Youth in Banetha force ANM and MPW to provide quality services

Gram Panchayat Banetha is situated 30 km away from Budhni block headquarters.  Its population is 1003 comprising of 150 households. The majority are Harijans.

The village was visited by the ANM and MPW who earlier provided services according to their whims and fancies. They did not provide services according to the need and were late as well as lacking commitment in their approach.

Both facilitators decided to intervene and met them along with the groups of girls and boys. The initial reaction was of hostility and the service providers questioned the right of the villagers to question them. The group warned them to improve otherwise they would take action soon and they would realize the might of the people.

The attitude slowly changed since they saw the block coordinator coordinating with the block headquarters. The situation also improved after the service providers received training at Samarthan. The rate of vaccination has improved. Earlier only 50% of families received vaccination. This has risen to 80%. The remaining 20% comprises of people who either have misconceptions about the effects of vaccination or are just not interested in allowing any intervention in their families. While the former are slowly becoming convinced the latter are currently beyond the capacity of the group to influence.