Sabita Deshu undertook her four-month internship in Samaj Pragati Sahayog Pragati an organization in India where she designed and facilitated a training program for local women and female staff on healthcare and sexual reproductive health.

My internship was undertaken at Samaj Pragati Sahayog (SPS), a grassroots NGO located in a rain-fed area of Central India. Located in a rural region of India, the area is among the poorest in the entire country. It is characterized by a high level of poverty along with a high incidence of adult and child under-nutrition, an extremely low level of female literacy (5-21%) and a high infant mortality rate (91 per 1000 live births).

My internship focused on women's reproductive health, combining preliminary research, and evaluation with the development of a healthcare training program for women. I conducted a baseline survey on the state of reproductive health and the complexities faced by women in the area. During the research, I encountered the poor eating habits of pregnant women and nursing mothers, adolescent girls and women in different stages of their lives, along with cultural practices related to pregnancy and childbirth that also play a part in shaping the health of these women. The research I conducted revealed that women in the area experience difficult situations in their everyday lives.

Still, the women I encountered managed to remain happy and smiling, which tells us about the courage and strength with which these women face life’s obstacles. The other challenge is the delivery of high-quality social services to the poor. Moreover, individuals in a setting like rural India often either misdiagnose themselves and thus end up taking medicine which worsens their condition or are simply unaware of their need for medical attention. Realizing the fact that there is a growing need for awareness, a ‘Reproductive Health Awareness Project’ was initiated. In order to identify the specific needs and interests of the target population, we began by meeting the women directly through trainings. We used the first round of trainings to undertake an assessment of the needs of these women. Based on this information, we adapted the methods, materials and content.

Our original idea was to work on Reproductive Health, but as we discovered the need to discuss more urgent topics and how vast the subject of reproductive health is, we decided to divide into specific groups according to the following concerns: Anemia, STIs and STDs, UTIs, and Family Planning. We chose to work with local staff, Self Help Group cluster leaders, Kumbaya team members (the organization's income generating program), pregnant women and Matri Sahayogini Samiti Groups (support groups for pregnant women). During my work with these groups, I drew on my previous work experience.

As a native of Nepalese, I worked for six years in health and education among Nepali marginalized women. Aa well as drawing on my past professional work during the course of my internship, I also utilized the knowledge and skills I gained as a student in the Glocal program, especially the skills I learned in developing research methodologies, designing projects, and evaluation. Of course, speaking the local language (Hindi and Nimadi) made my internship even more successful!

Sabita Deshu