Newsletters and updates
Newsletter #2
In February 2022, the project started following the monsoon and the wedding seasons. While my uncle Marc was very enthusiastic about the project, he unfortunately passed away at its very beginning. When I talked to him over the phone some days before, he was at peace, ready to leave, very thankful and full of encouragement.
A lot happened and the results of Mahila Shanti are extremely positive. The villagers that were trained (or still in training), are active and organizing their regular meetings and reports, and people are committed to the project and to their missions to improve their quality of life. See below for their feedback.
Here is a message from Sister Anna who took over the project: "On behalf of the operation team and thevillage people of Gram Uthan I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude. Yours and all those who have donated with quick actions reveal your great love towards the humanity. Please convey our gratitude to all who are one with you to support Gram Uthan activities." Gram Uthan is the name of the organisation in Gumla.
Result 1Out of 650 adolescent girls in these villages; 70% are attending to the weekly class and 50% know their health requirements.
Result 2Out of 90 trained village health promoters, 20 are already active and working with monthly reports. The measures they put in place led to a drastic reduction of the sicknesses and of the death rate in the villages; a better access to medication, farming medicinal herbs and preserving herbal plants from the forest.
Result 3Out of 60 women who plan to follow the classes; 15 are already fully trained as midwives and meet families of expecting mothers to counsel them on pre and postnatal care of the mother and the child, visiting regularly and bringing them to the hospital for their checkups.
Result 4Out of 37 dispensaries; 25 are regularly meeting in the network to discuss local health problems.
Result 5100% of the nurses attend the meetings and 50% now share openly about their problems. 80% of stock of medicine are supplied. 80% of the people trust the advice and treatment of the nurses.
Newsletter #1
My uncle Marc wrote below message as he wanted to truly thank each one of you who participated to the funding of the project 1st year:
My gratitude is very great, because you have so much generosity, and as for me I am on the spot and know the people well. Many, many personally. They need to earn by themselves, not gifts in money but trainings so that all are healthy and work well. Again, organized in groups to ensure the continuity of this beautiful work. The women of the villages are taught to meet every week and think about the improvement of the village. This is a brand-new idea because before each one for himself, divided into tribes and castes was the norm.
This project MAHILA SHANTI = Peace to the Ladies, takes progress through health. Mrs. Harriet Toppo is a very capable nurse and director. She goes to the villages and teaches. Today she is in Katkahi, a large parish of over a hundred years old and encourages a lot of villages to be faithful to their meeting every week. It changes the whole village... The VHP's = Village Health Promoters, will only start in February like every year, when the rice is stored, when New Year’s Eve and the January weddings are over. Now this first year is assured.
So thank you very, very much. Because we still have a lot of projects, especially for the "character formations" that the traditional ones cherish. As for the Christians, they are already better organized.
All this concerns hundreds of villages (hamlets), something like 500 catholic villages, and 300 traditional villages, because well-tempered ideas spread quickly.
Kind regards, and very affectionately,
Marc
And here is the news I received from him:
Many things have already begun, but few that are from Mahila Shanti. We must wait for the lockdowns to decrease.
To start the realization of the first year of the project, we need a lockdown relax. This does not seem to be happening any time soon. But in any case, the big execution will be started in February 2022, after the rice harvest and the wedding season. It is in these months (from February on) that we will do all the training courses, because then people are free to come to Gumla. I do hope that the lockdown will be lifted.
These days we work like clockwork with a few days of training in the villages. I only go to the office on Monday mornings. Although our staff keeps visiting the villages. I will send you some pictures. I'm so glad you were able to collect all this. I am currently reporting on our activities for the years 2016-2019 on the same plan as Mahila Shanti, the results are absolutely excellent (Hardly anything in 2020 and 2021 because of the containment). Hundreds of villages are cleaner, drink clean water, take care of the sick, put expecting mothers in the hospital etc... Malaria has decreased a lot, diarrhea too. Tuberculosis patients are well cared for and cured. Oh, what a great job.
The monsoon lasts from mid-June to mid-September. But sometimes it lasts several weeks more.
This year it started very early and it often rains. When it rains even if gently, nobody goes out. For the rest of the day the weather is nice, and moreover we did not have heat this summer. Then life in the villages is going on without any problems.
The big training of Mahila Shanti will be next year from February. Until then, there will be training days for teenage girls, as well as visits to the 37 clinics that energize each of the dozens of villages.
The idea of putting the people of the villages in committee works very well, but I must support them by visits and inspiration.