“What accent do you have? You're not from around here.”  Even in a country that values social equality, there are historically rank differences between urban citizens from the large cities and the administrative centres on one hand, and residents from remote rural areas on the other hand.  In the 80s of the last century, candidates from rural areas (speaking with a distinct accent) were not accepted for trainee positions at a large bank. …

En ce froid dimanche soir, nous préparons les funérailles de papa prévues pour le mercredi suivant. Nous voilà, ma belle-mère, ma soeur avec son mari, mon épouse et moi réunis autour du diacre Jos dans le bureau de la paroisse Saint-Michel à Keerbergen.  Je n'avais pas participé à la préparation d’une cérémonie catholique depuis plus de vingt ans. J’avais lu les directives pour préparer les obsèques et, franchement, j’étais un peu inquiet car je me demandais…

There we were, my stepmother, my sister with  her husband, me and my wife, gathered around Jos the deacon in the  Saint Michael’s parish office in Keerbergen. On this cold Sunday evening, we prepare for Dad’s funeral scheduled for the following Wednesday.  It had been a while since I actively participated in the preparation of a catholic ceremony. I had read the guidelines to prepare the funeral, and frankly, I was a bit concerned as I was wondering whether…

This is a reflection of the valuable learning from my participation as a member of the CLCP facilitator’s team conducted by the Singapore National Volunteerism and Philanthropy Center. This training was the second session. The first session was held in November 2018. Interesting learning is a flow of the facilitation process.

As always, the…

Hello to All, 

Community response is well appreciated when they really work harder to make their children, families and villages happy. They create demand and also help the Health system in a different way.. Here is the story of Mr. Mahizudul Islam from village Bajpara part 4, #Bongaigaon district,…

Du 13 au 16 février, Loli et Luc ont participé à un événement imp!act. Cet événement est proposé par l’organisation euforia pour stimuler…

I am working with communities in 10 villages in Udalguri district, Assam India on the issue of immunization.

As part of their action plan communities wanted their immunization card which is called Mother and Child Protection Card (MCP) in their local language- Bodo language. they say this will help them remember immunization schedule. their interest more after SALT approach. we helped them. …

Hello all!

You might enjoy my latest interview on the 'How To Build Community' podcast. It charts the experience of a mental health nurse from New Zealand, who spent four years in India's rural north, training community health workers on counselling and gender violence. She talks about:

- the role of listening in reducing gender violence

- how to be an effective "outsider" in a community that you want to support

Last year, one study named India "the worst country…

Is SALT truly a 'bottom-up approach?

Read this study of an intern [Kasper Moes] who did a study in the health sector within Holland. The assessment of how GGD employees working with communities view CLCP/SALT. The aim was to explore whether CLCP / SALT may be beneficial additions to Dutch health promotion in order to…

From What is Wrong to What is Strong - Cormac Russell 

I heard this at a workshop I attended yesterday in New Delhi at the NGO SEEDS.

On the projection screen was a quote by Pablo Neruda - We must dream our way.

I was overjoyed to say the least. Why???

Because I did not expect to see SALT in action :-)

 

I was surprised because, in all my years in the development…

We are working with 30 villages in Bongaigaon (Assam) India using SALT approach to encourage immunization coverage and also communities to respond to health of thier children.

See the self assessment of Uttara khora gaon village in 1st Nov 2017 in which the community rated themselves at level 3 in immunization because there were drop outs. People used to get babies immunized and after 2-3 doses stop coming.…

Situation before

At the time of 1st Self assessment and follow-up visit the of 30 SALT coverage villages in  Bongaigaon, Assam (India), most families in the villages were providing vaccination to the babies. However there were drop outs and few were missing vaccination.

When we asked them what is your dream for health of your children, they realised that immunisation was critical for their children. ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) used to inform them…

Pachim Dhuli is one of the villages under Chaygaon circle under Kamrup district of Assam (India). It is near about 35 KM from Guwahati city. According to the record of AHSA worker there are 1040  people in the Village. The people are from Assamese general community.75% of the people depends for their livelihood on agriculture and animal rearing. Most of the people are educated in the village. There are Two Anganwadi centres, one LP school, one ME school and one high school in the…

On 25th January 2019, I did a follow up visit to Tarabari, Udalguri, Assam in India. We are using SALT approach to increase immunization coverage.

I like to share good example from Tarabari. A mother was not giving vaccine to her child aged 2 months .This is her fourth child. She was feeling people will laugh at her .Asha (health worker) visited many times to counsel her to bring the child for vaccination .Gaon burha ( village head)  learned about this .He and…

"Enhance awareness about life insurance, encourage financial security to the people of Nepal through life insurance products and contribute to the nation’s development" is the vision of the IME Life insurance Company. This life insurance company was registered on October 2008 and have been providing life insurance service to all over the country since…

Hello all!

It's not SALT, but I thought some of you might be interested in this interview I recorded with a gentleman called Pearce Godwin from the Listen First Project. They are seeking to bridge the growing divide in US society through - yes, you guessed it - listening!

Please do listen, share and subscribe to our podcast if you feel so inclined.…

When we tell our youth members that they are responsible for creating the neighbourhood that they wish to live in, it generates some excitement among them but often when it is time to do the work, not many show up. However, this week 15 youth in Ghim Moh showed up for a neighbourhood dream-building session. We were pleased and gathered that it was probably because the invitation was made by a parent who has been most concerned with their well-being the past few months. Moreover, this mother…

Himani Sharma worked as SALT facilitator in NGO called Mamta, India. In this video, she shares her experience of engaging patients and communities in #HealthRise project supported by Abt Associates in Catholic Health Foundation of India - Udaipur and NGO Mamta- Shimla (India). This project used Constellation's approach CLCP and SALT for…

We are aiming to improve immunization coverage in Assam through community ownership using SALT and CLCP since March 2019

Today follow up visit to Satgaon village of Kamrup district in Assam discuss with community regarding 2nd self assessment.  During the discussion Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) shared a incident.  To know about the reality of incident I rush to Brick kiln beside the village.It is a surprising incident for…