Armed with a degree in law, Sarwat Naqvi stepped out from behind the cloak of invisibility he and his Shia Mulsim minority community in Chhattisgarh suffered from to lobby and advocate for the protection and advancement of human rights in marginalized communities. His video, ‘Homosexuals Seek an Identity’, on gay and lesbians in his community compelled members to form a…
In Raipur, schemes aimed at tackling the issue of malnutrition have not eradicated it.
After Sarwat started researching on health problems in his area, he decided to focus on malnutrition. He wanted to understand why there is so much information and so many programs about malnutrition, but the issue is still so widespread. Indeed, when Sarwat looked at the statistic figures, he realised that 60% of children in Raipur were suffering from malnutrition. “Being from a rural background, I was aware that beyond the appearance, India is still a country in which malnutrition is a serious problem”.
However, numerous organisations have initiated programs to fight against malnutrition. Thus, the Anganwadi centre is providing several services: distribution of supplementary nutrition, vaccinations, and other health services such as routine check-ups for kids. The centre is sponsored by the Ministry of Human Resources, Department of Women and Child Development, and therefore should have sufficient means to fight malnutrition efficiently.
And yet, several beneficiaries have not received their rations. “People don’t get their rations for three reasons: sometimes they don’t come, the ration supply is rather irregular and the centre staff do not always make sufficient effort to reach people most in need, preferring to simply distribute the rations around them."
So, for Sarwat, malnutrition remains "a silent emergency”. He thinks that a multi-sector response is needed: awareness should be raised in the population about malnutrition, the government should be further involved, and the centres should receive independent feedback and monitoring. Hence, Sarwat hopes that his video will work as tool to sensitize the community and the government officials on malnutrition and the inadequacy of certain programs.
Inspiration can come from many sources, but one of the most powerful is seeing someone walk the path before you. Our Community Correspondent, Syed Amir Abbas found his inspiration in Stalin K., the founding director of Video Volunteers. “I met Stalin at VV’s national meet in 2017 and I...
If you ask Video Volunteers’ Community Correspondent Bideshini Patel to rate her childhood on a scale of 1-10, she would probably give it a negative marking due to the neglect and abuse she faced. But if you ask her to evaluate her professional life as an impactful journalist, resolving basic...