The Nagaland State Rural Livelihoods Mission (NSRLM) and BRAC International have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support 4,000 extremely vulnerable households in Nagaland under the Samaveshi Aajeevika Yojana (SAY-SOBLOK).
The three-year collaboration, aligned with the Samaveshi Aajeevika Yojana under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), was formalised during a programme at Hotel Vivor, Kohima, on October 6.
Commissioner and Secretary, Department of Rural Development, Thavaseelan K. IAS, said the programme would provide focused livelihood support to extremely vulnerable rural households while improving their access to government services and entitlements.
He stressed the need for fair beneficiary selection, household-level assessment, practical livelihood choices and greater participation of women in decision-making. He also called for stronger interdepartmental coordination, regular follow-up and community-level support to ensure assistance reaches households on the ground.
NSRLM Jt. Secretary and Mission Director Moa Sangtam highlighted the mission’s social inclusion initiatives, including 15,481 self-help groups (SHGs) and 1,269 Village Level Organisations. He also pointed to vulnerability mapping and reduction planning, access to bank credit and financial services, community resource persons and more than 400 exclusive vulnerable-group SHGs.
BRAC International India Country Lead Shweta S. Banerjee said the organisation would support the programme through capacity building, cross-learning, sharing of best practices and research partnerships. She said the initiative would address the immediate needs of extremely vulnerable households while enabling them to develop sustainable livelihoods.
National Anchor for SAY, DAY-NRLM, Mona Dave, said SAY focuses on extremely vulnerable households that remain excluded from mainstream SHG-based interventions. BRAC International Senior Program Advisor Ajit Ranjan highlighted community institution strengthening, capacity building, field implementation, learning and quality improvement as key areas of the collaboration.
The MoU signing was followed by the launch of SAY-SOBLOK, which will use the graduation approach to support the comprehensive development of extremely vulnerable households.
The programme also featured sessions on BRAC’s experience in livelihoods, coaching and learning, followed by the presentation of action points and next steps by Lead Coaching, SAY National PMU, Kshovan Guha.