Health

June 01, 2017

Every impossible is possible

Every impossible is possible.The village of Lunaghery and Baghuamedi in Mahakalpara Block of Kendrapara District are thickly populated with tribal and migrant population from Bangladesh. The villages are inhabited of 99 households with 649 populations. The villages are highly inaccessible even in hard summer. Hardly Bicycle can move only. The people of these villages suffering from all kinds of health hazards as the PHC and CHC are in quite distance places.
Hence the condition of the children and women are more susceptible to health problems is clearly understood. Apart from this even for common ailments they have to depend on illiterate quacks of the villages. The status of the immunization is not to be told. The percentage before our presence was 13.5%. Even the quacks used to motivate not to inject the children with vaccine as that carries the germ of severe diseases. Once they get injected or oral drops given leads to the same disease. So the IMR and MMR were very high.

VARRAT started its intervention in the year 1998. Since then it took 12 years to eradicate the misconception on health. The attitude of the village people got changed within a period of time. We undertook village meetings exposure of the women to different other village, intervention with other counter part through SHG movement initiated by VARRAT, continuous treatment camp and growth monitoring by our health workers for the children in the village and ANC check up camps by our Doctor at villages slowly changed the perception and attitude of the village people towards Health. With collaboration of CHC a regular immunization point was opened at our organisation Office premises which resulted in increase in immunization rate. That situation and conditions made villagers as change agents and they influenced the neighboring communities of the area. They learnt the importance of immunization and bad impact of blind belief. After five year now the rate is touching 98%. This resulted changes in the community and build the village as a model for other village.

Save mother, save nation

The village Kandarapatia is situated close to the Bay of Bengal. It is 12 km away from project office, 23 km away from block head quarters and 50 km away from district head quarter. Mostly the people of this village are tribal and refugee bengalies. There are 55 Gen., S.C and OBC households residing in the village and the population is about 452, of the total population 228 male and 224. The inhabitants earn their bread and butter by doing the daily wages and fishing.
As the area is prone to natural calamities the people are compelled to go out of the village for the earning? Mousumi Mandal of 24 years W/o: Mayasat Mandal is one of the inhabitants of this village.  Both are illiterate.  Mousumi was pregnant during December 2009. At the time of home visit of our health worker identified her with severe anemic and other maternal problem.  She and also her family members have no interest for any kind of check up & treatment. In their perception it happens to pregnant women normally so there is no harm.

After persuasion and counseling she and her family agreed to go for registering her name at ANM center and taken two doses of TT and 100 IFA tablets. She also had taken three ANC check up at our ANC/PNC camp. Our health worker visited her once in a month and was taking weight. Time came when she delivered a beautiful son on 29.09.2010.Birth weight of the child was 2.800 k.g.

It also influenced other mothers of the village for regular ANC check up and care. Now the rate of full ANC coverage of this village is touching 63%. Rate of Institutional delivery has gone up to 56% instead of 31.29%. The most vital thing is they themselves are becoming interested to do the pregnancy registration and vaccinations. They have started asking for the IFA tablets from the ANM and ASHA workers.