Story of An Ordinary Women Becomes Health Advisor

 Life is a continuous process where you learn and (un)learn things together. Whatever the situation, just do it accordingly. Sometimes, it is very simple or complicated, but it never stops. Similarly, I am talking about a place where life is not easy. Yes, I am talking about a village named “BalidihBishanpur” in Jharkhand which is surrounded by forest from all sides, and it is not easy to reach here because of its transport system. Just think for once, think about the residents of that place, and think about the medical services. Without transportation, it is not easy to provide good services during a medical emergency, but the residents of that place work hard to support each other.

There is a good amount of working-class labor in this community followed by farmers. Apart from that, the heart-trenching experience of mine was the migration. Many families left this place for their living, they moved to big cities for their existence or living. But apart from this many people of this community work hard for the upliftment of their society and support them a lot and Meena Devi is a perfect example of this.

Meena is a 35-year-old energetic woman who works as a Sahiya. She spreads awareness related to health, hygiene, and nutrition. She always tries to meet each and every person in the community and establish good relations with them. Even though she monitors the health status of pregnant women and suggests methods of regular health check-ups and regular routines. She conducts health surveys and works on several health projects.

Interestingly, she has impeccable expertise of over 15 years as a Sahiya. I must say that she is a multi-talented person, why am I quoting it as she is an active member of “Women Self Help Groups (SHGs)”. Her story inspires me a lot as she comes from a family with a socio-economic background but her patience makes her a powerful woman. Because she works for the advancement of society apart from her socio-economic background. I remember a quote by Timothy Pina, “Philanthropy is not about money, it’s about feeling the pain of others and caring enough about their needs to help” and Mina for her positive enthusiasm and amazing work. Proving it through she is a perfect example of patience for that community.

We have all experienced the pandemic and try to support each other and save lives. Although we saw that many of us did not want to meet anyone. But, Meena was more active during the pandemic. She regularly visited the homes of pregnant women and supported them immensely. She talked about the good health of pregnant women and children. These regular activities make her more popular in the community and the residents of that community make her proud.

In March 2022, when the Mission Indradhanush Program was launched in the Dumri block of Giridih district of Jharkhand, to complete the process of vaccination of pregnant women and children who had not yet received it. For this process, she made her action plan to complete this process in a better way. She spreads awareness related to the vaccination process and Mission Indradhanush. Apart from this she actively participates in the meetings of VHSNC, Maitri, and PLA. She invites PRI members to attend the meetings in person. She always comes forward to discuss the importance of vaccination for pregnant women and children. Interestingly, she becomes a health counselor in her community with a positive attitude.

In the end, I must say that Meena is a perfect example of women's empowerment. She spreads awareness related to vaccination and the process of vaccination. She is popular in her community because of her work and supports each other in a positive way.

 

Transformational story of frontline health fighter

 Immunization is essential for both Pregnant women and child survival and in ensuring the safety from several life-threatening diseases. Behind the success of Mission Indradhanush programs, several tireless efforts of thousands of unsung heroes in the form of frontline Health fighters.  

Nilu Kumari, 37 yrs old. she is a mother and an Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) dedicated to serving the needs of her community in the Bandarkuppi Panchyat of Sadar Block in Giridih district of Jharkhand. During the Mission Indradhanush programs, she has been given the responsibility to administer vaccines in Akdoni Khurd Panchayat of Matrukha and Barmoriya villages of Sadar block which was a new place for her work. 

 Her assigned work location was extremely remote with poor transportation services and bare road access to a host of regions. In spite of all the odds, she makes a proper plan day before her work and conducts the review meeting after completing the tasks with the Sahiya/AWW. Her main strategy is to make a phone call with all the concerned Sahiya/AWW and discuss the update of the survey and duellist.  

In many instances, some people refuse to immunize their children due to the fear of death or health concerns. Nilu Kumari, herself visited the houses and counsel the mother about why vaccination was important for the health of her child.  ANM Nilu had the advantage to speak in the local dialect, which helped her to explain that a mild fever can sometimes happen after vaccination and but it is usually not serious and there was nothing to worry about. 

The immunization drives under Mission Indradhanush would not have been successful without the zeal and passion of dedicated frontline health warriors like Nilu Kumari. Her active involvement and constant support paid off as per the survey duelist she has completed the immunization coverage of 80 percent in the 2nd phase of IMI alone and due to that Sadar Block coverage has been increased. 

She woke up early in the morning and does all the household work, prepare food for the family and then get ready and reached her work location as early as possible. she says that none of the children should miss out on the basic vaccination in the village. Apart, she proudly says every assigned workplace become her “home away from home”.  

World Water Day 2022 Celebrations at Giridih

 The proverb says, “Water is life".  with the increasing industrialization, over-use of drinking water, and exploitation of all-natural sources, human life is facing several questionable situations One of the essential elements of earth, water is the prime necessity of life. World Water Day has been marked on 22nd March every year since 1993 by UN observance. A core focus of World Water Day is to inspire action toward Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030. 

