Health care and Awareness in 18 Indian slums

Serve Train Educate People’s Society-STEPS established in 1993 as Non Governmental Organization at Srikalahasti, Chittoor district,Andhra Pradesh state, India.  Srikalahasti Urban area and surrounding Rural mandals  are drought prone and cyclone affected areas. Natural calamities like crop failure, floods and famine over the years have increased unemployment and poverty. Poverty and illiteracy have resulted in lack of awareness and wide spread ill health among the general public.  To contribute to the development of these people, group of social workers established STEPS NGO for providing health and welfare services to the poor and down trodden.

In the beginning we organized small health camps with the contributions from the members. Now with the support from Donors and Government sources we are organizing health camps and awareness camps of different health issues for the benefit of community.

            - This we could achieve after number of failures.

            - Initially we have not assessed the immediate needs of people.

Failure 1: Lack of awareness and health services have resulted in wide spread  diseases among poor. The women, children, adolescents and aged poor are worst affected sections of the society. So immediately we have started providing services which is a mistake and failure.

 Initially when we went to villages and slums, the people are reluctant to have health checkups mainly women and girls. We thought that we have failed in our effort. On prolonged discussion with stake holders, SHG leaders, religious heads and by inter acting with community, we have decided that there is need of intensive health awareness among community.

Success: We have realized that we have to assess the needs of people for diseases and problems they are suffering. This gave us idea how to plan our activities and camps by involving community. We started creating health awareness among people living in slums and villages. Slowly they started attending health camps and awareness camps organized by STEPS NGO. During camps we are providing health checkups and free medicines.

               STEPS NGO helps the neediest communities by improving their health condition. Creates high impact community driven solutions in slums andrural areas. With 25 Years of grass roots relationship and experience with the people involved in our programs, We have impacted over 867,092 individuals through 1630 Health camps, 20445 Awareness programs and interventions.

Failure 2: when slum people were approached to fallow family planning methods, initially they have not interested to know about it. They have not come forward for family planning sterilizations.

Schedule casts and Schedule tribes people living in slums are having misconceptions and they have totally opposed for family planning methods. This is failure.

Success: By creating awareness about family planning methods achieving more than100% motivation of family planning cases every year. 3248 people undergone Family Planning sterilizations. With the awareness and motivation among the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes community, they are approaching the UHC voluntarily for the family planning operations.

Failure 3: When we started immunization program in slums the parents are afraid of getting their children immunized because they do not aware of immunization. This is also failure.

Success: After creating awareness and explaining about the advantages of immunizing children, people are now getting children immunized in Urban Health Centre regularly. Till today 6193 children were fully immunized.

STEPS mission is to provide better future to the most vulnerable women, children of those particularly deprived sections by protecting their health needs and rights particularly women’s reproductive health by providing education, environment and improving their living conditions with an integrated approach

We are happy to inform that Donors who supported our health activities know how the people are benefitted.

Thanks to Donors for trusting STEPS NGO to implement welfare programs to community.