Mobilised communities using a Participatory and Learning Action cycle (PLA) engaging women’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to harness women’s collective power through discussion and dialogue. The SHG members (now ‘Shakti Varta Facilitators’) are SC, ST women from poor families, who worked on livelihood issues and financial empowerment earlier. These Facilitators were trained to work with the community on health, nutrition and sanitation issues.

 

Each Shakti Varta Facilitator had to cover an entire Gram Panchayat and was assigned villages, termed “Shakti Varta Points”, where the women's groups met regularly. Focused group sessions using visual techniques, games, picture cards, role-plays and stories — all part of the repertoire to engage an audience of different ages, community dialogue, collective reflection and shared analysis, drove home key messages.

 

While Shakti Varta Facilitators reinforced awareness and behaviour change, the social connections, networks and mutual acquaintances helped develop collective strength and shared responsibilities that ensured the families, community and  health workers came together to achieve project objectives.

The Project trained 1149 Shakti Varta Facilitators from Bolangir, Rayagada and empowered these women to lead the change. Their activities, in turn, created role-models for other rural women, who initiated a change in health and nutrition behaviours amongst the village folk.

 

The Facilitator’s knowledge, constant community dialogues with non-linear, non-hierarchical methods of sharing information, raised interest levels and sparked critical thinking amongst women about their own behaviours and practices.

 

The Facilitators, each of whom is referred to as ‘Shakti Varta didi’ by the villagers now, command respect and influence the community, because of their contributions and work. Their work complements the work of frontline health workers, thereby raising awareness and improving health practises.

 

Sanitation and hygiene has improved in programme villages. Since the programme started, there has been a spurt in demand for health services, especially for antenatal check-ups and institutional delivery. Families and men are attentive to the care of expectant and nursing mothers. Neonatal care practices have improved.

 

Many age old traditions and harmful practices such as, placing a hot iron piece on a baby's stomach to cure diarrhoea that harmed the mother and newborn, are being discarded. Increased awareness and knowledge are gradually creating a culture of birth preparedness, safe motherhood and of health and hygiene.

 

The importance of Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLIN) and bed nets to combat malaria is accepted by communities and their use is gradually increasing across homes, helping mothers, infants and children.

 

The Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach wherein communities are facilitated to make their own appraisal and analysis of a problem, and to conclude and take action on sanitation issues has helped even those without the means to build toilets. This has  been a relief to the communities; especially women, and has improved the general sanitation standards.

 

The project exemplifies what synergy between government programmes and community initiatives can achieve. The Shakti Varta Facilitators have become role-models for young girls and women from these communities and their success has led to other initiatives that utilise the social cohesion stimulated by these networks for collective action on health and socio-economic issues.