FAQ’S IN ENGLISH

How Dhadak Mohim is going to save all these child deaths?

From last 6 years, whenever our volunteer was  in the village , not a single child died during that period.

This is because of EARLY DIAGNOSIS AND EARLY TREATMENT.  When we visit each child below 6 years, we examine his/her health. Whenever he/she becomes ill, we diagnose him/her very early due to our daily visit and either treat him if illness is simple or refer him to the hospital.

Any disease takes time to convert from simple to serious and life threatening one.

We detect the disease very early, when it is in simple form, and treat it immediately. Thus we don’t allow it to become serious. And this is the reason behind our success.

The government machinery there is right now failing to do this.  

Also through continuous health awareness by us, the families start to follow our health advice like,

1)    Purifying and boiling the drinking water [decreases 60% cases of loose motion (diarrhea)],

2)     Filling the pit holes around there houses( decreases the flies and mosquito breeding centers) ,

3)    Washing hand before eating and after toilet.

4)    Cutting nails regularly, Daily bathing, etc.

5)    And taking joint decisions in gram sabha’s to maintain hygiene in house and in the villages.

Also , because of our presence in the village, villagers take their ill child to hospital and not for witch craft.

If we think this is just a routine, well then just remember that this easy routine only, has saved many children from death across last 6 years.

 And this Health Awareness along with Early Diagnosis And Early Treatment and the dedication of Volunteer’s are the reasons to achieve our aim of  Dhadak Mohim;-

“TO HELP EVERY CHILD IN MELGHAT SURVIVE AND FLOURISH WITH ITS FULL POTENTIAL”….

Where is Melghat?

Melghat is in North Part of Amravati District of Maharashtra. This forest area comes under Chikhaldhara and  Dharni Taluka of Amravati Dist. this is 4050 sq. ft. forest area which is densely populated with korku tribe, out of this 4050 sq. ft.km 726 sq.ft.km area is under tiger reserve. its total population is 2,80,000  and  322 villages are of tribal people who communicate in Korku language.  

  Maitri (Melghat Mitra) how it started?

In the year 1997 there were news of High Infant Mortality and Malnutrition in Melghat in newspaper as well as on television. At that time few people from Maharashtra crossed checked it, they visited and saw whole of Melghat, they noticed that Infant death and Malnutrition as severer problem. In that year’s rainy season they appealed volunteers from allover Maharashtra to come and work with the people of Melghta to reduce the Infant mortality and Malnutrition. In that year 265 volunteers came, the volunteers included Doctors, Journalist, Bank Managers, Students, Advocates, Social workers and local people. This is how Melghat Mitra came in existence.After that full time workers came and they started working with people of Melghat and their problems. “No Infant Deaths” this was the only objective in their mind. It started from five villages and now it have reached to 28 villages, to work officially in the field, collect funds and its spending on needed projects a namesake “Maitri” organisation is formed.

  

 Why Infant Deaths and Malnutrition in Malghat?

From years we heard a lot about Infant Deaths and Malnutrition in Melghat, every year hundreds of children below five years of age die and the same number of children falls under the category of severe malnutrition fighting between life and death. There are various reason of Infant Deaths, and one among various reason is Malnutrition. We have noticed that 60% of all the infant death occur before completing  28 days. Early marriage under 18 years of age, premature birth are the reasons put forth by health department for these death, and this is true to some extent but simultaneously late pregnancy registration, improper immunization,  improper implementation of government schemes along with lack of action on insincere staff and many more such reasons are responsible for Malnutrition and Infant deaths.

What is Dhadak Mohim? Why?

Melghat Mitra started with the vision of protecting children from malnutrition and child death, the death rate increases in the rainy season and for reducing this death rate “Maitri” organizes “Dhadak Mohim”. In 1997 around 265 volunteers participated in Dhadak Mohim. with the aim”Not let a single child die”organizes dhadak mohim every year. Every year students, working people, businessmen, women etc. from all over Maharashtra join this Mohim, stay in the villages and work with the tribal people. We have succeeded in reducing the death rate in the villages we have already worked with in the rainy season. Starting with 5 villages we have now reached to 47 villages.

