Background
The Peope’s Rural Education Movement (PREM) was started by Mr. Jacob Thundiyil and Chacko Paruvanany in 1980 in Berhampur in Orissa to empower the tribals, scheduled castes, small and marginal farmers and marine and inland fishermen through provision of literacy, raising their awareness on their rights and enhance their livelihood and health care options. The organisation primarily focused upon building and promoting CBOs and state-level federations were formed, representing the adivasis (Orissa Adivasi Manch), the dalits (Orissa Dalit Manch), fishermen (Kalinga Fisher Peoples’ Union) and also women (Utkal Mahila Sanchay Bikas).
The Origin of the Scheme
Along with education, income-generation, disaster management, women’s development programmes, PREM also implements the health programme covering Malaria prevention and control, child survival and safe motherhood and finally the People’s Rural Health Promotion Scheme (PRHPS), which has a major component of health micro-insurance.
PRHPS was started in 2002, when Jacob Thundiyil and Chacko Paruvanany were impressed with health micro-insurance schemes of ACCORD and RAHA (in Chattisgarh) decided to implement them in Orissa in a customised manner. The scheme is presently managed by the people themselves. PLAN was actively involved in planning and promoting this scheme closely with PREM.
