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Community Drinking Wells & Health Education & Training Programme- Phase II:
The World Health Organisation reported that 25 Million people die from Water borne diseases in the developing countries every year. In India 3.5 Million children die every year as a result of water-borne diseases, while another 3.5 Million have been disabled due to the same diseases. About 360 million Indians do not have safe drinking water. According to another study, 70% of the inland water in India is unfit for human consumption. As a result, the country looses 73 million working days, costing the exchequer Rs.600/= crores every year. India accounts for a third of the five million children who die in the Developing World every year from diarrhoea. Common diseases mentioned above and typhoid, hookworm and guinea worm account for as much as 80% our health dioxide, in addition to smoke and dust. Maternal health in India is subject to a host of maladies mainly related to poverty and lack of access to basic amenities like water. This is the scenario of health care in modern India. Therefore following programmes were implemented from the year 1991.
(a) Provided 45 community drinking water wells/storage tanks in the acute water scarcity regions especially for the dalits.
(b)Community Health Education and Training Programmes conducted in the places where Wells were dug and Pumpsets installed and in some of the areas where storage tanks were constructed.
This Programme was implemented with the funds provided by SIMAVI, Netherlands; and The Church of God in Christ of the Mennonite, U.S.A.
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The Health Education and Training Programme had great significance since the provision of merely community Drinking Wells/Pumpset and Storage Tanks were only to meet the physical requirements of the people to get drinking water. But training helped in the management and sustainability. Therefore wherever Community Drinking Wells/Pumpsets/ Storage Tanks were provided, “One Day Health Education Programme” was organised for the village community in those places irrespective of age or whether they were literate or illiterate. The basic knowledge to use clean and protected water and the reasons for using such water to prevent water borne diseases were taught to these people in these “One Day Health Education Training Programme for Village Leaders /Social Workers/ Community Organizers/ Church Leaders. The first one was organized in Dindigul in February and the second in Nagpur.
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The second programme was for a different level of people who were working in the different Churches in Tamilnadu. Being a Council of Churches, we made this attempt to make the Church Leaders to bring this kind of awareness on health in their areas and discussed with them about how they can in turn train Village Leaders in their areas to teach the people on Health. This training programme was organized in co-ordination with the Christian Medical Association of India.
The Health Education and Training Programme had great impact on the participants both at the grass root level and at the Village Leaders/ Health Workers/ Social Workers/ and Church Leaders level as well.
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The other aspect of this programme was to share the knowledge on health; sanitation; observing hygienic habits; preventive methods, keeping the environment clean; awareness about environment and ecological aspects, maintenance of Wells/Pumpsets in a clean and proper manner. Magazines and some books on these subjects are also available in our library. Leaflets on these subjects in simple language were also produced for use by common village people. Posters on the subjects produced by the Tamilnadu Voluntary Health Association and the Christian Medical Association of India in the local language were given to the Village Leaders for displaying them in public places in the Village/Towns.
Community Drinking Wells Project enabled us to provide protected drinking water to about 24,000 people from 3156 families, around 3000 school children, a Rural Hospital and a Centre for the mentally challenged. Further the Health Education and Training Programmes enabled providing basic knowledge on health to about 3000 grass root level people from remote villages, and to train 92 men and 140 women in various aspects of Environment and Health Care
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Faith Tribal School Project, Aremeninpentah:
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This was a project implemented by the Faith Foundation India Trust, Thuthipet, Ambur for which the funds are channeled through the Tamilnad Christian Council Economic Life Committee (TCC ELC).
The Rev. J. John Sundaram, the Managing Trustee of the Trust was in charge of implementing the project. The target group comprised of tribal children and tribal people in Armeninpentah village. About 60- children are given boarding and lodging, and education facilities besides child care. A School and a Hostel Building were constructed. A Community Drinking Well was dug and was installed with an Electric Motor and Pumpset. The project also provided health care to the people in the area in the future.
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Daily Bread Programme:
This programme was to provide loans for self-employment. This was supported by ECLOF-India. This programme was started in the Chingleput area and loans were given to Women through their Magalir Manrams to establish tea shops, cut- piece sales, purchasing goats, sheep; milch animals; mobile vegetable; fire wood shops; mobile laundry; mobile sweet shops; Idly –Vadai shop; coconut leaves making; mud pot selling; rubber stamp making etc., An amount of Rs. 5, 00,000/=., (Rupees Five Lakhs) was disbursed on 14th April 1994 at Kamaraj Nagar, Chingleput by Rt. Rev, Dr. Elia Peter, President, ECLOF and Mr. S. Ponraj, Director, ECLOF.
The Magalir Manrams systematically orgainsed their meetings and arranged to recover the loan installments on a regular basis. Dr. Kaniyoro, the Director , ECLOF_WCC, Geneva, Mr. Lee Holland and a group of members of ECLOF- Canada had a impressive visit of these places and were able to talk to the beneficiaries to ascertain the benefits people received though these loans.
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