When I first started working at Thanarbaid, there were few villages in Solakuri Union within our working area. At present, we are working in twenty two different villages, within Solakuri and Orankhula Unions. These activities are really essential for the three communities (Christian, Hindu and Muslim) in this area. We now have 18 staff in the VHP. Among them, five are supervisors and the rest are health assistants or general staff.
142 mothers and 1,256 children are receiving direct treatment. We visit every single mother at her home and provide health treatment. We also assist with deliveries. If there are any complications, we refer them immediately to the Kailakuri Health Care Project. If their condition is not suitable for a normal delivery, we send them to another clinic for a caesarian operation. Kailakuri Health Care Project bears the expenses for that. Patients contribute part of the surgical costs, according to what they can afford.
The growth of children is monitored from their birth until four years of age. Besides this, village staff educate people in their homes about preventative measures for infectious diseases, the importance of using toilets, cleaning, family planning methods, EPI (immunisations), three different types of food, appropriate cooking methods for vegetables (to retain the nutrients) and some common risk factors for pregnancies, for example if the mother is particularly short, young or elderly, first deliveries, where the previous delivery was difficult, and other factors.
