February 17 2015 | Rampur, Jharkhand | Shanti Baraik
The Village Health Centre in Jamidh has been closed for a year, and the doctor only visits occasionally. Residents of Jamidh have to go as far as 60 kilometres for medical attention. “The doctor only comes during child deliveries, he doesn’t bother otherwise,” said Katirna Bage, who lives in the village. Community Correspondent Shanti Baraik gathered together women including Jiramuni Devi to resolve this issue. She taught them how to use a camera to interview the affected women and men, as well as capture other visual evidence of the hardships faced by the community. This is one of the first participatory videos that has ben made in Jharkhand, where Video Volunteers' Community Correspondents are teaching communities to use the camera to document their own problems. Now Shanti, Jiramuni and the other women are going to approach the authorities so that the only health centre in the village opens and poor residents don’t have to go miles away for their medical needs.
You can help the women by calling Masha Lakra, Block Medical Officer of Kamdara, at +91-9693 113 731 and ask that he look into this matter.
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