Our training program has had one positive effect. In the beginning of this program, about 18 months back, we encountered some difficulty in motivating even one volunteer to attend our training session. But that has changed. Now, many more volunteers than we reach out to show up for our trainings. And we train them all, but designate only one as the ‘health activist’ of the village for coordination activities. In August, we designated 30 more health activists and plan to designate 50 in September. The actual number, who will receive health care training in September will be 100 or more.
One of our objectives in 2009 is to expand to another district. We conducted our first survey of Phoolpur in Uttar Pradesh to understand local need. Even though membership of the local NGO is not large, we will start a small pilot program. Our program manager Anoop Pant and I will visit the area to start the program at the end of November.
Anoop Pant will also attend a training program in Lucknow, conducted by PATH – an international NGO. Subsequently, he will become a master trainer for ASHA workers of the National Rural Health Mission. This will bring us even closer to the public health workers in our area, with whom we already have a working relationship. We will supplement the public health programs sponsored by the government.
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