Rehabilitation of Rural Communities in India

by Seva Mandir

Project Report | Dec 28, 2021
Season's Greetings from Seva Mandir!

By Atul Lekhra | Programme Incharge

Dear Friend,

From all of us here in Seva Mandir we wish you and your family Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May the new year brings to you lots of love, laughter, and joy.

Using a combination of different traditional theatre forms and music Seva Mandir teams are reaching out in areas with the most vaccination hesitation in southern Rajasthan. Actors use popular folk songs to talk about many myths and fears of vaccination.

The story of the play revolves around a young man returning from his place of work with visible symptoms of Covid and refusing to either isolate or go for testing. Through regular communication and doubt clearing sessions, he is convinced that he must isolate, take proper treatment and then post-recovery get vaccinated.

Through theatre and discussions, we are trying to clarify myths and many concerns.

In one of the shows in the Sarada area, we reached a village where vaccination hesitation was very high. Although there was a vaccination camp going on nearby, people were not motivated enough. After watching the play, many of the audience members understood the importance of getting vaccinated and got vaccinated.

Banshi, School Principal shares "When vaccination started in our area, I used to sit in camps for three days straight and not a single person came. I tried speaking with families to understand the reasons but instead, they questioned my intentions. It felt like the community felt we are here for some personal benefits through vaccination. Now, the fear is easing a bit and people are getting themselves vaccinated."

We would like to thank you and all our well-wishers for supporting our project because of which we are helping many people in need. We hope that you will continue your support to our programme.

Thank you and Take care.

Best Wishes,

Atul Lekhra & the Seva Mandir Team

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Nov 12, 2021
Helping People Through Awareness and Vaccination

By Atul Lekhra | Programme Incharge

Dear Friend,

Delwada is a peri-urban region situated about 25 kms away from Udaipur. There are almost 18 colonies here. During the second wave of Covid- 19, around 60 people were found positive out of which 8 people lost their lives. The vaccination rate was low here and the whole community was not vaccinated. Despite several attempts by frontline health workers about the importance of vaccines, people weren't ready for vaccination.

Seva Mandir started a campaign called Hum Sajag (We are Aware) for reaching out in areas with the most vaccination hesitation in southern Rajasthan, using a combination of different traditional theatre forms and music. The campaign extensively focused on spreading awareness about the virus and its spread. Through repeated meetings and persuasion, teams focussed on reducing fear and stigma around vaccination. In the beginning, only a few people joined but eventually, the number increased. Similarly, when the topic of vaccination was introduced in the community, the women of the community refused to take the vaccine because they had already lost their vaccinated family members. Some women shared their concerns about chronic diseases like thyroid, diabetes, heart problems and how they fear vaccines might have side effects for them. Even one of the woman said, "If I feed my child after getting vaccinated, the virus will come through milk in the child". After repeated meetings and individual follow-ups, the trust started building in. Now, more than 80% of the families have been vaccinated, and thank Seva Mandir for the efforts made.

This year the people of Delwara and other villages where Seva Mandir work celebrated the Festival of Lights- Diwali with confidence and without any fear, as most of the people are now vaccinated. After a long time once again life seems to be again coming back to normal.

All thanks goes to You and to all our supporters without whom this success would not have been possible. Manyyyyy... thanks to you. We hope that you will continue your precious support to our project.

Take care.

Regards

Atul Lekhra & the Seva Mandir Team

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Jul 15, 2021
Extending a Helping Hand to Fight Covid-19

By Atul Lekhra | Programme Incharge

The second wave of Covid19 has brought about devastating effects across the Indian population, disproportionately affecting rural India as access to health care is well known to be inhibited in those geographies. In the light of this, Seva Mandir has been able to leverage its engagement with rural tribal communities and reached out to individuals in various capacities.

Seva Mandir is responding to this situation by undertaking the Covid Relief Work for the community which is hard hit by the pandemic. Also, it is implementing robust measures to protect its staff and the team of front liners who are undertaking the implementation of the relief work.

Last Year, with the support from friends like you we had distributed 52,200 kits (Sanitation Kits 37800, Sanitary Pads 2500, Food Kits 3200, Storage Kits 4200, Safety Kits 4500).

This year our approach was different and was not only on only distributing kits. In the second phase we reached 415 villages and our awareness outreach was 2.3 lakh people, we reached 978 covid affected families, a total of 2910 food kits; 3880 sanitation kits; 678 safety kits; 64 monitoring kits were distributed.

Additionally, oxygen concentrators are also being provided at the “local” Community Health Centers. To reduce the disease burden on an already exhausted public healthcare system, community healthcare workers on the grassroots are being provided with thermometers and oximeters to identify early symptoms and take immediate action.

This all certainly has not been possible without your support. We greatly appreciate your trust in Seva Mandir and for supporting our project. Your support is helping us in making changes in the lives of hundreds of people in need.

Thank you so much. Stay safe and well.

Warm regards,
Atul Lekhra & the Seva Mandir Team

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