Integrated Rural Health and Development Project

Activities

On Health:

IRHDP primarily adopts a Preventive Health and Health Promotion Framework and works on multiple domains to achieve well being of people in the community.

Domains/Stakeholders	Programs
Individuals Their beliefs and attitudes Health seeking behaviour Knowledge and Awareness	Periodic community meetings Awareness through street plays on varuious communicable and non communicable diseases. Disability identification camps Individual Couselling
Interrelationships The key people who influence behaviour, attitude and awareness	Training and capacity buidling of PHC doctors anganwadi teachers, ASHA workers Session with family members
Organisations Anganwadi schools Ashramshala schools PHC and Sub Centres	Emphasising on nutrition and hygiene in anganwadis, working on positive environment to facilitate growth of children in both Anganwadis and Ashramshala schools. Making PHCs and Subcentres more accessible and reaching out health care through camps to remote hamlets.
Community	Working with population sub-groups for better outcome. For example, we work with women's groups, Children, adolescents and the elderly. Community based rehabilitation for persons with disability and persons with mental illness
Policy and programs	The Village health commitee periodically documents and reports to tehsil health office and also periodocally demands for changes in the local health system. Our Social worker also is a member of VHC and provides inputs to the committee

Key partners: Tehsil Health office-Shahpur, Primary health Centre doctors- Aghai, ASHAs from 20 villages and ICDS-Shapur Taluk.

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On Education:

Primarily our association is with the Anganwadis and Ashramshalas, we have a history of initiating mini anganwadis in many hamlets where there were lesser then 30 children. We created a model, which was later integrated to the ICDS programs which does not focus only on mid day meals and nutirion, but also quality primary education. Also we work on health education and awareness in the loacl schools. Sessions on mental health, malnutrition, hygiene and sanitation are conducted periodically in schools. Also training program for teachers on communication and early identification of mental retardation and disability are conducted periodically and also they are well aware about referrals.

Key partners: ICDS-Shahpur, Anganwadis in ten hamlets and AghaiAshramshala

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On Livelihood:

We work on creating awareness amongst the community members on various income generating program under the tribal development board. We help them in writing applications and getting funds for smaller projects and business. We have helped many families to avail the Nucleus Budget schemes from the ITDP. Also we utilise the NREGA scheme to benefit the loacl population. We have helped 32 families to get the job card in the year 2012, and facilitated the process of getting the job for 15 poeple through NREGA in the Vanarai Bandhara- (Water conservation initiative )

The Centre for Livelihood and Social Innovations, School of Social Work has initiated a “Participatory Action Research towards Livelihood Promotion & Sustainable Development”, with the following objectives:

• To promote and strengthen gender sensitive, alternate livelihood strategies of tribal households in the five hamlets of Aghai Village, Thane District through micro-level planning and participatory action.
• To facilitate the evolution and strengthening of village level collectives and community enterprises.
• To enhance farm-based livelihood assets and food security through local knowledge and inclusive value chain development.
• To co-design solutions to address the problems of water scarcity and access to natural resources in the village.
• To strengthen financial inclusion among vulnerable households through bank linkages and convergence with the development programmes of the state and national government.

Key partners: ITDP, Shahpur

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Field work Education

IRHDP has consistently taken students for field work and the students always have had a fruitful engagement in the project. The scope for learning is vast and we have accomodated junior field work students and the senior students are also placed from Centre for Equity for Women, Children and Families, Centre for Health and Mental Health and Centre for Disability studies and action. Every year around 10 students are anchored for field work placement. We have also anchored three students from International students office.