“Groundwater – Making the Invisible Visible” is the theme for World Water Day in 2022, said Swachh Bharat Mission, Executive Engineer Kumar Niraj on world water day 2022 at the DC office.  

District Development commissioner Shashi Bhushan Mehra, Director District Rural development agency (DRDA) Alok Kumar, District Panchayati Raj officer District Public Relations Officer Rashmi Sinha, Department of Women & Social Welfare (DSWO) Alka Hembram, Drinking water & sanitation department Division 2, Executive Engineer  Mukesh Kumar Mandal, Event organizer and IEC coordinator Suman Kumari & Birendra Kumar, Assistant District Coordinator Ritesh Kumar, District Program Coordinator (XISS-Unicef) Saurav Kishor, AFC Monitoring officer Prithvi Shukla, Jal Sahiyas, and other distinguished personalities were present. 

Executive Engineer Division 2, Mukesh Kumar Mandal, welcomed to all the present distinguished guests and shared an overview of the campaign activities in the district. 

Executive Engineer Division 1, Kumar Niraj said that Whenever freshwater comes to mind, we think of rivers, wetlands, lakes, or reservoirs but the fact is the total volume of water on Earth, 97.5% is saltwater and only 2.5% is fresh water. Of the freshwater, only 0.3% is in liquid form on the surface. Throughout, he emphasized and shared some of the basic ideas to save the water crisis. He said that today most households have water purifiers but though those water purifiers a large portion of water is wasted so using that wastewater in plantations and cleaning households can help us to save water. He focuses more on saving the rainwater nearby home and using buckets for showers etc. 

He further added that since the launch of the program we have provided 89,467 households with tap water connections in the Giridih district in such a short time.  and planning to provide tap water connections to each household within 2 years. 

DDC, Shashi Bhushan Mehra, added that the value of water for humans is very important, Climate change, increasing droughts and irregular rainfall continue to pile pressure on water supplies for people in many communities. We must think from our own hearts and see concern for our surroundings only then we could feel the pain of the water crisis.

Director, DRDA Alok Kumar, added that the wars of the future will be fought over the water crisis. The rapid pace of urbanization poses a major threat to our groundwater resources. effects of climate change coupled with population growth are expected to drive competition for water, Groundwater is being pumped so aggressively that land is sinking day by day. The level of arsenic in the water has been increasing, glaciers are melting rapidly and the quality of water is extremely harmful to the health of the people that are forced to consume it owing to a lack of access to safe water. 

He further added that If today we all do not be taken the collective thoughts to save every count of drinking water then our upcoming generations will not forgive us. He also emphasizes recharging the groundwater and for that to save the rainwater by designing soak-ups on the outside of the home. 

District social welfare officer, Alka Hembram talked about the challenges children are facing in the state of Jharkhand. Every year in every 1000 children 27 children are dying below under 5 years and the unavailability of fresh drinking water could be one of the reasons for it. 

She also emphasizes that with the support of Jal Sahiya at every AWC in the Giridih district we must make a bonding and aware child of the importance of water and its uses of it. 

In the continuation of the program, An NGO called AFC India representatives, Prithvi shared the information related to the status of safe drinking water in Giridih district. Apart, he explained the details of the recharge water system and how these systems are needed of the hour in the current context. 

District Project Coordinator, (XISS-Unicef) Saurav Kishor, talked about the importance of IEC for implementing the Jal Jeevan Mission, and for this, he has shared the entire campaign strategies for the district as well as the communication plan. During the talk, he shared the current progress report of the Jal Jeevan Mission of the Giridih district and added futuristic ideas for making the program a success. 

Assistant District Coordinator Swacch Bharat Mission, Ritesh Kumar, shared and comparison of the ancestors’ time of human life with today’s generations of human life. During the talk, he added a quote “Our ancestors have seen the water in the rivers & ponds, our father has seen it in handpumps and wells and where our generations are looking it at the packaged bottle. if we will not wake up soon about water conservation then what our future generations will get.

Program lead and District IEC coordinator, Swachh Bharat Mission, Suman Kumari, talked about the value of water in our daily life. She added that there are a lot of places where the quality of groundwater is poor and not fit for human consumption. Groundwater is nature’s water reservoir and has great potential to help people adapt to climate change but, like any natural resource, it needs to be carefully managed. 

During the talk, she further added the status of open defecation free (ODF) of Giridih District and how the district is progressing in the next phase of ODF plus, and the strategy of SBM (G) phase 2 to make it a grand success.

Jal Sahiya Sarita Kumari shared her field work-life experiences in the event further she explained that it is our responsibility to provide water to our future generations. Thus, we must take a pledge to save water and not waste it. 

The program gave broad ideas in front of distinguished guests. conserving groundwater and focussing on their recharge is essential as it is a critical resource to support our biodiversity, ever-growing food consumption by human beings, cattle, and livestock, and to meet other needs.