Women of BHS

BHS is a not-for-profit organisation that provides primary health care services in rural areas of Udaipur and Salumber district. 

Most of the employees at each level, from the Head Office to the Swasth Kirans (SKs), are women. 

At the community level, Swasth Kirans, all women, equivalent to ASHAs, go door to door in their locality to screen for TB patients, monitor ANC women, screen children for danger signs, advise regarding family planning and provide contraceptives. They connect the community to the clinic. They conduct community meetings with women in each of their hamlets and educate them on various topics such as nutrition, PNC, newborn care, and cleanliness each month. Some of the SKs are illiterate and learn all about healthcare after joining BHS through the training sessions. The maximum formal education they have would be up to 8th standard. Yet because of their sheer passion and to earn from work that would be helpful for the community, they work as SKs. 

The Phulwari workers, all women, prepare food for an average of 10-15 children at the Phulwari, provide crèche service for 6months-5 year old children, feed/serve these children three times a day, teach them songs, numbers and keep them engaged, put them to sleep, do anthropometry monthly, maintain growth chart to monitor their growth, conduct monthly parents meeting where they update the parents on their child’s nutritional status, do home visits of children who are routinely absent. Usually, in each Phulwari, one of the workers would be literate, with formal education up to 8th std, and the other worker would be illiterate/ with primary school education. Yet, they have learnt so much for the job, and those workers who are illiterate also put in the effort to understand the numbers and how to maintain the growth chart.

The Health Workers, each clinic has a male and female health worker. The female health worker looks over the Phulwari work, assist SKs for the community meeting, do counseling regarding family planning, STIs, etc in the clinic and conduct field visits.

The Nurses run the clinic and provide OPD services from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day ( Sunday: 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.). They also provide 24/7 emergency services, a Labour Room, and basic diagnostic services, which are completely managed by the nurses. Once a week, the doctors visit and run the OPD.

As the nurses hail from far away villages and stay at the clinic quarters, they can bring their Under-5 children to reside with them, providing a mother and child friendly workspace. We can often see nurses tending to their crying toddlers while dispensing medicines, and how they coordinate with each other so as to meet the child’s needs.

 

Despite all the roles they play professionally and personally and being present in the community for over 12 years, often female patients come, in their late 30s, who already have 4-5 children with the need to conceive again. Their unison answer is, “I only have girls.”

 

But such social evils as preference for a male child, discrimination between male and female children, dowry and violence against women do not just exist in the socially and economically backward rural areas of India. Hailing from an urban middle-class family, I remember when my parents were sympathised for not having a male child till my brother was born. Unfortunately, these social evils are one of the things that unite us across India, beyond the languages, religions and appearance. 

Such situations make me wonder if there is any point in educating the people, making them realise the importance and need for equality and the work being done by numerous organisations for women’s welfare.

Then I think of Eduardo Galeano's words about utopia: “Utopia is on the horizon. I move two steps closer, and it moves two steps further away. I walk another ten steps, and the horizon runs ten steps further away. As much as I may walk, I’ll never reach it. So, what’s the point of utopia? The point is this: to keep walking. “

 

Being a 3 months intern at BHS, yes, indeed, I have seen the need to keep walking. I got the opportunity to witness the reaction of the SKs of the Salumber Region, who would have otherwise been restrained to the four walls of their home when they got the opportunity to travel 100s of km to see other parts of their state during the Exposure Visit. They were astonished by the difference in terrain and language and appreciated the SKs working in the locality. When a Phulwari worker, formally educated till 7th std, working in BHS for 4 years, rushed to the hospital with her toddler who had fever and rapid breathing. She said, “In the morning, the baby had a fever, but in the afternoon, she was breathing rapidly, so I suspected pneumonia, hence I rushed to the clinic.” Seeing them look for danger signs and use medical terms was a wonder for me. Seeing women speak in a group of 20, confidently sharing their knowledge and opinions during the community meeting, was inspiring. Women coming to the OPD because they are feeling dizzy and fatigued and specifically asking whether their Hemoglobin can be checked shows the work SKs and health workers have been able to do through the various meetings on nutrition and anaemia.

Indeed, there is a long way to go. Until then, we will just keep walking.