Yesterday as I was filling up my water bottle, I got an invitation to go out to the villages with the village health program people. Having nothing pressing on my agenda for the day, I headed out with them, kicking myself for not bringing the camera that day.
There were four of us in the jeep, and first we went to one of the village health centers to drop off some supplies and pick up another worker. We then dropped one more off at a nearby village and headed to yet another village, where we had to stop and walk about 200m away beacuse there was a channel cut across the road.
This was probably the smallest village I had been to. Ganiyari is a village, but has a total population around 10,000 and a small "downtown" area with shops. "Downtown" in this village consisted of a water pump and a few goats tied to posts and tree roots. I could see 4 or 5 mud houses, and that was about it. There were certainly houses not visible, but its possible the population of this village was well under 100.
We started at a creche, or pulwari, which is basically daycare. The basic function of these is to provide a meal and 2 snacks to the young children to help in the fight against chronic hunger, as malnutrition at this age has lifelong effects. The creche itself was a small hut made of wood (logs, not milled) and bamboo woven into walls. A chicken roosted in the corner, and her nest had eggs, which I assume were to become snacks for the children. The hut had a low ceiling, and I hit my head on the way out.
Before we did what he had to do there, the village health workers (who I'll call VHW's from here on out, which is also the name given to workers *from* the villages JSS trains) had to see a sick woman in one of the houses. She was given an IV drip for rehydration (I assume), and I was surprised that the VHWs I was with were trained to do that. I thought they mostly educated people about safe water and avoiding mosquito bites, but they apparently have some paramedic skills as well (here para-medic is a lot like para-legal... not emergency workers, but trained though not fully qualified as a doctor).
Seeing to the woman took awhile, and after we had a picnic lunch from a tiffin box "downtown." We then headed to the creche, where the children were weighed and measured. The scale they had was the hanging kind, and the children grabbed onto the hook and hung there as their weight was taken. Ones too small to hang were hung from a harness, and I was surprised how well some of the little ones hung.
We then headed to another larger village, with three times as many children, to repeat the procedure. I sat on the edge of a bed in the corner, and was joined by a fearless young'un about 2 years old who showed no fear and smiled everytime I looked at her(?). Many others just stared. Most of the children here cried during the process of being weighed and measured, even though there seemed to be nothing scary and they could see that nothing bad happened to anyone else who went through the process.
The last stop was intended, I believe, to be another creche, and we turned down what was barely a road to yet another village, where we went first to see another sick man. I was unprepared for what I saw, and I had never seen anything like it in person, only in Holocaust documentaries and fund-raising commercials for famine relief. The man, who I am guessing is in his late 50's was the skinniest human being I have ever seen. His elbows and knees were the thickest point of his arms and legs, and the skin pulled tight on his tendons.
Another man, possibly his son, was brought over and the VHW's started asking him questions. He was well-built and looked strong, especially compared to the sick man. He smiled and laughed as they talked to him. My best guess is that they were asking why he had not sought help earlier, and he was smiling in a "you caught me" type of way and explaining the economics of the decision. The house that the old man was in was marked as a "1 rupee/kg" house, which means that they are very poor even in the context of rural Chattisgargh. I could be entirely wrong about this, and I am going to try to find the story from one of the doctors, or have Dolly translate for me when she gets back. He was loaded into the backseat of the jeep, and we piled in and took him to the JSS hospital, so at least he will get treatment.
There were four of us in the jeep, and first we went to one of the village health centers to drop off some supplies and pick up another worker. We then dropped one more off at a nearby village and headed to yet another village, where we had to stop and walk about 200m away beacuse there was a channel cut across the road.
This was probably the smallest village I had been to. Ganiyari is a village, but has a total population around 10,000 and a small "downtown" area with shops. "Downtown" in this village consisted of a water pump and a few goats tied to posts and tree roots. I could see 4 or 5 mud houses, and that was about it. There were certainly houses not visible, but its possible the population of this village was well under 100.
We started at a creche, or pulwari, which is basically daycare. The basic function of these is to provide a meal and 2 snacks to the young children to help in the fight against chronic hunger, as malnutrition at this age has lifelong effects. The creche itself was a small hut made of wood (logs, not milled) and bamboo woven into walls. A chicken roosted in the corner, and her nest had eggs, which I assume were to become snacks for the children. The hut had a low ceiling, and I hit my head on the way out.
Before we did what he had to do there, the village health workers (who I'll call VHW's from here on out, which is also the name given to workers *from* the villages JSS trains) had to see a sick woman in one of the houses. She was given an IV drip for rehydration (I assume), and I was surprised that the VHWs I was with were trained to do that. I thought they mostly educated people about safe water and avoiding mosquito bites, but they apparently have some paramedic skills as well (here para-medic is a lot like para-legal... not emergency workers, but trained though not fully qualified as a doctor).
Seeing to the woman took awhile, and after we had a picnic lunch from a tiffin box "downtown." We then headed to the creche, where the children were weighed and measured. The scale they had was the hanging kind, and the children grabbed onto the hook and hung there as their weight was taken. Ones too small to hang were hung from a harness, and I was surprised how well some of the little ones hung.
We then headed to another larger village, with three times as many children, to repeat the procedure. I sat on the edge of a bed in the corner, and was joined by a fearless young'un about 2 years old who showed no fear and smiled everytime I looked at her(?). Many others just stared. Most of the children here cried during the process of being weighed and measured, even though there seemed to be nothing scary and they could see that nothing bad happened to anyone else who went through the process.
The last stop was intended, I believe, to be another creche, and we turned down what was barely a road to yet another village, where we went first to see another sick man. I was unprepared for what I saw, and I had never seen anything like it in person, only in Holocaust documentaries and fund-raising commercials for famine relief. The man, who I am guessing is in his late 50's was the skinniest human being I have ever seen. His elbows and knees were the thickest point of his arms and legs, and the skin pulled tight on his tendons.
Another man, possibly his son, was brought over and the VHW's started asking him questions. He was well-built and looked strong, especially compared to the sick man. He smiled and laughed as they talked to him. My best guess is that they were asking why he had not sought help earlier, and he was smiling in a "you caught me" type of way and explaining the economics of the decision. The house that the old man was in was marked as a "1 rupee/kg" house, which means that they are very poor even in the context of rural Chattisgargh. I could be entirely wrong about this, and I am going to try to find the story from one of the doctors, or have Dolly translate for me when she gets back. He was loaded into the backseat of the jeep, and we piled in and took him to the JSS hospital, so at least he will get treatment.
