Hafeezan, a mother of seven children, lives in village Notki - one of the villages where the Sehgal foundation is actively doing development work and imparting knowledge on health to the villagers. At the age of 56, when most other women are preparing for the ‘twilight years’ of their life; Hafeezan took a bold step and enrolled herself in our Community Health Volunteer Program

It was a tough decision for Hafeezan to step out of the house and do something that she thought was worthwhile, having grown up in a conservative society where women were not encouraged to move out of their home environs. Gathering all her courage she shared her enthusiasm with her family and garnered their support eventually. Today she has completed her training and is contributing to the Foundation’s health program wholeheartedly.

During her training, Hafeezan understood the importance of health and the role of the Panchayat (local governing body) vis-à-vis health as defined by the government.

It was a cold winter day when Hafeezan got to know about a woman called Jamsheeda in her village, who was facing complications in her pregnancy. Jamsheeda was in the final stages of her pregnancy and was complaining of shooting pains for more than a week. The lady was told by her family to bear the pain as they were very poor and could not afford the expenses that would be incurred in transporting her to the nearest hospital.

As Jamsheeda’s condition started deteriorating, news traveled to Hafeezan, who was an under trainee at that time. Hafeezan had learnt about the danger signs in pregnancy and identification of a woman in labour needing referral to a higher set up, providing emergency obstetric services. After visiting Jamsheeda, Hafeezan knew that this case could not be managed at the village level by a ‘Dai’ (traditional birth attendant) and had to be taken to a hospital.

Hafeezan knew that under the ‘Janani Surakhsa Yojana’ (Safe Motherhood program) of the government, the village panchayat has to come forward to help and provide a conveyance to take the expectant mother to the nearest referral centre or a hospital. She rushed to the Sarpanch (panchayat head) and narrated the situation to him. She further informed him that it was his obligation to arrange a conveyance for Jamsheeda .

This confidence coming from an illiterate ‘lady’ who understood the roles and responsibility of the Panchayat impressed the Sarpanch. Seeing Hafeezan’s enthusiasm he came forward to help transport Jamsheeda to the hospital.

Jamsheeda was admitted in the Mandikhera district hospital and was attended to by the doctors immediately. She delivered a healthy baby girl and both mother and child were reported out of danger. She was discharged from the hospital 4 days after the delivery. Jamsheeda gives Hafeezan the credit of saving her and her daughter’s life and calls it her ‘doosra janam’ (second birth).

Hafeezan is now acting as a confident health volunteer and the local women do come to her to discuss their health related issues. During our interview with Hafeezan, she said that “I am happy that I could act to save a life. My family is happy with my work and I am satisfied that I can be of some help to the villagers.”

For further information please contact:

Pooja O Murada
Institute of Rural Research and Development
A Sehgal Foundation Initiative
Plot No. 34, Sector 44, Institutional Area
Gurgaon, 122002 (Haryana), India