Nirmala Jyoti Ekka

Nirmala Jyoti Ekka is an activist for women’s rights and a confidante for many marginalised populations in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand state where she works for the urban dispossessed.  Nirmala Jyoti Ekka was a housewife taking care of her three children and husband, when she got involved with Video Volunteers in 2012. Today, five years later, Nirmala is an activist for women’s rights and a confidante for many marginalised populations in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand state where she works for the urban dispossessed. As Ranchi sees unprecedented growth, the rights of the people living on the margins are…

In Pundag village of Ranchi district, the absence of an Anganwadi Centre in the village means that pregnant women are forced to undergo check-ups and are vaccinated in an open field. “We aren’t comfortable undergoing check-ups in the open. We have to put up curtains to make ourselves comfortable or travel too far,” says a woman who delivered a baby recently. She also says that she was unable to get nutrition facilities due the absence of an Anganwadi centre in her village. Since 2010, villagers have appealed to the authorities to put in place an Anganwadi centre in the village. However, their repeated appeals have gone unheard. Nirmala Ekka reports

Please call the Child Development Project Officer, Ormanjhi Block, Jharkhand on +91 9431391110 and appeal to him to set up Anganwadi centre in Pundag village.

This series on community monitoring of maternal health in India is supported by Oxfam India.

Also Watch: Why Maternal Deaths Continue in India