step toward claiming benefits that were rightfully theirs all along.
The camp was not a one-off event. It formed part of SWS’s ongoing effort to strengthen access to social security benefits and community participation in local governance across ten Gram Panchayats of Betul Block. For Charban’s residents — many of them from Dalit and Adivasi communities — it was a rare chance to sit across the table from the very officials and systems that administer the schemes meant to support them.
| 62 Villagers registered for schemes | 35 Sambal Yojana registrations alone |
Knocking on Every Door, Days Before the Camp
Good turnout doesn’t happen by accident. In the days leading up to the camp, SWS team members went door-to-door across Charban, talking to residents in plain, simple language about what the camp would offer and what they’d need to bring — an Aadhaar Card, a Samagra ID, and a little time.
Alongside the house visits, the team worked to build trust around the Ayushman Bharat Scheme and other welfare initiatives, distributed pamphlets with all the camp details, and coordinated closely with Panchayat representatives, ASHA workers, and Anganwadi workers — the people best placed to know who in the village actually needed help the most.
Members of the Jagruk Nagrik Manch — the village’s own citizens’ awareness forum — pitched in too, and in the final stretch before the event, a public announcement (Munadi) echoed through Charban’s lanes, making sure no household was left unaware.
The Day Itself: Paperwork, Conversations, and a Lot of Questions Answered
When the camp opened, Charban’s residents — men and women, adolescents and elders, Community Resource Persons and local social workers — came with questions about pensions, Ayushman cards, labour registration, and the documents they’d been struggling to sort out for months. By the time the day was done, the camp had logged 62 registrations: 35 for Sambal Yojana, 13 for Ayushman Cards, 6 ration coupon registrations, 4 under PM Awas, 2 e-KYC and other registrations, and 2 farmer certificates.
Three sessions anchored the day’s learning. Mr. Devendra Kumar Kadam of the KASA Organization walked participants through Social Audit — what it means, how it works, and how ordinary villagers can use it to hold public welfare schemes and development works accountable. He also explained the Gram Sabha’s role in local governance and introduced details of the Jiramji Yojana.
The Community Health Officer took the floor next, stressing how important it is to keep essential documents in order to access welfare schemes, and detailing the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana — its eligibility, benefits, and how pregnant and lactating women can apply.
Rounding out the sessions, the local Anganwadi Worker spoke about the services available through Anganwadi Centres — supplementary nutrition, growth monitoring, early childhood care — and the broader push by the Department of Women and Child Development to improve health and nutrition outcomes for women and children in the village.
What a Single Awareness Camp Adds Up To
- Greater awareness of social security schemes and legal rights among villagers
- Easier access to Ayushman Bharat and Sambal Yojana registrations
- Stronger awareness of child protection, safe migration, and women’s rights
- Deeper community trust in local support systems and institutions
- Better coordination between villagers and the departments meant to serve them
None of this happens through paperwork alone. It happens because a team walked door-to-door first, because local workers and Panchayat representatives showed up to coordinate, and because villagers themselves chose to spend their day asking questions and filling out forms that matter.
For Sathiya Welfare Society, the Charban camp is one more step in a much longer walk — strengthening how Dalit and Adivasi communities across Betul Block access the entitlements that are already, on paper, theirs. The next camp is never far away.
| “Know a village that could use a camp like this, or want to support the next one? Reach out to the Sathiya Welfare Society team — we’re always glad to talk.” |
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