Monita Patel
During this past summer with the support of the Global Field Experience Fund, I had the unique opportunity to work in the Community Health Program of the Society for Education, Welfare, and Action – Rural (SEWA-Rural), a local NGO based in Jhagadia, the rural tribal area of Bharuch district in Gujarat, India. The focus of the Community Health Program of SEWA-Rural is improving maternal and child health, and my role in the organization this summer was to assess the Family-Centered Safe Motherhood and Newborn Care Project which started in April of 2003. The overall goal of the project is to reduce maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality in Jhagadia through training of TBAs and community health volunteers, registering and recording each pregnancy and pregnancy outcome, providing counseling for pregnant women and their families, and establishing referral linkages. The aspect of the Family Centered
Safe Motherhood and Newborn Care Project that I focused on this summer was the
village level counseling program. My
specific tasks were to: 1) to
assess whether women are being made aware of essential components including
antenatal care, birth preparedness, referral of complicated cases, safe
delivery, and newborn care and whether the associated actions/behaviors are
occurring and 2) to determine the
positive aspects of the program, the negative aspects of the program, and
improvements that can be made. With
the help of SEWA-Rural staff and the guidance of my field supervisor, I was able
design a study in which I surveyed and interviewed 50 women who had recently
delivered in the target population and the corresponding village health
counselors. I was able to collect, enter, and analyze the data before
leaving Gujarat and shared the preliminary findings and recommendations with key
SEWA-Rural Staff. Based on the
results of my study SEWA-Rural will be able to improve the Family Centered Safe
Motherhood and Newborn Care Project.
In addition to the assessment, I was able to observe trainings of TBAs and
village health counselors, accompany field supervisors and village health
counselors on visits, attend monthly reproductive health camps held in the
villages, attend conference of community heath workers from throughout Gujarat,
and participate in weekly project staff meetings. Furthermore, as my housing was within the SEWA-Rural campus,
I was able to participate and observe activities going on in the other branches
of SEWA-Rural including the 75-bed hospital, women’s development program,
training center, and primary children’s education program.
A unique aspect of my experience was my ability to speak the local language, Gujarati—which allowed me to personally conduct surveys and interviews and eliminated my dependency on a translator. The experience gave me a first-hand look at the realities of life in rural India and I was able to gain a greater appreciation for the history and culture of the communities I served. The most challenging part of my summer experience was the physical conditions—enduring 120oF temperatures and walking knee-deep in rainwater. Overall, my experience working with SEWA-Rural in Gujarat this summer exceeded my expectations and contributed significantly to my personal and professional development.
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