Woman-to-Woman Strategy

Sharing of knowledge, skill and confidence amongst woman is the Woman-to-woman strategy. This strategy can be very effectively used for imparting nutrition health messages. How to conduct and what are the possibilities to carry out Woman-to woman activities are discussed below: 

Clues for Trying out Woman-to-woman Activities 

We have learnt about the principles, process and value of Woman-to-woman strategy in. Now, we will learn  about cues for effective presentation of the strategy. Follow them carefully. 

• Start small, if possible with not  more than 8 women. 
• Select such women in whom most bf the people in the community have trust. 
• Allow enough time, so that you study the felt needs and problems of the women by involving them in discussion. 
• Use indigenous terms instead of technical terms related to the subject. 
• Avoid giving too much of information at a time, introduce little concepts at a time.
• Discuss with the women followers, separately, once the activity is  introduced. 
• Critically evaluate the activity along with the women involved. 

Geared with the cues, let us now learn about the possibilities/situations to practice Women-to-women strategy. 

Possibilities to Practice Woman-to-woman Strategy

Woman-to-woman strategy we know is centred around  the principle of sharing of  knowledge, skill and confidence amongst women. It is not prescriptive, but participativin its process. The strategy can be practiced as under: 

• Community workers (woman) can lead activities with  the women in rural and  slum areas. 
• Key-women in the communities can lead activities wih their woman-followers in the communities. 
• Key-women individually or in group can report on any one of their successful experiences in modifying the nutrition/health behaviour of the people. 
• Community workers (change agent) can discuss with the  key-women, how to implement the activities effectively. 

Every village or community has its own food problems that must be studied and analysed carefully, to design a nutrition activity plan that is  likely to work. 

A case (model person) horn the village can be selected and'presented by a change agent to one of the key woman in the same community. The key woman  in turn can pass on the  message to he other woman in the community. 

One simple activity is illusuated here on  how to practice the woman-to-woman strategy.

Situation : "In a village  there is a lady named Susheela. She has got two preschool children Both her children were quite active and chubby  till  the sixth month of age but, thereafter, they started getting frequent illnesses like diarrhoea, fever, cold, etc. Now they are thin and week. Susheela is worried  about their health. 

Woman change agent ----->  Key-woman 

Discussion can be lead by the change agent with the following questions: 

• What has caused the children to become thin and weak? 
• Why were they so active and healthy  till the sixth month? 
• Why are key getting frequent illnesses only now?

Based on the responses received, the following messages should be. propagated/reinforced: 

• Importance of Breast feeding.
• Importance of supplementary  feeding from sixth month on wards. 
• Reasons for getting frequent illnesses only after sixth months-Improper bottle feeding, no protected safe drinking water, etc. 

Key woman -------> Tatget woman 

If Susheela happens to be the follower of the key-woman selected, the key-woman can easily educate her when she comes for the advice. Later, if Susheela follows the advice and as a result, her children get better, then she in turn becomes successful case for reference (model woman)  which  can be utilised for the purposed of nutrition and health education. 

Thus. the Woman-to-woman activity is continued on 1 to 1 basis which result in multiple beneficiaries. The following  messages and their  practice may be passed on to  many. 

Woman-to-woman activities can be organised in common meeting places of women such as near the well/tap, in front of a house(angan), anganwadi, mahila mandal, work situation at home as well as  common place where they go  for wage earning etc. This information gives you fairly good idea about  the ideal venue for organising these  activities. Now the responsibility rests with you to start utilising the activity in a variety of ways to educate the community to  improve their nutrition and health condition.