Anchery is a small but fast growing village in Thrissur
District, the Cultural Capital of Kerala. The Village is now in news due to its initiatives in promoting voluntary blood donation. The mega blood donation camp conducted in the village on 20th June 2010 has become a record in Kerala State as it bled 464 units of blood from a single Voluntary Blood Donation Camp. The reason for excitement is that the entire community of the Ancherichira Village have become active associates of the campaign, organized as part of the World Blood Donor Day’ observance in the District.
The Merchants Association of Ancherichira Village (The Kerala Vyapari Vyavasai Ekopana Samithy), Ancherichira unit was the organizer of the programme. Nearly two hundred merchants from the village are the members of the association. The District Blood Donation Forum promoted by Kerala State AIDS Control Society with the management support of Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust has given necessary technical guidance and moral support to the programme.
While planning the programme, the Organizers of the campaign intended only to accomplish the highest number of bleeding from a single camp, to surpass the existing records in the State. But the programme succeeded in converting the campaign into a community movement, where the community members internalized the need for voluntary blood donation and decided to act accordingly in donating blood voluntarily at regular intervals.
Preparations for the campaign started in the month of May 2010. The participatory planning process and the preparatory communication campaigns of the programme in the Village were so effective, that it inspired the whole community to become active partners in the voluntary blood donation programme. As a result, the community took the whole responsibility of a week long campaign conducted as part of the Day observance. They themselves organized awareness classes, motivation camps and house visits in the village to sensitize and induce the community members to join the voluntary blood donation movement of the Ancherichira Village in saving the lives of hapless persons with illnesses or injuries.
The members of the Merchants Association divided themselves in groups and visited every nook and corner of the village with the messages of Voluntary Blood Donation. The technical team from HLFPPT and District Blood Donation Forum accompanied them with necessary technical inputs. The Campaign Committee formed by the members of the village, themselves identified and arranged necessary resources viz. human resource, financial resource, etc., for the well conduct of the campaign.
The air conditioned venue for blood donation, gift for all the volunteers who donated the blood in the camp, IEC Materials, vehicles for transportation, decorations of the venue and the roadway to the venue, entertainments during the camp, refreshments, etc. were arranged with the support of sponsors identified by the campaign Committee. Each member of the Merchants Association brought a minimum of three volunteers to the camp on their own responsibility.
Another innovation of the camp is that all the thirty two recently married couples in the village donated their blood during the camp. School going children of the Village demonstrated a massive rally to infuse the message of voluntary blood donation to the community on the day prior to the bleeding camp. Poster exhibitions on voluntary blood donation were also arranged during the campaign to fortify the messages delivered.
Blood banks of the Indian Medical Association, Jubilee Medical College, District Hospital, and Government Medical College participated in the blood donation camp. They arranged twenty six bleeding counters in the camp. Several prominent personalities from Kerala participated in the mega campaign. The participation and involvement of the community in the campaign indicates the positive change happened in the mindset of the community regarding Voluntary Blood Donation by the deliberate interventions of Kerala State AIDS Control Society under NACP-III. The community movement at Ancharilchira Village will become a model for the rest of the Villages in the State. The people of Kerala pay homage to all the philanthropists involved in this campaign transforming it into a community movement.
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BEST PRACTICE DOCUMENTATION UNIT
IEC DIVISION, KERALA STATE AIDS CONTROL SOCIETY
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA
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Management Support by:
Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust (HLFPPT)
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