Participatory rural appraisal in a women's health education project in Bangladesh
Vigoda, M.
Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture 33(1): 106-110
1994
Document Number: 342077
The Women's Development Project (WDP) of CARE-Bangladesh is a health education project currently working in 441 Bangladeshi villages. WDP trains village women who have been nominated by their neighbours as local health educators. Women are proposed on the basis of their good relations with community members, leadership capabilities, enthusiasm, and availability of time. These volunteer community health workers are called 'para committee members'. Following training, the para commitees also take on responsibility for transmitting health messages to 5-15 nearby households. They provide information on family planning, control of diarrhoeal disease, the importance of environmental and personal sanitation, the value of nutritious meals, and the importance of appropriate breast feeding and weaning practices. WDP works in each village for four years. A mapping exercise to enable para committee members to assess their achievements over a period of time, and plan their work for the future, is described. The mapping took place on December 27, 1992 in Ghunikesar village, Delduar thana, Tangail district. This village has been involved in WDP since July 1990. It was concluded that by visualizing the situation on a house-by-house basis on the map, the needs of each household could be identified.