Begenning of Jully, I had a week of  reconnexion with members of my team. And reconnexion to the essence of what make me an active member of this human network of people seeking to live in harmony with their environment and people around them.

I'm trained as facilitator of local response since 2013. In my training I learned that the best facilitators are local…

I have been using SALT and CLCP with Patient Support Group in Village Jamog, Mashobra, Himachal, India. I see a dramatic improvement in response of the group to the issue of health, diabetes and hypertension.

For eg a patient from our group, who is not part of our project but had come for screening. Her sugar levels high. She started taking medicine but stopped after some time. Then when she came for our camp in Suni her level had gone beyond 400. Meanwhile she became a regular when…

Salt-visit at Worldhouse in Amsterdam, November 6th 2017

During the visit I liked a lot the conversation I had with a woman who was colouring a mandala. I started talking to her in English (because we were talking English with the men). It turned out that she was speaking excellent Dutch. I didn't know if that is her mother tongue. What I realized: I automatically spoke English to her because that was the mode I was in. 

Learning point in a situation like the Worldhouse: don't…

Humanity and Unity pushing through bureaucracy

SALT WITH COFFEE AND POPCORN

No-one panics when the fire alarms goes off.

The odeurs of fresh coffee and crusty popped popcorn have filled the room - the steam causing the alarm to warn for ‘danger’. People…

Dream of the village Dhanout in Himachal Pradesh is to stay healthy. One of the action decided by Patient Support Group (PSG) during action plan meeting was to organize screening camps for Diabetes and Hypertension regularly at Panchayat or village level.

Anil Sharma followed up the members of the group and came to know that the group is planning to organize screening camp at village level. The group decided the date, venue of the camp and called Anil to attend it.

PSG…

The dream of Patient support group (PSG) in Junga Panchayat, Himachal, India had focus on health. We have set up PSGs in a large number of villages and have used CLCP and SALT in 14 villages. Each PSG is composed of patients with diabetes and hypertension, their families and village leaders, health workers and other stakeholders.

PSG wanted a village, which was green, clean and healthy. This is what came up during the dream building session, which I had facilitated. I got busy in…

We walked in single file because of the narrow path leading to the end of the short ‘panhandle’. Brush was overlapping the path so much that we had to push them aside with our hands. It was a lovely morning in Eijsden.  It is a custom [level 5]  that we engage with walking in the morning during the period of our FtF engagement. Laurie, who was walking in front of me, picked up a piece of paper. I began to wonder…

Earlier people used to not share their deep concerns and personal issues. We listened to their stories and helped them find their strengths. We were able to create a good environment and they found the conversation useful. No one got up from group meetings because everyone had the desire to do something and gave their time for the meeting.People realised that they are for each other and they have to jointly find a solution. 

We work with communities on the issue of diabetes…

A SALT village after our hearts...where a young husband ensures that his wife has her Ante Natal check up (ANC)...and so does a conscientious Mother in Law...two different generations bridged by the SALT approach and exemplary instances of male involvement and family concern for girls and women...an Aanganwadi Centre (AWC) throbbing with energy and exuberance where the responses of chirpy tots are a clear indicator of an enterprising and responsible Aanganwadi worker (AWW)...…

As the Sun beat down on us on a hot, sultry summer afternoon...the women in Jongakhali village in Kamrup district of Assam, were in turns shy and reticent, but it took a few moments for the reticence to change to expressions and words and confidence...as they admitted that they have dreams, but are wary to share them...they proudly show off…

In our project on diabetes and hypertension, Patient support groups through CLCP made an action plan. Villagers in Dhanot, Himachal have begun to do yoga every morning from 6 am to 6:30 am.

In the below picture, people went for diabetes and…

For a practitioner of SALT and CLCP, our work does not finish with facilitating action plan, accompaniment of the community in taking action is critical. This is my learning in our Assam project in India where we are stimulating community response to immunization, WASH and nutrition.

In Hirajani community, water supply is a major issue and the community is getting frustrated as in spite of a lot of effort and applications to the government they have not been able to…

Its been 8 years ago when two facilitators of IndoCompetence were invited by  National Family Planning (FP) Board to present FP Competence.  The discussion was postponed since the senior officer we talked  with was retired.  Two three times after that, IndoCompetence (Dewi, me and Tuti) were invited to present our approach to program person or pool of trainers  of the institution.

This year, February, one of FP Officer in West Java who were invited to attend SALT and CLCP workshop on…

SALT Group from Dhanoth village.

About 12 Stakeholder attended the SALT action plan meeting at Dhanoth village. This is patient support group for those with diabetes and hypertension. In this meeting people came from the different area also included the village Pradhan, frontline health worker, ASHAs, Ward member and patient of diabetes and hypertension. After the dream building, the action plan was made. e.g. They have decided the date for plantation third…

Summer time and the living is easy, that’s how the old song goes.  Well, one thing that was not so easy is to gather enough participants for a 2.5 half day SALT initiation training in English.

However, nothing is lost.  Together with Radmila, the creator of Generation Why Not?  (Check out the Facebook site here) we decided to give a 1-Day…

Background: Under the HealthRise project, Catholic Health Association of India (CHAI) is facilitating SALT and community life competence process for strengthening patient centred approach in the state of Rajasthan, India. As part of this project, the CHAI team has set up patient support groups and we are using SALT so that the groups can own the issue of diabetes and hypertension and take action. Technical inputs: Dr Sameer and story credit: Asha, Brinda and Sharad.

I want …

Dream building 21st May 2018 Village Barog

About 10 stakeholders like village Pradahn, ASHA etc met for dream building. The best thing says Ramesh was that for the first time they want to do something for the village. After dream building action plan was made. They will celebrate NCD day on 15th June. They have divided duties- Health worker and AWW will organise the meeting in subcentre. Pradhan will distribute…

The very first time i saw the Dancing Jajas from As You Open Your Eyes (AYOYE) video i was in awe. I was caught in this whirlpool of ideas and emotions; all that I could do with this one gem of a video, all the people it could reach and all the emotions it aroused in me. Having myself been a facilitator for the AYOYE team here in Mauritius I couldn’t help but think,…

Guyana celebrates its 52nd Independence celebrations. Youth week engagement included schools who celebrated in several different ways. Bernice Edwards a teacher of grade 8 students in response to students interest in future careers and the fact that from Grade 9 class they begin to stream into career choices wanted to engage students in an interactive way so that conversation on career choice is stimulating to them.…

Dearest Constellation friends

As you know, our awesome Visual Development couple David & Jessica have been working very hard for several months now to bring you the first-born of a series of documentary episodes called As You Open Your Eyes…

The first episode, Dancing Jajas, centers around the jajas of HENU…