Skip to content Skip to footer
Blogs

Trip notes from India - visiting two of our programmes for communications assets

MANGOS

Introduction: In June 2024 myself and my colleague Hannah got the opportunity to visit two of our programmes in India. Our purpose was to gather communications assets that we could use to demonstrate not only the good work of both programmes, but also the need for continued partnership and investment. The first programme supports the Indian government to strengthen health systems in the State of Gujarat, implemented by Action Against Hunger and funded by UBS Optimum Foundation. The second is the extension of our Dr. Didi programme in the state of Uttar Pradesh. This programme is implemented by Group M, with funds from NORAD, CIFF, Unilever and Cargill.

This trip was my first-time visiting India. I had been told that it would be extremely hot, even for Indian standards, but no amount of warning could quite prepare you for what hits you as you immediately leave that plane. On our arrival there was no time to waste, we had a jam-packed schedule of seeing the interventions in action and meeting programme participants. We were greeted, in Gujarat, by representatives from our amazing implementing partners at Action Against Hunger (AAH), Roshni Vakilna, Aneri Nihalani and Melwyn Sequeira. At this point we also met with the photography and video team, who would be with us throughout our entire visit in India, Rohit Jain, Prakhar Bhargava and Manish Dadwal. The three of which were tasked with capturing the programmes and the stories from participants, with the purpose to share the fantastic work being done in India.

Just hours off the plane, we went straight to our first programme visit in Dehrota village, Himmatnagar, Gujarat. We were warmly welcomed by what seemed like the whole village! What became clear right away was how important community is in India in raising a child (bringing new meaning to the saying “it takes a village to raise a child”). In the families we met throughout the trip, it was custom for a husband and wife to live with the father’s family, and for families to live within the same communities as their extended family. This means there is never a shortage of anyone to look after the children and give advice to new mothers.

We also saw how influential mothers-in-law are in parenting. Both programmes are tailored to this, engaging mothers-in-law and female leaders in the villages around child-care best practices. We saw this first-hand on our second day when we visited a group session on exclusive breastfeeding for new mothers and mothers-in-law. It was wonderful to see these women get involved in the activities provided by the programme and see how it instilled in them the confidence to support one another through their pregnancies and with their newborns.

A group session for mothers and mothers-in-law in Gujarat.

On our second day we also met Bhumika, one of the community support officers for Action Against Hunger. Bhumika’s role includes face-to-face interaction with the participants of the programme, and she’s often people’s first interaction with the programme. She holds group sessions on exclusive breastfeeding and child and maternal nutrition, as well as conducting follow-on visits to those in the communities she works with who are identified as needing closer support. Bhumika’s passion for her role shone through when we saw her talking with programme participants. Immediately on entering someone’s home, Bhumika was welcomed like an old friend. She had a familiarity with all the families she worked with, that you could never fake. Everyone was happy to see her and listened intently whenever she had something to say. It was truly inspiring seeing her work and interact with the families.

Bhumika (right) with a programme participant during a visit in Gujarat

After spending a few days in the programme in Gujarat, we were onto our next programme visit. We flew to the city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, located in the north of India, where we were visiting the extension of our Dr. Didi programme into the state. On arriving in Varanasi, we were greeted by our colleague Pradakshana, who is based in Mumbai and manages the Dr. Didi programme. She was the most fantastic guide to both Indian culture and cuisine – even bringing us some mangoes from Mumbai. Mangoes were in season whilst we were in India, so everywhere you looked, mangoes were being sold on the roadside or hanging from trees. Almost every village we went to, we saw children eating mangoes!

A vendor selling mangoes in Varanasi

In Varanasi we were also met by the brilliant representatives from Group M, Debjani and Archana, who along with Pradakshana were clearly so knowledgeable and passionate about the work being done in the state. They explained to us that Uttar Pradesh has a large agricultural industry, being the highest contributor to the state's GDP. Whilst knowledge around food cultivation is high, this does not translate to the uptake of good nutrition behaviours. The programme tackles this front on through on-the-ground interventions designed to engage all stakeholders on best nutrition practice. It also embraces the use of mobile technology with the ‘Hello Dr. Didi’ service – a phone number you call and in return, you are served with relevant nutrition advice for the stage of pregnancy or childcare you’re at. Awareness is centred around exclusive breastfeeding, complementary feeding and dietary diversity practices for young children. It also puts a big emphasis on good hygiene – reminding us you can’t have good nutrition without it.

In the villages we visited we saw large posters everywhere that showed the importance of including all the different food groups into your child’s diet. We got the opportunity to visit the homes of some of the programme participants, where we saw more posters on dietary diversification on the walls. These posters gave us an insight as to how people had been using the learnings from the programmes into their everyday life. We also saw simple sticker charts which encouraged mothers to adopt balanced and nutritious diets for their children. The simplicity meant that the mothers who, would usually take on the bulk of the cooking, could easily keep track of it and feel more confident that they are providing nutritious food for their children.

We were able to see the full life course of the programme in the villages. We met with families who had been involved with the programme for a couple of months and had clearly learnt a lot, as well as getting the chance to see a programme launch in a new village. The launch included an introductory speech about the Dr. Didi programme, how to use the mobile nutrition advice service, a fun skit between a new mother, father and mother-in-law as well as some interactive elements, such as health and nutrition themed snakes and ladders. Debjani and Archana from Group M were always on hand to offer translation and explain some of the cultural norms in India. The skit was interesting to witness, as it demonstrated some of the cultural differences in India and the UK in family dynamics - reinforcing the influence mothers-in-law have in the raising of young children.

Dr. Didi programme launch in Uttar Pradesh

Overall, the trip was massively rewarding and eye-opening. One of the main take-aways was contemplating the actual vastness of India. We got to visit two of India’s 28 states. At times we talk about expanding programmes to more states, however there is still much that can be done within the states we are currently working in. The population of Gujarat stands at 70.7 million, almost four million more than the population of UK, and Uttar Pradesh stands at a staggering 241 million, more than three times the population of the UK. With many of the population of Uttar Pradesh still living under the poverty line, there is much that can be done. There are amazing and passionate people working who are dedicated to reaching more mothers and children with better nutrition. This still leaves millions more lives that could be impacted. Get in contact if you want to be part of scaling up these programmes.

The TPoN comms team with the fantastic camera and video team. From left to right: Manish, Rohit, Prakhar, Hannah and Erin.

A huge thanks to our colleague Pradakshana Kaul who helped with organising the trip. Our partners at Action Against Hunger and Group M who hosted us so well. As well as our camera and video crew Rohit, Prakhar and Manish for your hard work throughout. We can't wait to share the great assets we gained from the trip - watch this space!