Fighting with Malnutrition is almost like a Crusade- A Case of Efforts in Tribal belt of MP - A Case of Vikas samvad 7 August 2018

Fighting with Malnutrition is almost like a Crusade- A Case of Efforts in 

Tribal belt of MP 

Vikas Samvad is working in 100 villages of 4 tribal districts of MP where in they are putting up efforts with the help of community participation at a large to come out from the grab of Malnutrition. Here are the three cases which shows the reality of ground level efforts and results. 

Varity Food brought change and no child is severely malnourished.

Village Tummaadar falls under Mali panchayat of Karkeli block of Umariya. Umariya is predominantly a tribal district and known for its mines. Livelihood, malnutrition and migration are major problems and since the villages are situated on hilly areas drinking water scarcity is a permanent problem. Children are biggest sufferers of this multiple and complex problems.

Dastak team when started they did baseline surveys which were shocking in this village too. When the team started growth monitoring in June 2016, 11 children were SAM and 38 were MAM, also rest were weighing low. When in Dec 2017 they did growth monitoring, surprisingly there was no SAM child among 48 children. Only 30 children were found MAM and 15 weighing low which was quite satisfactory.

This was indeed a miracle which took place after many efforts at a large. The team was talking to community regularly, monitoring aanganwadis, services and their food at homes that what was being given by families. Most important was Dialogue on Nutrition during the Dastak yatra, during the yatra a training was organized where in 34 women, 13 men, 8 adolescent girls and 67 children were present. The team made clear about the issues related to nutrition. Also, in addition, talked about food intake they should take on regular basis. The major emphasis was on vegetables, millets and variety of foods in daily meals. They should be incorporate locally available fruits like papaya, guava, blackberry etc in order to get micronutrients in food.  Also variety of cereals will enhance the nutrients in body. Children need special care and also hygiene, safe drinking water should be given. Every family promised that they will take care of such measures and follow it up in their routine life. Aangawwadis were also asked to pay attention on variety of meals.

The aanganwadi worker Sundari bai says I was so busy in administrative works that I was unable to pay attention also no body explained us about the food in such a simple language. Departmental trainings are often about paper work and we cannot do much there. Now after her understanding she also explains to pregnant and lactating women about nutrition and food habits, she advises not to feed anything to six months old child except breast feeding. After six months people have started sift meal to children, immunization takes place on regular basis. Women are putting spoon oil extra in meal.  Most of the adolescent girls help workers in weighing and monitoring children in village.

The most important thing is continuous dialogue with women and community brought the change, the team feels that this regular interaction enhances understanding of issues and help people to take care of their wards.

Effective Planning and Dialogue made Life Easy of Rekha and Vimala

Deep Chandra Singh is staying with his family in village Tummadar of Karkeli block Umariya. He owns 11 acre land but out of 11 acre 5 acre has turn into baron land as there is no produce on this land. He sows Kodo kutki (millet) in 7 acre and hardly gets some crop. Since he owns land so his name is also not listed in BPL list, he hardly gets grains from his baron land which suffices purpose of only six months. Remaining six months he and his wife work in nearby villages.  In spite of working it becomes difficult to run the family. In between they planned a child and after confirmation his wife Vimala, conceived her regular check was done at aanganwadi.

On 19 September 2017, ANM Sawitri Singh checked his wife and found that her hemoglobin is very low it was just 8.6, she informed aanganwadi worker and the worker advised her to eat Mung and green leafy vegetables regularly. ANM also said that in such case she is at danger and during the full term may face severe problems.

Dastak team came to know about the problem of Deepchandra’s wife, immediately the team rushed to his house and talked to her. First the team understood the situation, her income, food habits and registration as pregnant woman on aanganwadi. Then the team explained her nutrition and why e should eat more and take rest adequately. She was eating food on regular basis but intake was of only rice and dal, no added vegetables or any other supplement. In addition, she was not getting rest hence would get tired often. When asked she said vegetables are available only in Monsoon season as they grow little in kitchen garden. She needs to bring water from remote source, also use to work in agriculture land so getting rest is difficult. The team contacted Dr Deepak Dwivedi of Primary health Center Karkeli and made his visit to her home. With the help of aanganwadi worker, ANM and ASHA she was checked on regular interval and given iron Folic Acid tablets course and injection of iron as well. 

