Prevention is Cure Ignorance is Disease Disease Prevention

We tried to change villagers outlook about the way they perceive diseases. We tried & got success in activating the fragile health services in the village. We brought an awareness about the diseases & their social consequences. We motivate them to adopt a lifestyle & surroundings free of diseases. Ramnagar Bhainsi is a remote village located at the far flung border of Shahjahanpur district bordering Hardoi. The village lacks basic health & Educational infrastructure & a majority of population is extremely poor depending on Groundnuts & labour. Villagers have deep rooted beliefs in superstitions & weird & harmful customs are still practiced here. People apathy towards cleanliness, practice of open defecation,poverty & superstitious beliefs have combined together to make this village the abode many diseases hampering its growth & development.

School Maid Mrs. Munni Devi was absent for many days as She was attending to her seriously ill son at a nearby shrine. During Rainy season, the village always becomes a favorite ground for diseases. Many students were coming to the school with watering boils, eczema, psoriasis etc on their skin presenting a pathetic sight. Girls have to stay back to take care of their houses as illness is all around . Road Blocks 1.Deep rooted superstitions. 2.Poverty,Illiteracy & rigidity. 4.Lack of Health services. 5.Habitual of filthy conditions. Why the idea was chosen 1.Almost 70% students were suffering from skin diseases. 2.People were consulting quacks or leaving it to heal by itself. 3.Garbage & mud were all over the roads 4.Cycle of fever & chicken pox spreading in the village from one another. 5.Water with filth collected at various spots in the village breeding mosquitoes. 6.Practice of open defecation. 7.Difficult situation at school with dropping attendance & moral A shrine where mentally ill patients are chained will be the biggest challenge as people have deep respect for it

. We will make our people aware of the practices to prevent diseases by organizing a Health Mela for the villagers. The village will be able to adopt a life style of cleanliness of the self & surroundings making proper plans for the garbage disposal, preventing water logging & shunning the practice of open defecation. The health services will be activated & free medicines will be made available at Angan Wadi centers etc., Action against diseases 1.Medical Camp by NRHM & Local PHC 2.Indian Mark II hand pump in village. 3.Filling of water logging spots. 4.Policy on garbage disposal. 5.Regular supply of medicines from Anganwadi centres. 6.Dispelling myths & superstitions regarding diseases. Will take all the villagers together for an Ideal village

1.Rally,Chart,posters & slogan writing to create awareness against disease 2.Support of Sarpanch,village leaders & religious Gurus to bring about change. 3.Plays & exhibitions to dispel myths in the light of Science. Campaign week from 21 st to 28th Sept 11 5 teams of seven students each were formed First day was spent on planning out the strategies of the campaign, preparing slogans, charts ,posters & drawing a route for the rally. Prevention is better than cure

1.Disease Survey: Carried out by students to identify major diseases their causes & consequences. 2.Brainstorming done on the results of the survey to equip students with the knowledge about diseases 3.Students rehearsed & practice about what they will convey to villagers. Saaf Saafai Rakhkho Bhai Khada Hua Paani Machchar kare Manmani Aane Wala Kal Saaf,swatch Aur Nirmal

Health Camp was organised in the school for the students & community members in collaboration with NRHM & District Hospital. Free medicines & counselling was provided & serious cases were referred to the District Hospital. A lecture on health & hygiene was given by the senior doctors. 217 Students & 200 villagers 4 Doctors,5 Nurses ,Anganwadi,Aasha Bahu Medicines worth 3500 distributed

21 st Sept 11 Setting up of the idea Team formation Writing Slogans, preparing charts & posters Format for disease survey 22nd Sept 11 Disease Survey in the village. Meeting with Gram Panchayat Site visit where action was planned Brainstorming done on the survey results. 23rd Sept 11 A rally was taken out in the village to mobilize the community for the health camp & to create awareness against diseases. Rally paused at the water logged sites in the village & students filed mud to cover water. Community members were also motivated to help in filling of pots. The land was leveled and flower plants were planted. 24th Sep 11 A play titled ‘ Kaala Paani’ organized in the village to highlight the plight of the village & to showcase that how due to our ignorance the village has started resembling the dreaded ‘Kaala Paani’of British era. After the play Slogan writing on the walls of the village was done requesting villagers to stay clean. Village Sarpanch exhorted the villagers to keep themselves & their surroundings clean. Journey of Change

26 th Sep 11 Health Mela was held & free medicines worth Rs 3500 were distributed. After the Health Camp noted rationalist Mr. Human Azaad conducted some experiments to display to the innocent villagers the simple science behind the so called miracles done by Tantriks & Babas. Health Cards of the patient were also prepared 27th Sep 11 A huge public meeting was organized in the village & all the formal & informal leaders were invited. A cleanliness drive was launched people were made to sign pledges to keep village clean & dispose garbage at the proper place . Block Pramukh announced the installation of five Indian Mark II hand pump in the village .

