7 wide-eyed kiddos

Thursday night brought with it some tummy troubles, which are completely to be expected here in India. When I woke on Friday morning, I wasn’t feeling 100 percent, but wanted to get through the day to learn more about the Society of Nutrition, Education and Health Action’s (SNEHA) work and I am so glad I pushed myself because it was worth it! Our team met SNEHA’s staff members at an urban health center located in Dharavi, the second largest slum in Asia made famous by the “Slumdog Millionaire” movie. Dharavi has received an influx in tourism since the movie premiered, so we were asked not to take photos since it would perhaps tarnish SNEHA’s reputation as a trustworthy NGO (hence the text-heavy post).

When we arrived, SNEHA’s staff talked to us about three of their programs covering the following topics: prevention of violence against women and children, child health and nutrition, and sexual and reproductive health. Perhaps what I was most struck by was the severity of the violence against women that occurs. For example, we learned that many women are literally burned to death if their families are unable to provide a sufficient dowry for their husbands. Or if they aren’t well-liked within their new families, often they are burned to death. These incidences are called dowry deaths and are a devastating reality for women both in urban and rural India (as well as elsewhere in the world). When the SNEHA staff explained these deaths, along with many other cruelties women face such as kidnapping, molestation, sexual harassment, and importation of girls, they also expressed the challenges they face in their attempts to seek justice. Many police officers beat their wives and many citizens here – both women and men – believe that violence against women is culturally acceptable. As a result, SNEHA has started a police officer training to present the concept of gender equality. This way, when they approach the authorities for assistance, they will hopefully be more successful in eliciting a response. These crimes are horrific and underreported, so while it was hugely disturbing to hear about them, I am glad to be informed and even more glad that SNEHA is working to address these injustices.

After the morning presentations wrapped up, our team broke into three groups to observe some of these programs first-hand. I wanted to check out the child health and nutrition program. We navigated our way through some of the streets of Dharavi and arrived at a daycare center, which was a small, damp, and windowless room. Upon entering we were greeted by seven wide-eyed children under the age of three. They were insanely adorable, just sitting there trying to comprehend their new visitors while haphazardly playing with toys. Through studying maternal and child health over the last couple of years, I’ve gained a better understanding of the appropriate growth and development children should undergo. Let me just say that while these kids were adorable (oh, did I already mention that?), they were visibly malnourished. Large heads, tiny limbs, protruding tummies. They were also quite stagnant while we were there, perhaps a sign of fatigue since I don’t know too many two-year-olds who can sit in one place for 20 minutes without fussing a bit. SNEHA identifies these children within Dharavi and meets with their families in a cautious and non-accusatory fashion to recommend that they enroll their kids (free of charge) into the daycare program to better their health. Once enrolled, children spend the day in a room with SNEHA staff members and volunteers playing and they are fed two healthy and nutrient-rich meals before returning home. Most kids are enrolled in the program for a few months until they are no longer malnourished. Parents and families are counseled on healthy eating behaviors as well. While it was a touch disheartening to spend time with these lethargic kids who should have been crawling all over the place, it was great to know that organizations like SNEHA are taking a sensitive and effective approach to help them grow into healthy adults.

After having some lunch on the bus and stopping by another slum to check out a daycare center run by SNEHA for children under the age of five, our team pulled into the Family Planning Association (FPA) of India. Through education, they aim to empower women to take action for their own health. They focus their programs around five A’s: access, adolescents, abortion, AIDS, and advocacy. We listened to a presentation about their programs, toured their facilities and called it a day. So many incredible programs and such little time to digest it all!

FPA staff members shows us an HIV poster in the youth center