The benefits of health education

A small but valuable service is provided by WLC in Varanasi and rural communities: health education meetings. During these meetings, members of our Mahila Mandals acquire useful knowledge about health issues that can affect community members’ lives. This past month, I surveyed 10 of the 20 health groups, to check up on where their knowledge level is at and how these meetings might be changing daily lives.
Though knowledge levels varied between communities, there were certain topics that everybody knew about. Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) is a life-saving, simple treatment for diarrhea and related GI illnesses, and every single mother in every single group knew how to make it and when to use it because they learned about it in health meetings. The benefit of this knowledge may be immeasurable, but I’m certain that at sometime, for one of these women’s family members, it has made the difference between life and death.
And although malaria isn’t a major problem in Varanasi, every year some people in the community contract it. Women at WLC health meetings know how malaria spreads, how they can protect themselves against it, and how to recognize its symptoms. Their use of mosquito nets is high (in some places it's 100%), and when they don’t use a net, they use a mosquito coil. These women are empowered by knowledge that is keeping themselves and their families healthier. They also act as leaders in their community, telling neighbours, in-laws, and co-workers about information they learn at WLC health meetings.
It’s been a pleasure to conduct this survey, and I’m certainly grateful that WLC has declared health education a necessary service for the community. I’m hopeful that WLC can continue to advocate for community health by pursuing avenues in which the rural communities it serves in Ghazipur can build latrines—a vital part of sanitation in the 21st century.