Cricket Team (Aged 15–24) Takes the Lead in Cleaning the Community Health Post

[Juguli Das]

After conducting Group SALT with the cricket group of Triveni village twice, the boys took collective action for their village.

The first Group SALT session was not as effective as we had expected, likely due to limitations in our facilitation approach. We therefore organized a second session, and it was much more effective. One reason for this was that I facilitated the session alone as a male facilitator, without any female facilitator present. I built a friendly relationship with the boys rather than interacting with them only as a facilitator. This created a comfortable environment where they felt safe to openly share their thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

During that group SALT session, one of the boys shared, "Today I realized what abilities we have within us and what we are actually capable of doing."  Other participants also said they would like to have more sessions like this because they found the discussions very useful and meaningful. The discussion gradually shifted from cricket to the overall development of their village. The participants reflected that improving their village was their own responsibility as youth and that they should take the lead in bringing positive change.

During the discussion, they identified the village health post as a place that had been neglected for years (10 years). The surroundings were overgrown with bushes and grass, and no one had taken responsibility for maintaining it. The group decided that they should first take the initiative for their community health post. They agreed to clean and improve the health post premises as their first collective action.

The very next day, the youth gathered on their own and cleaned the health post compound. They removed the overgrown grass and bushes and made the surrounding area clean. On the following day, they again visited the health post and sprayed weed killer, which they brought from their own homes, to prevent unwanted grass from growing again. After that, they took the flowers from their homes, village and planted them around the health post to make the environment more attractive and welcoming. 

This change demonstrated how the Group SALT process helped bring out the hidden strengths, confidence, and leadership potential of the participants. Conducting the Group SALT for a second time by a male facilitator allowed the youth to reflect more deeply on their own strengths and inspired them to take meaningful action for their community. This experience also helped us realize the importance of matching the facilitator with the participant group. Having a male facilitator work with the boys made them feel more comfortable, helping them open up, share their thoughts freely, and actively engage in the discussions. This learning will help us facilitate future SALT sessions more effectively.

The group has now committed to cleaning the health post regularly every one to two months. This commitment is not only helping maintain the health post but also represents a significant achievement for Triveni village, as local youth have taken ownership of a community issue and initiated sustainable collective action.

 

[Rituu B. Nanda]

Youth have begun to take action. Wonderful. I hope they continue to work for the community and for each other.