Family Health Improvement programme empowers low - income rural women
with the necessary skills to make tangible improvement to the quality of
their lives. It builds on the knowledge and skills that women have in
the areas of sanitation, hygiene, HIV/AIDS, cooking stoves and
alternative food and fuel sources. It facilitates the sharing of
knowledge and gives technical input where needed in the above areas. It
is a group problem solving process which aims at facilitating
participants / individuals to develop and internalise life planning
skills that enhance their capacity to avoid engaging in risky health
behaviours such as casual sex as a way of earning a living, and sexual
violence against women. When working with a given community, the
programme is divided into three phases.
Phase One: This comprises of Community
Mobilization, HIV/AIDS / Reproductive Health Sensitisation seminars and
Training of Trainers (T.O.Ts) of Community Peer Educators.
Community Mobilization and Sensitisation involves facilitating community
leaders and the general community to change their knowledge, attitudes,
and practices that expose women to the dangers of HIV/AIDS.
Participants are sensitised on the challenges women face and what they
can do to help. It involves the provision of information education and
communication (IEC) materials to communities to ensure their
participation, contribution, and involvement in solving issues that
affect the women's reproductive rights. To ensure ownership of the
project by the women, women are involved in the planning,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the activities.
This programme has two phases in which the second phase builds on the first. The activities in each phase include;
Training of Trainers (T.O.T) of
rural women in home basic Hygiene and Sanitation. During the training
workshops, the participants look at general community hygiene, house
hygiene, food hygiene and personal hygiene with emphasis on situations
of people who are infected and affected by the HIV/AIDS. Within these
areas they examine the present situation discussing any potential
dangers associated with the present practices of hygiene levels in homes
with households with an HIV/AIDS infected person.
Participants suggest
possible solutions and draw up resolutions, that they themselves will be
able to implement. Skits and pictures for group work, help the
participants focus on particular issues for example pit latrines
management.
Training of Trainers (T.O.T) of
rural women in basic Nutrition. This is aimed at improving the
nutritional status of the vulnerable population groups of women -
mothers and children. This because malnutrition compromises the
nutritional status of people and diminishes their potential for growth
and good health. According to the State of Uganda Population Report
2002, Malnutrition in children today slows economic growth and
development for decades to come by increasing illness and mortality thus
reducing the productivity of tomorrow's labour force. Therefore
investing to improve the nutrition of women and children today is an
effective way to improve living standards of generations to come. The
training helps participants to recognize the signs of malnutrition in
both adults and children and to understand the nutritional needs of
different members of the family. It facilitates participants to examine
the cultural beliefs and practices, which influences the types of foods
that are eaten by different members of the family. It equips
participants with the skills to plan a balanced diet and explores
alternative food sources.
Phase Two: After the trainings in phase
one, the women and men trained implement these skills in their own homes
and train at least 5 of their neighbor to do so also. House to follow -
up are carried out by community volunteers supervised by Youth Alive
field staff. These and more follow - up meetings with the participants
and those they have trained, provide an impetus for the women to
implement quickly what they have learnt and provide an opportunity for
monitoring. This phase has a multiplier effect in that each woman or man
trained, would further train at least five (5) others to make a clean
pit latrines, cooking facilities and the food patterns in their
respective as a way of improving on household hygiene and nutrition.
Phase Three: Comprises of Community
Workers Assessment Workshops to appraise multiplier home - to - home
training by the trained women. In these appraisal workshops (follow -
ups), the women / men show the Youth Alive Field Officers the extra
homes they have reached. They are also given motivating items like
certificates, bicycles for the team leaders, financial incentives and
others.