FAWCO Articles

Jeevika Project Update

 
AWG has received the first quarterly report from the Jeevika Trust concerning the activities and costs of the project administered by the Annai Mary Foundation, to aid the Narikuravar gypsy population.

Government health cards have been printed, and information about age, height, weight, etc, has been collected for 120 Narikuravar villagers.  At least eight informal awareness meetings have been held for adolescent girls and women in the target area, and topics such as health, hygiene and nutrition have been discussed.  At least 50 women and girls have attended these meetings.
General information has been discussed on HIV and STD, but topics such as prevention, testing and treatment methods have not yet been discussed in detail, as this is only the first quarter, and there has been a greater emphasis on getting to know the community and building a relationship with the villagers.


A First Aid box has been provided for the community, containing band-aids and bandages, liniment, cotton, ointments, scissors, thermometer, and basic medications, as well as information on usage.

Several sessions have been conducted to provide training in vegetable and mushroom cultivation, but this is a particular challenge since the Narikuravar community is migratory and the families constantly travel in search of economic opportunities.  Instead of mushroom cultivation, women have been trained in soap making to encourage them to improve the hygiene of their families. 

Training has been provided on the care and maintenance of chickens, and the benefits of consuming eggs and white meat has been discussed.  Five women currently have poultry and their families consume eggs. Instead of giving cash to women beneficiaries, Annai Mary Foundation has purchased and distributed over 100 packets of seeds (spinach, eggplant, ladysfinger/ okra, beans and cluster beans, bitter gourd and bottle gourd, etc) to women for kitchen garden cultivation for family consumption.Basic training has been provided on cultivation, nutrition and recipes that can be prepared.

For more details, see the blog at http://blog.jeevika.org.uk/project-narikuravar/.

16 October 2015
 

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