Annual Review Meeting at Shillong

“We want a safe stable society. The work we do is therefore community driven. Our work in all sectors is intertwined with impacts on the policy level.” These were the opening remarks of Managing Trustee (MT) Sanjoy Hazarika at the Second Annual Review Meeting of  the Centre for NE Studies and Policy Research (C-NES). Thirty seven staff members from the organization led by the MT, Mr Hazarika gathered at picturesque Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya for the meeting on April 26 and 27th at Hotel Yallana in the Laitumukhrah locality of the hill station. The first review meeting was held a year ago in June 2009 at Guwahati.

Members from the Programme Management Unit (PMU), nine doctors, ten District Programme Officers (DPOs) from an equal number of districts where the C-NES- NRHM “Boat Clinic” project to take health services to unreached communities on the Brahmaputra is being implemented, were present at the meeting along with the District Education Coordinators from Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur working for the UNICEF supported education outreach programme and the Family Planning Counselors from Dibrugarh, Tinsukia Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Sonitpur districts, part of the C-NES- PFI family planning programme. Chaired for both days by Managing Trustee, participants present at the meeting shared their respective work plans, experiences, problems faced and how best to overcome them ,engaging in dialogues with the MT and with each other.

Welcoming the team members, Mr. Hazarika said that Shillong, being his home town, has warm memories for him and he was happy to be with the team here. The meeting would be a period of reflection, he said, and also an opportunity to know each other and understand C-NES’ work better. He said that most of the team members work in their own areas, they work hard but often miss the larger picture- that they are here for a great journey and quoted C-NES’ Mission Statement “C-NES recognizes the right of every individual in the region to live in dignity, peace and safety because only under such conditions can the quality of their lives be improved and their deepest aspirations met”.

He further mentioned that international organizations were coming to see C-NES’ work and the organizations presence has been felt both nationally and internationally. This was a time therefore, for some introspection- about how the team members can give greater depth to the work that the organization does and its relevance in a changing world.

On a nostalgic note he added “I see you here and it is like a dream come true. I never thought C-NES would grow so much, so fast, so widely. From 3 in 2004, we are nearly 150. There are challenges, we must overcome. We must make sure the ground and the ships below our feet remain solid even as we work together as a team”

 

Sanjay Sharma, Associate Programme Manager and one of the first full-time members of the C-NES team spoke on “Contribution of Boat Clinics in reduction of IMR and MMR.” Assam with an MMR of 480 per lakh live birth is at the bottom of the national table. He said that the Boat Clinic health camps provide care especially to pregnant women and children under the national health priorities of reducing maternal and infant mortality. Special emphasis is given to routine immunization of children to ensure that there are no dropouts. Pregnant women are given the mandatory 3 ante natal checkup, 2 TT doses and 100 IFA tablets. Awareness meetings are held regularly with the communities on relevant topics in order to educate and inform them. IEC materials are extensively used for communication. “We must ensure full attendance of children and women at the health camp due for immunization” he added. The Community Workers go to the villages a day or two ahead of the camp to ensure attendance of mothers, children and the sick .

Rajib Borah and Madhabi Lahon, educational coordinators of Lakhimpur and Dibrugarh respectively, spoke on the C-NES- UNICEF education outreach programe in the sapori villages of these two districts. The project is in its third year in Dibrugarh and second in Lakhimpur with five and seven staff members respectively. Activities are conducted according to monthly action plans of the boat clinics and at times through hired boats. Project activities are being planned every month. Providing training to teachers of saporis, activation of village education committee, school management committee and mother’s group, reading programme, setting up of school libraries and story telling are some of the routine activities conducted, along with excursions and children’s interactions with people from different professional backgrounds. Health check-ups of school children, annual sports and cultural meets are also organized.

Speaking on Information Education Communication (IEC), Behavioral Change Communication (BCC) and mobilizing the communities through them, Programme Manager, Ashok Rao said that IEC, BCC were effective in developing a communication strategy to promote positive behavior amongst isolated communities appropriate to their setting. They can motivate and guide people into action, raise awareness, increase treatment seeking behavior and generate demand for health care and are effective in reducing stigma, discrimination and building a supportive environment. Support from local leaders and involving the target audience in these programmes would generate popular participation and involvement. Audio / radio and visuals – TV, films and slides, posters/leaflets/folders and hoardings can be used effectively for the same along with street plays/ folk songs, dance and puppet shows.

