The rural village of Khalifapur was totally neglected by all government programs and development. A local gang regularly attacked residents, causing families to migrate. No one wanted to deal with this place, until the Community Development Team from Broadwell Christian Hospital stepped in. The team encouraged the residents to unite and apply for village improvements. An action plan was made, and the applications were turned in.

Then a meeting with a local leader was organized, and he agreed to support the people. As the staff planned the advocacy action of the group, the community stepped up and presented their village issues to the district administration. The local media picked up the story, and this opened the eyes of the government authorities to the need for improvements in roads, drainage, electric service, and safe drinking water for Khalifapur.

Thanks to the efforts of EHA’s team advocating with the villagers in seeking help, projects for road construction,  drainage work, and water hand pump installation have been completed. The media has begun highlighting other sanitation issues in nearby project areas, and the people of Khalifapur are proud to share their experiences with others.

Jairampur is a village in North India. As with many of these places, it is a remote town lacking basic infrastructure and electricity. New development in the village stopped in the 1960s.

Providing advocacy is one of the many functions of EHA’s Community Health and Development Projects (CHDP). Often poor people in rural areas have no idea what programs or benefits they are eligible to take advantage of. The Broadwell Christian Hospital CHDP team met with a group in Jairampur that wanted to see some changes. They formed a Health Care Committee (pictured to the left) and determined to find some solutions, starting with the roadways and drainage system.

During the rainy season, several areas in town became severely water logged and unsafe for travel. The CHDP staff suggested that they apply to the municipality for a road. When the committee had arranged a meeting with the municipality leaders, they asked the CHDP staff to participate with them. After the meeting, the committee was encouraged to put in an application for a road, which they did. After several more layers of bureaucracy, each requiring its own application, the committee finally got the government officials to come and approve their request for a road. Throughout this process, the CHDP staff walked the committee through the red tape and paperwork.

Beginning the work of road construction required tearing down a number of illegal walls and structures that had been built by the slum dwellers in the area. Once the committee members explained to these residents the benefits of the road and drainage systems, they cooperated fully. Now the community members understand that if they work together in unity, and persevere through the difficulties, they can achieve their goal of a better environment.

Often they don’t even know what they’re missing. They live hand-to-mouth, just trying to get through each day, without even a clean water source. They literally live in survival mode. In the remote villages of Jharkhand in northern India, these Malto tribal villagers battle preventable infectious diseases, live with no electricity, and suffer from high infant and mother mortality rates.

Prem Jyoti Community Hospital has begun a number of Community-Based Organizations in 40 villages to address these concerns. When they came to Bedotigra, a mountaintop village, the team members began to train the villagers, helping them to understand that changes must start with them. Water was a scarcity and they were collecting it from a distant source. A year before this, a bore well near the village had been partially completed, so the team helped these villagers fight for their right of access to clean water. They filed an application with the proper authorities, which was the first time they had ever combined efforts to have this need addressed. Before long, the hand pump fittings and pipes were brought in and installed. These villagers have learned an important lesson — they can bring changes to their village by working together and speaking up.

They are beginning to take on tasks like advocating for electricity (successful in three villages so far) and making their village schools functional. The next topic that will be addressed by the CBO teams is health issues — especially mother and child health — and what initiatives they could take up to prevent them.

Sometimes advocacy is the biggest thing EHA can provide to a struggling family. Often aid in one form or another is available from the government, but poor Indians lack the knowledge or skills to access it. 

The tiny village of Bhagwantpura is mostly made up of Dalits (untouchables), but they have always been dominated by the high caste Thakurs. The Dalits have been deprived of their rights for decades, including healthcare. Their access to government officials was limited by those of higher caste, and any government funds sent to the village were siphoned off by the upper castes. The Dalits believed that nothing good could ever happen in their little village.

The village was supposed to have a health facility called the Anganwadi Center, but the leader was supported by the upper castes, so there was no care for the Dalits. Into this challenging situation came the community health ieam from Chhatarpur Christian Hospital. They began to build relationships with community members, village leaders, and village level health workers. Initially, there was a backlash from the upper caste, but over time, two mothers groups and a mother and child health forum were begun.