Silent Welcome with Smiling Faces

In brief- my fieldwork journey at Jawhar was full of learning experiences not only from the project basis but also from observing the surrounding environment and human to learn from them.

The story begins with the morning jeep ride to village Devtali and Vadpada for visiting village Aanganwadi and Health and Wellness Center- Vadpada, gram panchayat- Jamsar. Also, a short meeting was scheduled at HWC- Vadpada. So, i rushed towards bus stand. But, I missed my 1^st bus and waited long for the 2^nd one. I was getting late for my planned day meeting so decision was made to take a ride from local jeep service. It took me around 25-30 minutes to reach at primary health center- Jamsar, from where I again need to walk for around next 15-20 minutes more to reach the venue.

During my Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) days i.e. transect walk I had developed understanding about the village community, resource availability and landmarks at village. On the way to visit health center there were an ancient temple of lord shiva and newly renovated model Aanganwadi center of the village. Anganwadi is a government-sponsored child-care and mother-care development programmes in India at the village level. It caters to children in the 0-6 age group. It seeks to provide young children with an integrated package of services such as supplementary nutrition, health care and pre-school education. The model Aanganwadi of Devtali and Vadpada were renovated for attractive thematic painting by the JSW Foundation- Boisar Tarapur, Maharashtra.

This concept of model Aanganwadi create a positive active learning environment among children at the center. Here the child learned from the wall painting, attractive games, and Teaching Learning Materials provided by the JSW Foundation at these Aanganwadis. Some other NGOs working at jawhar also supported these centers through providing training to Aanganwadi workers regularly. Smart-TV were also provided under enhancing digital learning initiative for audio video learning among children. Regular supervision, training and workshops were conducted under Integrated Child Development Services Scheme (ICDS) by Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) and official staffs.

Model Aanganwadi concept increases the number of enrollment of kids at the Aanganwadi center. Also, the nutritious food provided under the scheme helped to fight against the malnutrition. In case of any malnutrition identified the diet, and Body Mass Index management were done. And in case of severity referrals were made to nearest Nutrition Rehabilitation Center at Rural Hospital- Mokhara.

Most of the Aanganwadi provided raw materials to pregnant women to support their nutrition and Hb count during pregnancy. The Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers with the help of Aanganwadi workers aware these pregnant women for institutional delivery and availing heath benefits of government schemes like- Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN Yojana), Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA), Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) etc.

Health and Wellness Center (HWC) way to grassroot health institution

The villagers of both the villages were very supportive and co-operative. While conducting the PRA and village Gram Sabha helped me to introduce myself, my project and nature of work at Jawhar to them clearly. Also, how gram panchayat and village community supported me during my work was also shared in brief. Some of the villagers of Vadpada were also presented at Health and Wellness Center (HWC) for getting medical consultation. I reached their around 12:30 pm in the afternoon. There were rush at the center due to immunization day. Mrs. Aishwarya Bhoir (Community Health Officer) and her team first welcome me with smiling face. Later I got a short exposure of the HWC- Vadpada to understand the health facilities available there.

The meeting with the grassroot filed health staffs; Multi-Purpose Worker (MPW) and Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers helped me to understand about the health condition of the village community. Also, while interacting with community health officer the status of the government health programs at the grassroot level was also understood like- National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP), National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), and National Programme for Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) etc.

Mechanism of inventory management for the essential medicine and vaccines at the health facility were explained by the Auxiliary Nurse and Midwifery (ANM) of the center. She also shared about her roles and responsibilities, filed visit, and vaccination day. The available common family planning methods were explained along with the register use for keeping the patients and beneficiary records.

At last, during this whole discussion of 30-40 minutes, I explained my project, community action plan and activities to them. I also requested them to support me during the community events. They recommended valuable suggestion during my regular filed visit, community events, and awareness activity. Their active participation and engagement during Community TB Awareness Campaign at 10 villages of gram panchayat- Jamsar played an important role for making the event a grand success. Their engagement during medical camps, community awareness campaign, and school health quiz helped to aware the community and youth regarding TB prevention, program benefits, early screening and on time testing.