Assistant Programme Manager, Manik Boruah assisted by the district family planning counselors, Priyamjyoti Phukan (Lakhimpur), Ridip Bordoloi( Sonitpur), Ritish Gogoi(Tinsukia), Jogananda Dutta( Dibrugarh) and Deba Kakati( Dhemaji) made a presentation on the organizations ongoing family planning project . Population Foundation of India (PFI) and C-NES have signed an agreement to work together for a project “Mobilizing the unreached” towards Family Planning, Reproductive Child Health (RCH) and Awareness building thereof from November 2009. The family planning intervention includes developing a programme for family planning in these five districts of Upper Assam and promotion of modern methods of contraceptives. There were differences of opinion on issues relating to coordination of the population project and boat clinics. This was sorted out after a fresh discussion and the MT announced that DPOs and counselors need to plan and work together for the PFI programme.

The PFI project will work on increasing awareness on reproductive health and family planning issues among eligible couple in selected areas and targeted group- (117 villages /islands in the 5 focus districts), covering a population of 1,01,578. Boruah spoke about capacity building of ASHAs in family planning counseling, communication skills and reproductive health issues as part of the project. The Counselors have regular one to one and group communications on family planning with eligible couples. Training of ANM/GNMs on CuT insertion, training of ANMs /GNMs and MOs on newer methods of family planning like injectable contraceptives will soon be done also as part of the project. A set of documentary films on the boat clinics is also being shot as a part of the project.

Bhaskar Bhuyan, the Coordinator for Community Radio Station (CRS) spoke on the CR station to be set up at Maijan Ghat, Dibrugarh, the first in the region with UNICEF support. An orientation workshop has been held and exposure visits undertaken as initial steps to the setting up of the proposed station .Awareness meetings/ interactions with communities, ASHAs, Anganwadi workers and SHGs, regular interactions with target communities, cultural groups and district administration, setting up of listener groups and selecting village volunteers, identifying village reporters and improving their capacities have been among the activities conducted.

A year long study on “Impact of air and noise pollution in specific areas of Guwahati and Shillong on vulnerable groups” is being conducted since November 2009 by C-NES, supported by the Guwahati-based Foundation for Social Transformation (FST). Bhaskar Saud from C-NES and Skhemborlang Marwein, a researcher from Shillong are doing the study and they made a presentation on it. Vulnerable groups include school children, labourers, rickshaw pullers, traffic police, petrol station workers and roadside vendors. Till date over 600 people have been interviewed

A break out session/ group discussion was held at the end of the meeting. Some of the issues and suggestions which came out of the discussions included the following:

• Duplication of RI between PHC and Boat Clinics.
• Involvement of community leadership in camps management
• Suggesting a methodology to develop surveillance/monitoring system for displaced villagers/migrants for purposes of conducting RI/ANCs/PNCs
• Ways to improve RI to reach state levels (given the fact that the organization is working in most inaccessible places)
• Involving the Village Health and Sanitation Commitees(VHSCs) in camp arrangements
• Internship report of Dr Sheila Longkumer from TISS, Mumbai
• To sort out the actual patients

Suggestions/ responses

• To make the VHSC answerable to the boat clinics, giving some kind of incentives for the same.
• CWs to be based in the community
• Computerized data management and dissemination
• PFI and BC to work hand in hand
• FPC to get mobility fund of Rs 3000/- subject to submission of proper bills and vouchers
• About Longkumer’s report-to which certain members had objection to (parts of

it) the MT would write to TISS

• One camp in a month exclusively on IEC/BCC and related activities.
• On IEC: to get feedback from camps – designing format to improve delivery/responses: are people getting service they need/ want ?
• To form a committee within the organization to prepare IEC/BCC material –

(Ashok Rao,Amrit Borah ,Manik Boruah, Bhaskar Saud, Bhaskar Bhuyan, Debajit Kakoty, Priyam Jyoti Phukan, the latter two to work on vernacular language)

• The use of music, plays/ natya, films for IEC
• Music and street plays by members within the organization using their talents
• Hiring from outside- professionals
• involving AIR/District Song and Dance Division

There were relaxing breaks in between the sessions. The first evening witnessed lively entertainment- songs, dances, jokes and poems, composed and recited by staff members, the highlight being the ever popular Bihu dance with almost everyone joining in. The second evening was free for the participants to take a tour around Shillong, enjoying its bracing weather.