Adivasi Voices – Maharashtra, India
Amplifying Voices is partnering with Seva Social Welfare Foundation to tackle poor health and build resilience in indigenous Adivasi communities. In remote parts of India’s Maharashtra state Adivasi communities don’t have access to radio, television or mobile phones. Many villagers can’t read and are deprived of basic facilities such as clean water, food, sanitation and healthcare.
Seva augments their healthcare activities by distributing “speaker boxes” which play audio content stored on update-able memory cards. Based on the community’s own stories, the audio content includes local-dialect dramas, music and talk programmes that educate, inform and entertain.
What: The Adivasi Voices Project promotes health education in isolated and marginalised communities in Maharashtra state, India. Using off-air activities such as health camps and community visits, alongside audio content on speakerboxes.
Outcomes: Following a baseline survey, a pilot project was launched in two communities in September 2018. This revealed low levels of health and well-being in the community due largely to poor nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as harmful superstitious practices. Child marriage and early pregnancy was highly prevalent. Many young people leave their villages after the rice crop has been harvested and bond themselves as farm labourers as they cannot find alternative livelihoods.
An evaluation showed that communities which had received speakerboxes reported changes in personal hygiene practice, better care for mothers giving birth, and improved knowledge about protecting drinking water as a result of listening to the audio content. Since 2019 the project has expanded to reach new villages year-on-year and and a mobile app has been created especially to reach out to bonded labourers from the villages.
Our Role: Amplifying Voices conducted the initial baseline research and project design and is supporting ongoing monitoring and evaluation, coaching, training and appropriate technology support.