Living Longer, Indian Poor Seek More Credit

In the bustling, crowded slums of Ahmedabad City in India's Gujarat State, news travels fast. When women notice that a community health worker is visiting their neighbor's house, dozens gather to join the conversation because they know one thing – their concerns will be heard.
 
Counterpart International's (Counterpart) "Jeevan Daan Maternal and Child Survival Program," meaning "Gift of Life," keeps children from such urban slums alive through their most vulnerable early years, not an easy task with risks such as tuberculosis, malnutrition and respiratory disease killing more than 7% of children under the age of five in the region (UNICEF 2007). 
 
Life can be rough in such marginalized areas of the city and it would be easy to lose hope and focus on the many negative consequences of poor health, but the program uses unique multimedia methods to grab attention and make improving health a light-hearted every day activity.
 
Some days, trained community health workers take over a street corner and perform a comedic and satirical play depicting Indian pop stars and super heroes saving lives by giving vaccinations and washing with clean water and soap.  
 
Using puppets helps touch on sensitive issues, such as the immense power mothers-in-law wield within families, and how their sometimes outdated ideas about health affect care. Another activity that brings people out in droves is the colorful 'Kite Flying Day' where families put together crepe paper kites with pictures of healthy activities which get conversations started – the first step to hearing problems and finding solutions.
 
With the success of the Jeevan Daan Maternal Health and Child Survival Program, mothers now ask Counterpart to set up microcredit programs. These will enable them to start dealing with something incredibly new, yet necessary to begin the trend toward a brighter and healthier future – planning for their children's future development. 
 
Counterpart hopes to begin working with institutions of higher learning and municipal entities in order to share the program's successes, models and possible replication.

 
The program has been active since 2000 but keeps attracting new audiences for its puppets and kites. More and more people are streaming in from rural areas to either New Delhi or Ahmedabad looking for construction labor to earn quick cash. When they do, they bring their families and temporarily settle in the slums until the job is over.
 
Working with local partners and in cooperation with government municipalities and health centers ensures that Counterpart programs will stay even if the families move on. The most pressing issue is to reach children as young as possible to stave off life-threatening challenges later.

Please read more about Counterpart's Jeevan Daan Maternal and Child Survival Program.

Photos: © Counterpart International.