Despite a pandemic and a cyclone that greatly affected the Jawadhi Hills, CMC has continued to work in this area to improve health and provide development opportunities. Below are snapshots of the Community Health and Development (CHAD) team’s efforts to provide holistic health and socio-economic services and empower communities in the Jawadhi Hills.
Model Villages Program
The program has started in the fourth and last village, Etimarathur. While cooperation from the first established model village in Koiloor has subsided, Vallithathankottai (VTK) and Reddikollai continue to make progress.
Water and Sanitation
Etimarathur is in the phase of toilet building: only 7 toilets are complete, but 30 toilets are under construction. The Government has started providing household water connections in Jawadhi, and this village has some families with a pipeline connection. 50 households have piped water connection.
Agriculture
In Reddikollai and Vallithathankollai, this would have been the time when the harvest would have happened, but due to the Nivar cyclone, which severely affected the area, only about 20% to 25% of the crops survived enough to harvest. We have made an estimate of the damage in the villages and are trying to obtain Government aid for the affected families.
Clinical Services
The Veeranopoor healthcare facility continues to run every day. Special clinics are regularly held, including a new orthopedic clinic that is well attended. The high-risk ANC clinic is also very busy with about 60 to 70 antenatal women attending each clinic. We’re also continuing to run mobile clinics with support from health care workers. There are now 21 health care workers and they have proven a very valuable resource for us.
New Child Development Program
In view of the difficulties experienced by the children during the lockdown, we have developed a new Comprehensive Development Program for Children and Adolescents in the Night Schools”. The program is being funded by the Vellore CMC Foundation through the generous support of a fellow alumna. The objective of the night school program is to improve access to education, encourage children to remain in school, and prevent dropouts, early marriage, substance abuse, and child labor. We hope this will be an ongoing program for the children.
