By Filza Nasir
One community organisation (CO) in the village of Daulat Mir Jatt of district Tando Allahyar, is working towards betterment of health of their women and children. This spirit of self-help initiatives stirred in the village through their CO President, Nazeeran.
The CO, Daulat Mir Jatt III, was formed merely eight months ago, under the European Union funded, Sindh Union Council and Community Economic Strengthening Support (SUCCESS) Programme. The CO attributes the awakening, towards not only the reproductive health issues in women, its causes, and implications, but also the importance of vaccination in children, to National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) for coming to their village and training them about these issues.
As the president of her CO, Nazeeran, 35, has been actively involved in community work. She has so far assisted three women in undergoing birth-spacing surgeries, and has accompanied the polio workers to visit the households in her village. She has succeeded in getting children in all of the 20 households in her village vaccinated.
Nazeeran lights up when she tells her story of trying to convince women of birth spacing, and getting their children vaccinated.
“I was part of this three-day training, where the staff from NRSP came and gave us lessons on social mobilisation, managerial skills, planning, communication, as well as critical issues like health (family planning, nutrition), education, water and sanitation, and environment. It was then that I realized how important family planning is for the health of women. If women keep giving birth without any gap, they put their lives as well as their children’s lives at risk.”
As part of SUCCESS Programme, all the presidents and managers of COs are to be provided with Community Management Skills Training (CMST) for the purpose of mobilising them and strengthening their capacities to identify their issues and find solutions for them. The training aims to enhance the knowledge, skill and capabilities of the participants in planning and managing their developmental activities and to utilize the available local resources as well. It provides the participants an opportunity to build their capacities to break the vicious cycle of poverty by undertaking income generating activities at their own according to the community needs.
Another case in point of self-help initiative through the effectiveness of CMST trainings can be found in the village of Chando Kolhi, district Tando Mohammad Khan. The two COs of the village, Jaimal Thakur, and Mohan Kohli were formed in June, 2016, and since the last nine months the presidents and managers of both the COs have attended CMST and have been inspired to work for the betterment of their villages.
Chanta, manager of the CO Jaimal Thakur, says that the three-day training was especially enlightening for her. She learned about the adverse impacts that improper waste disposal has on one’s health as well as the environment. After she attended the three-day training, she says “I realised the importance of waste management and having access to potable water in order to eliminate diseases in the village. I knew these were the reasons our children were getting so sick, facing diarrhea and not being able to attend school regularly.”
Women of village Chando Kohli standing by the waste disposal site.
To ensure proper waste management, the village started making waste disposal sites in their homes, and a big such site at the entrance of the village. These waste disposal sites were dug into the ground and covered with mud. As the landlord did not allow them to take the mud from his fields where most of these women and their husbands work as laborers, the women, determined to eliminate waste and diseases, walked a few miles each way to collect the mud from around the coast of the river. They use these sites to separate the recyclable waste such as plastic and glass, and burn the rest.
To decrease the spread of diseases among the villagers, the women in their CO meeting decided to send the sample of water from their drinking water source for testing. Depending on the results, they will decide whether to demand a new source of potable water or not.
These self-help initiatives and awakening in the women of rural areas is a heartening sight to see, and can be attributed to the messages imparted to them through the power of social mobilization.