The last day of the campaign started with news of success as 1.Village got it first India Mark II hand pump. 2.Village Sarpanch involved MNREGA laborers to fill the land at all water logged sites in the village. 3.Villagers selected a defunct site of old brick kiln as the ground to dispose their garbage. 4.Doctor from the nearby PHC agreed to visit the village once in a week & Anganwadi centre will distribute free medicines against common illness. A plantation drive was undertaken in the village to plant saplings in the village & school. Many villagers took part in the campaign & more than 150 trees were planted. The plants were sourced free of cost from the Government nursery

Health Mela & Science Camp Dr Naveen Bharti,CMO,District Hospital & Mr. Human Azad played an important role in making the villagers realize the importance of prevention & treatment against diseases. Dr Naveen ensured that the doctor from the nearby PHC must visit the village once in a week & also exhorted the ANM & anganwadis to help villagers to reach hospital. Helping Hands Sarpanch offered labour & land for the filling of water logged potholes. Block Pramukh announced the installation of Indian mark II hand pump. Mr. Naveen Bharti & his team of doctors & Mr. Human Azad gave us hope & clarity. Mr. Ram Murti Verma former MP,allowed his now defunct brick kiln as garbage disposal ground. Decoding Superstitions Mr. Human Azad of the Rational Society shows to the villagers how one can walk on fire using some chemicals & how fire can suddenly be produced.Through his work he showed the science behind the miracles of false God men. Panchayat Resolution 1.All will dispose their garbage at the selected site only. 2.No men will defecate in the open & must use the toilet. 3.A committee of ward members will monitor the work of Anganwadis &ANM. 4.Efforts will be made for the opening of a CHC in the village 5.All must stay clean & take care of their surroundings. Cleanliness is next to Godliness

The silent sufferings of the children bearing the brunt of diseases on their skins & Its effects on their minds stirred the team to took up the idea. The disease survey done to assess the enormity of the problem opened up our eyes & lead us to the reality That more than the natural fury, the problem was man made. The change occur because of the team of doctors & rationalists who devoted their time for the village at our behest. The election fear also contributed to our success as elected representatives were eager to do more than what was asked for. Our regular interaction with the villagers & ensuring solutions to their issues helped us to win their confidence & most of them becomes our partners in our campaign. Health Mela was of big help as it was for the first time in the village history that so many Doctors assembled to take care of their diseases. The street play Kala Paani acted as mirror to open up their eyes to their own ignorance& miseries. The starting of work on Handpump,landfilling & site for the garbage disposal make them to feel sure about our intentions & boost the change.

Story of Change Mrs Guddi Pal, mother of Ruchi is a terminally ill patient & needs to kept chained at a nearby shrine. Her husband was told that curse of some heavenly bodies was the reason for her plight.Ruchi’s mother illness has turned the onus of responsibility of household on Ruchi’s tender shoulder & from an active and vibrant girl of Class Vth,she turned into a dull & pointless woman & stopped attending school. DFC team got in touch with her father but he showed his helplessness as he firmly believed that his wife possessed some spirits & can only be treated at the shrine. We were forced to take the help of Mental Health Care Act 2010 and rescued her from the shrine. We got her admitted at the Mr. Jitendra Prasad Memorial Hospital at Shahjahanpur and where She is undergoing treatment. We hope she will soon join her family with complete health & our effort will help her daughter to reclaim her innocence. The teachers of SBS Ramnagar are bearing the expenses of her treatment. Ruchi cooking food Mrs Guddi Pal

School Leader- Ms Ekta Mishra Mentor Teacher-Mr. Vimal Saxena & Mr Nazi Daraz Khan Students: Mukesh, Shivam,Pawan.Sanjeev,,Nishant,Sheela,Ruby,Roshni,Priyanka,Naamwati,Nidhi,Priyal,Rohit,sukhdev etc Together for an ideal village