#sebstribal

The Long Road to Health Service in the Jawadi Hills

The Tribal Initiative Programme in Sittiling Valley of Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu is 23 years old. During these years Dr. Regi George and Dr.Lalitha Regi along with a team of 45 highly trained members initiated the health service and their programme expanded from Community health programme to Tribal Hospital, Farming initiative and Craft initiative.

The Tribal Health Initiative believes that every community has the resources needed to help themselves. Each village nominates one married woman to be trained as a Health Auxilliary, who can offer advice on good nutrition, hygiene, birth practice and simple ailments, maintain records on important health events in the village and act as facilitators for all Community development work.

Aosada and Sulochana are two young educated married women from the Jawhadi hills of Dhaniyamarthur village. These girls completed their high school education and got married. Asoda’s husband Swaminathan works for Sebs tribal school and Sulochana’s husband is a daily wage laborer. Looking into the school record Asoda and Sulochana were good in their school records yet no opportunity and guidance to pursue their career. The Tribal Initiative Health Programme offered Seb’s to train two tribal girls for a certified nursing assistant course. Seb’s recognizing the talents of these young girls, enrolled them to build their capacities for a better future.

On 28th November, 2015 Asoda and Sulochana started their Journey to Sit tiling valley. The place was so calm and welcoming and the young girls seemed very enthused. Mrs. Prema oriented them about the project and the Nursing course. The admission process was completed on the same day. Asoda and Sulochana started to interact with others on the same day. Both of them said that they wished to complete their two years of training effectively and give back to their community. They said good bye to our Coordinator with lots of Joy and Hope in their face, however holding huge responsibilities in their hearts.  Many thanks to Drs. Saramma Samuel Sargeant and Ian Sargeant for supporting this initiative. Periyapannaaparal Village is making great strides to improve its quality of life After the Trust's visit to Periyapannaparai village, the Head man of the community took a lot of initiative to present the matter to the district Panchayat to address the water issue. To all of our surprise, the panchayat sanctioned funding to build a wall around the water source which was great as that was going to cost a lot of money. They also provided a motor to pump the water to the water tank near by.  After the wall was completed there was lot of excitement including coming to blows!!! Four of the families had  direct access of water supply to their fields and the quantity of water they could avail from the source was reduced. To our dismay the women started taking all their clothes to wash at that site which would continue to pollute the water. One of the problem was they built steps to go down to the water on one side. I have attached a few photographs to help you understand the issues.

New Balwadi Centres in the Javadi Hills

We have identified the immediate need for balwadis in the villages of Periyapannaparai and Palamarthukollai and we hope to have these two centres set up by the end of this week. The balwadi in Palamarthukollai will be inaugurated on the 22nd of July and in Periyapannaparai on the 24th of July.

From the 14th to the 16th of July, we conducted a training programme for the new balwadi teachers, a group of 11 young women from all the tribal villages where Seb's Projects works. Over the three days, we gave them information on several important topics such as healthcare for children aged 2 to 5, adolescent girls, pregnant women and new mothers; nutrition; and kindergarten education. We took them to a model balwadi in Vellore District so that they could see for themselves what running a balwadi involves. The staff at the balwadi explained what their duties were, which included measuring the weights of the children to check for malnutrition, giving out nutrition powder and a midday meal, and doing various activities with the children.

Photos from Jawadhi Hills!

Meena and Vitamin A

Meena is a cheerful 11-year-old girl who attended the Seb's Tribal School in Thattankuttai until 2011, when she was taken away to labour in another state with her family. When she returned she started to go blind, and within weeks she was completely unable to distinguish shapes and see light. Seb's Health and Development Workers, notified Seb's staff and rushed her to the Community Health & Development Hospital in Vellore, where she was immediately referred for treatment at Schell Eye Hospital. Both Meena's eyes were ulcerated, weeping, completely clouded and white. She was in a lot of pain and very scared. The doctors diagnosed a severe Vitamin A deficiency which had caused ulcers to eat into her eyes. They predicted Meena would be completely blind in the left eye, while the right would suffer serious long term damage. She received treatment for 7 days and upon discharge both her eyes had recovered with only minor photosensitivity.

Not all cases are as dramatic as Meena's, but some can be much worse. This case study illustrates the need for aid in these tribal areas to raise basic awareness of proper medical intervention and nutritional issues. Most of the health problems faced by the villages in Tamil Nadu are nutrition-related. Vitamin A deficiency is very common. Vitamin A is an essentien nutrient which keeps skin and eyes healthy and plays a vital role in phototransduction.  A lack in Vitamin A can not only cause blindness but also diminishes the ability to fight infections.Vitamin A deficiency is estimate to affect approximately one third of the children under the age of five around the world.

Vitamin A is found in food sources such as fish oils, eggs, dairy, and orange and yellow fruits and vegetables. In Tamil Nadu, the staple diet consists of rice and pepper/tamarind water (rasam). Vegetables are only eaten twice a week, with meat and dairy products hardly ever eaten at all. The best way to treat Vitamin A deficiency is through proper diet management.  In an attempt to get the villagers eating more vegetables HEAL workers encouraged the villagers to grow their own vegetables. Research has shown that a 60 meter squared plot will feed 14 people and will reduced what the family needs to purchase at market. So far, they have planted chillies, aubergines, ladies fingers, cluster beans, tomatoes, and snake gourds..

Vitamin A deficiency is easily avoided and Meena’s story shows why porjects like HEAL are so importnat in these areas. Helping and teaching families to understand the importance of treatment and nutrition can avoid serious health risks for their children. In order to build the capacity of The Sebastian Hunter Trust's Health & Development Workers, the Seb's Projects hold monthly awareness community meetings in their villages and the monthly health camps.

Zaila: Handmade Soaps

Zaila are handmade organic soaps, made by the women of the Malayali Tribe, in the Jawadhi Hills, as part of the Seb’s Projects India’s Sustainable Livelihoods Program. Using carefully selected ingredients combined with tradition practices and knowledge, these soaps have provided employment and a sustainable income for over twenty families in the village of Thandayankottai.

The Soaps are popular in the Vellore region, particularly amongst the CMC community, where it is sold. To learn more about the soaps and the Zaila project, please click here.

The Hindu, Sunday 17th February 2013

Grant Accepted!