Mobilizing Community Structures

This pilot project was implemented by Bal Sansar and supported by UNICEF Rajasthan in one of the blocks of Tonk district, namely Uniyara. The key objective of the project was to influence maternal and child health indicators by promoting desired health seeking behaviours in the rural communities and improving their access to the public health services. The project aimed for formation and strengthening of Village Health and Sanitation Committees (VHSCs) and formation and strengthening of out of school adolescent girls’ clubs. Key Accomplishments:

• VHSC’s one-day training module was developed in Hindi. Thirty-three trainings were organized for the VHSC members (291 members participated).
• Three-day training module developed in Hindi for Meena Munchs. Thirty-Three Meena Munchs formed, and 3-day trainings conducted covering 616 participants (534 adolescent girls, 30ASAHs, 52 AWWs).
• Village profiles of all the 33 Gram Panchayat Headquarters were developed capturing key information enabling us to develop an evidence-based plan for the next phase of the project, being shared as a separate document.
• The team developed good rapport with the PRIs, Block CMHO, CDPO, BPM, ASHA Facilitator, PHC In charges, ANMs, ASHAs, AWWs and GNMs.
• On World AIDS Day (WAD), a joint event was organized with the IHAT’s LWS project staff, in the village Dhikoliya. 200 students have organized a rally to spread awareness on HIV-AIDS while carrying slogans and banners of WAD theme. This was followed by a village meeting to discuss the issues of HIV-AIDS and the needed response from the community’s end; 100 villagers and 200 students participated.