Dhadak Mohim in Rainy season, Why?

Condition of Melghat in rainy season is very critical, in the sense the rate of child deaths increase in this season. We have noticed that 60% of the total deaths in a year occur in this season itself. In this season various infectious diseases are common and due to rain transport & communication to various interior villages are disrupted which stops people from going to PHC and getting treatment/medicine. In case of infant if they don’t get treated on time the possibility of child death increases. So to do early diagnosis and early treatment of such infections Melghat Mitra organizes Dhadak Mohim.   

What exactly to do in Dhadak Mohim?

• To pay attention on the health status of children up to six years 

• Home visit to children up to one year of age 

• To meet pregnant women everyday and give them health education  

• Home visit to Malnourished children and inform their parents about their diet 

• To implement the health related programs in village along with the local people

•To treat simple diseases  

• Provide First Aid 

• To bridge the gap between Govt. Health Department and Tribal people 

If I cannot join Dhadak Mohim, what can I do for Melghat?

• You can provide support in kind or money , give your time and available information to some good organization working in Melghat.
• Work as pressure group on Government. 
• Can come to Melghat and work according to professionals like Doctors, Farmers and engineers.  
• Understand the problems of Melghat and spread that to a number of people. 
• Can conduct research on various problems of Melghat and also on the life of Tribal people which will be benificial to solve their problem and uplift their standard of living.  
• Can inform the tribal people about the outer world.  
• Can give guidance and training to various groups in Melghat.
• Help the youth of Melghat for higher education, business and employment.

 What are the other Problems in Melghat 

• People in Melghat are unemployed and if employed they do not get the wage they deserve. 
• Many regions in Melghat like Hatru do not have electricity, so small scale industry is not there, and agriculture is also in its primitive stage and not yet developed.  
• Proper road infrastructure and transport system is lacking.  
• Primary Education is in its worst state.  
• Health facility is yet to reach  the people. 
• Landlord still have a dominant hold on the routine life of people. 
• There is no nearby market place to sell agricultural commodities.  
• Various government schemes are only on papers and they have not reached to the people  or not being implemented properly.  
• Lack of political will to eradicate Child death and Malnutrition. 
• Ignorance and laziness among government employees and staff.
• No profit in agriculture. Ignorance of government system towards improvement of agriculture methods.
• No business based on agriculture due to lack of electricity and transport system. 
• Removing the ownership of tribal on forest led to endangered  trees and animals , and contributed to easy smuggling of forest goods and medicinal plants. 
   Role of Maitri (Melghat Mitra) in Solving the Problem
• Informed people about various government schemes. 
• Communicate (through letter) with govt. employees like teacher, gramsevak, talathi, doctor and other employees at phc/ hospital and at times also given complaints of them.
• Published the problems of Melghat in Telivision and Print media. 
• Created at least some awareness  among people due to  various trainings and workshops. 
• Actually worked and stayed with people 
• Organized Dhadak Mohim to reduce Child Death and Malnutrition.
• Health education and treatment  with the help of aarogya maitrin.
• Teaching of children though bokomitra.
• Provided electricity and tap water system to villagers in ruipathar.
• Provided electricity in each house in the Domi Village through a solar plant project.
• Worked on watershed management in Kutida and Sumita village and also construction of fertilizer pit. 
• Constructed Toilet in Kutida village. Now people have started using toilet in that village.
• Assisted people in getting ration on time. 
• Assisted people in getting employment under employment scheme and also in getting proper wage under the same scheme. 
• helped people to get the relief material and monetory gains from government during disasters.
• Assisted people in getting caste certificate for free.
• Organized agitations to help get the solutions on problems of roads and illegally occupied forrest lands. 
• Organized training o various subjects  in Chilathi village.

What methods should be applied to solve problems in melghat?

• To give employment to the people of melghat and wages according to the work.Charity should be stopped as it leads to more dependence.
• For political will power, more number of properly educated youths in politics.
• No Corruption , RTI is to be used to remove corruption.
• Media should keep on highlighting the problems in melghat to the outer world. 
• Proper presentation of problems to the people  in the society