“Working as an Arogya Sakhi has given me an opportunity to help my community and evolve as a confident leader of my village”
Jijabai an Arogya Sakhi from Madki village, Nanded has been instrumental in improving the health of many women in her communities. She has guided pregnant women, young mothers & their families to develop kitchen gardens and spread awareness on the need for consumption of healthy food for the mother and child. She also counsels adolescent girls on menstrual hygiene management and nutrition, counsels their parents to wait until she turns 18 years as ideal marriage time.
When the COVID lockdown impacted the community, Jijabai started awareness campaigns, approached the affluent farmers to give jobs to the poor, mobilized women’s groups to stitch masks and distribute them in the village providing them with employment. On behalf of her Self Help group she distributed ration and essential kits to 15 poor women in her village. As Jijabai recollects, ”the steps we took to protect our village were indeed fruitful and there was not a single positive case found in our village.”
She approached the village level officials and helped 4 women avail benefits for construction of soak pits, she has helped landless women in completing documentation process to start poultry or goat farming. Now with Self Help Groups they plan to start packaging and marketing of turmeric in their village.
Looking at has how life has unfolded and made her into a confident leader of her village jijabai says, “I was reluctant to join SSP, but today having worked for the welfare of my community and being able to bring changes in my village, I feel satisfied with my work and people have started respecting me for my work.”
Jijabai Namdev Wad from Loha in Nanded district of Maharashtra is one of the many resourceful women trained as an Arogya Sakhi by Swayam Shikshan Prayog.