Atlanta Dunia

Village Life in India: Talk by Dr. Abhay = Bang

We often=20 wonder what motivates people to give up potentially lucrative careers = and=20 dedicate their lives wholeheartedly to social work. Those of us who = attended Dr.=20 Abhay Bang=92s talk now know why. For an hour and a half on the 30th of = June, Dr.=20 Bang transported the (lucky) members of the audience to a harsh, yet = idyllic and=20 timeless way of life in Maharashtra=92s tribal belt, to Gadchiroli, a = district in=20 the eastern parts of the state.

Dr. Abhay Bang, a medical doctor = by=20 training who also has a Masters in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins=20 University, is now visiting Emory University=92s Department of = International=20 Health. Learning about Dr. Bang=92s and his wife Dr. Rani Bang=92s = pioneering work=20 in rural Maharashtra, the Association for India=92s Development, = Atlanta, invited=20 him for a talk and discussion.

Dr. Bang led us through his early = life=20 experiences in India and how a certain =93old man=94 (as he would often = refer to=20 Gandhi!) inspired his father, a Gandhian, who in turn passed his wisdom = to his=20 son. A childhood and early adulthood spent in Vardha, a Gandhian Ashram = further=20 strengthened Dr. Bang=92s innate desire to serve the needy. Armed with a = couple of=20 degrees (and gold medals), Dr. Bang and his wife set up a Research and = Community=20 Service NGO called SEARCH (Society for Education, Action and Research in = Community Health) in Gadchiroli. SEARCH took upon itself the task of = identifying=20 what ailed the local, predominantly tribal (Gond) community. Their = experiences=20 on the field taught them an important lesson that any attempt to solve = local=20 community problems should take into consideration what the local = community deems=20 as a problem and not what the government or research organization judge = as worth=20 pursuing.

Though SEARCH is involved in various community outreach = programs, Dr. Bang spoke in detail about one particular campaign that = has had=20 far-reaching impacts. Realizing that the Infant Mortality Rates (IMR) = were very=20 high in that region, SEARCH evolved a very simple, yet effective = strategy to=20 address the issue. SEARCH trained TBAs (Traditional Birth Attendants) to = use=20 simple devices to diagnose Pneumonia, a disease which was found to be = one of the=20 primary causes for infant mortality. The TBA and a village health = worker, also=20 trained by SEARCH, would attend deliveries and weigh the new-borns. This = was the=20 first time that new-borns were being weighed in the place of birth. As = previous=20 research or data came from hospital based delivery, this was a = significant=20 breakthrough. The targeted intervention to manage child health and = reproductive=20 problems led to a 62% decrease in IMR (from 62 to 25 per 1000 Live = Births) in 39=20 villages that were selected for the intervention. The health campaign = also=20 resulted in an increased awareness among women about child birth, = peri-natal=20 care and feeding practices.

Recognizing the value of this = campaign, the=20 then Maharashtra chief minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh announced that this = scheme=20 would be replicated in all other parts of the state. The project, now = called=20 =93Ankur=94 (seedling in Hindi), to symbolize the growth and expansion = of community=20 level efforts, was recently launched in other districts in=20 Maharashtra.

Responding to the requests of tribal women that the=20 organization move closer to them, Drs. Abhay and Rani Bang opened = =93Shodagram=94=20 (Search Village), a tribal health center that was designed in a way that = would=20 appeal to unique sensibilities of the tribals.

SEARCH has also = actively=20 campaigned for the introduction of alcohol prohibition laws in the = state.=20 Relenting to the demands of millions of women who suffered through the = pain and=20 trauma of alcoholic husbands, the state agreed to introduce prohibition = in the=20 district.

Dr. Bang captured the interest and attention of the = audience=20 through little, well placed anecdotes that dotted his talk. His work is = the best=20 example possible of combining the appropriate educational background = with a=20 sense of altruism =96 an altruism that serves people and steers social = change.=20 Gandhi once said, =93I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in = doubt or when=20 the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test: Recall the = face of=20 the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen and ask yourself = if the=20 step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he gain = anything by=20 it? Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny? In = other=20 words, will it lead to swaraj for the hungry and spiritually starving = millions?=20 Then you will find your doubts and your self melting away=94. For Dr. = Bang, the=20 innocent face of the new born cradled in the arms of its mother is and = will=20 continue to be his talisman.

Association for India=92s = Development (AID)=20 is a voluntary not for profit organization involved in various grass = roots=20 movements and sustainable development initiatives in India. AID=92s = community=20 health initiative is now operational in close to 30 blocks (a block = roughly=20 consists of 60 villages) in Tamil Nadu and 12 in Bihar. In = conceptualizing what=20 is commonly called the Hundred Block Plan (the objective is to reach 100 = blocks=20 in the country over a period of seven years), AID and its partner = networks have=20 drawn on the SEARCH model of working with locally trained community = health=20 workers.
AID Atlanta regularly hosts speakers and activists like Dr. = Bang to=20 reach out the Indian community in Atlanta and spread the message that = every=20 Indian (whether in India or outside of it) has the right to participate = in=20 India=92s development.

To find out more about more AID and the = Hundred=20 Block Plan, visit, http://www.aidindia.org/ and = www.aidindia.org/aipsn.=20