Vimla faced labour pains on 2^nd Feb 2018 and with the help of ASHA and Janani Transport, she was taken to primary health center Nigahari, she was blessed with a baby girl on 4^th Feb 2018. Baby was too weak and weighs only 1.250 Kg, soon after birth the baby was referred to district hospital Umariya. The baby was kept in SNCU immediately and looked after. The baby was called Rekha bai , after 8 days of treatment she was discharged and her weight was 1.26 Kg. Her family had assumed that Rekha will not survive as she was too weak, yell and pale but due to hard efforts of Dastak team members, ANM, ASHA and Aangawnadi worker prepared a strategy in such a way that neither Vimla nor Rekha should any problem. ASHA would go to see daily and visited her home. They will take care of hygiene and regular immunization etc will be on time. This is how the child is safe and happy now. Rekha is trying to come out of malnourished status. She was given massage of Mahamas oil and special Kheer - an innovative initiative of Vikas samvad team for malnourished children in 100 villages.  Today after 4 months Rekha is 3 Kg and 52 CM long.

The Dream Come true after 70 yeas

Ovari is an abundant village which has no facilities at all, the village came in light before two years when 4 children died due to malnutrition and Vikas Samvad  team visited and made a presentation to District Magistrate, Rewa. Immediately visits were made by senior officials and certain actions were taken. DM also declared that the village will be electrified soon and an approach road will be constructed under PM Road scheme.

Ovari falls under Bounsad Panchayat of Jawa block, Rewa district of MP. Since independence the village was facing problems and one of the major was electricity due to which they were not able to do any work for decades. In lieu agriculture was affected badly hence problems related to livelihoods were major. Ovari is surrounded by hills and it’s really difficult to access the village. The village is 60 KM away from block Head quarter, its 8 KM from main road of Hardoli , the road is very dangerous and go along with a river. One can see dense forest across and because of this people are always in danger. Rewa‘s this block is one of the blocks which faces dacoit and dacoity is often held. In 2017 two persons of villages were kidnapped by local dacoits and only after getting money they released them. Hence girls and children are always vulnerable.

It’s a small village consisting 105 families with a population of 599. Children aging 0 to 5 are 92. Yadav, tribes like Khairwar, Koul lives in village. Main livelihood source of villagers is minor forest products which they get from Forest and sell them to big villages in weekly bazaars in the vicinity. MFPs like honey, Char, Anwala, Mahua, Tendu, Dry wood, mushroom and other forest products. Some of the villagers have their own land but they are able to take only one crop as they are completely banking upon Monsoon season, non availability of electricity does not allow they to take second crop of Kharif. 

Mostly they grow Rabi crops like cereals, millets and oil seeds but agains it’s a gamble, if monsoon is up to the mark they get adequate, else they are bound to leave their village for labour and move away. Most of the youngsters go on migration and shaker garh is the destination where in they dig the hill and earns money. Shankar garh is a hill where mineral digging is a work which goes on round the year. Some go to Surat, Mumbai and Ahmadabad for cotton industry work and Sari Industry. Some also get jobs in flour industry in Gujrat. The persons who are left and cannot go so far, go to 15-20 KM every day for daily work and earn petty amount. Some get jobs under MNREGA in village or panchayat.

Since there was no electricity since independence they would face many problems. When Vikas Samvad entered in village with the support from TDH, so many problems were listed and after talking to community the major concerns were drinking water, access road and electricity. With the help of Dastak team people wrote letters to DM and local MLA. In spite of repeated requests no action was taken by district administration even after 6 months. The youth club wrote, met officials and concerned departments but all in vain.

In March 2016 4 children died out of malnutrition, a team of vikas samvad visited and made a detailed report and described all the factors responsible for such negligence, the report was submitted to DM as well as Chief Secretary Govt of MP. A campaign for advocacy was also done in local and state media. The villagers and youth met DM in his office and also went to public hearing which is held on every Tuesday in the state. Still no action and things were pending in offices. It was a sad back but the team did not give up. Dastak yatra was organized in all 100 villages of project area, the Dastak team along with villagers and youth club members went back to DM office and followed it up, applied and kept reviewing the action. In January 2018 Electricity department started to put down polls in village and after toil of all, March 2018 witnessed the first Bulb of happiness in village. It took 70 odd years to get the simplest thing in a remote village.

Mohan Kumar says “we all are very happy after this step, now children can study in nights, we are not afraid of dacoits, and this will also help in irrigation”.

Access road is still a big and major issue for which people are fighting, applying and following with district administration. PM Road scheme is sanctioned for the village but it’s not on road and far from reality. The youths say “as we get electricity, soon we will get road and then we will be also in Developed Village” Entire Dastak team and local community owns the credit of this mammoth task which was completed after many efforts.

Sandip Naik