Basic Health Education
A general lack of awareness and traditional beliefs are major barriers to tribals accessing available healthcare services. Our strategy is to develop health awareness through the voices of the tribals themselves to convince each other to rethink their deep-rooted myths and take better care of their health.
We formed a theater group where tribals perform on common health issues in their own dialect at weekly markets and village headquarters. The plays cover various critical health issues like diarrhea, malaria, safe drinking water, hand washing, breastfeeding, HIV/AIDS, and the benefits of utilizing institutional healthcare. As tribals are accustomed to communicating through theater, our program is highly effective at gaining their attention and changing their attitudes.
We run sessions where we teach students about the advantages of using sanitary toilets, safe drinking water, menstrual hygiene, the risk of early marriage, and the importance of sending girls to school. The students are bringing the message back to their families, becoming real agents of change in their communities.
We set up mobile health camps in remote villages to train community members and local healers on proper health practices, provide clinical treatment, refer serious cases to nearby institutions, and distribute medicine and supplies.