In the small village of Temla, Tempo Chauhan and other local volunteers are intensifying their efforts to raise awareness and prevent maternal and newborn deaths. This World Health Day, marked by the theme ‘Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures,’ we look at their remarkable journey.
It’s a bustling morning in the tribal village of Temla in the interiors of Madhya Pradesh. The sun has just come up over the skyline of pucca (cemented) roofs, thatched shelters, and school buildings and the village is stirring in more ways than one.
The Temla Gram Panchayat is home to about 450 houses and around 5,500 people across eight hamlets, mostly engaged in agriculture and labour. Temla was struggling with vaccine hesitancy as many villagers suffered from the notion that vaccines could cause high fever, vomiting, and diarrhoea among children who were already diagnosed with high malnutrition and polio symptoms.
That is where Tempo didi (sister) stepped in and used her training as a Health Change Vector (HCV) or a Health Sachet Didi to dispel myths through self-help groups (SHGs), ASHA workers and village committees. By addressing parental concerns, providing guidance, and personally accompanying families to vaccination centres, she contributed significantly to the vaccination drive. Through the combined work of Tempo didi, fellow Change Vectors, ASHA, Anganwadi Workers, ANMs and community stakeholders, the vaccination coverage improved from 40% to 99%.
Indeed, not all heroes wear capes. These Change Vectors (CVs), primarily women, are community champions who have been driving rural transformation by leading initiatives in education, health, and governance to uplift their villages.
The Change Vector initiative was introduced in 2017 by Transform Rural India (TRI). TRI’s teams and members work directly with local bodies and community leaders in 42 districts in eight states across the country, focusing on improving health and health infrastructure, opening avenues for economic opportunities, particularly for women and youth, and creating development design solutions that are both locally relevant and scalable.
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40-year-old Tempo, a mother of five and a local volunteer and change agent with TRI, has been highly instrumental in this regard. Her inability to pursue education due to a hard life of farming, fuelled her desire to improve not only her life situation but others’ as well.
After receiving training as a ‘Sachet Didi’, whose role is to cover health, hygiene, and nutrition through activities and stories, she fortified her learning by attending an additional programme in Ahmedabad. There she learnt more about maternal care, child nutrition, and balanced diets as well.
Resultantly, her impact went beyond vaccinations, as she educated pregnant women on iron deficiency and advocated for balanced diets through the concept of the Tiranga Thali – a nutritious meal containing green, white, and red-coloured foods, providing strength, growth, and immunity.
Most villagers now have access to a Tiranga Thali, and are seeing significant improvements in maternal and child healthcare across the village. She also strengthened the VHSNC, ensuring regular discussions on community health.
Going beyond her training, and identifying the urgent need for repairs at the Patelpura Anganwadi centre, one of the four Anganwadi centres in Temla, she mobilised support and successfully advocated for its inclusion in the village development plan. With the backing of the SHG members, the repairs were successfully completed in January 2022, thus, providing a safer environment for children.
Her relentless efforts within the Sachet program have improved healthcare accessibility and village development, thus, transforming Temla for good. Through their proactive efforts, these volunteers, as HCVs, equipped with knowledge and training, are ensuring their communities no longer have to rely solely on external interventions.
By bridging the gaps in healthcare access, mounted by other challenges like poor road conditions, lack of transport connectivity, inadequate healthcare infrastructure, and insufficient local services, these silent, persistent transformers are laying the foundation for long-term, community-driven development.
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The lead image on top shows women at a TRI training session. TRI’s Change Vector model empowers local leaders, particularly women, to drive grassroots development, ensuring sustainable progress for their communities. (Photo credit: Jeeve Bhavriya)
Shivani Tomer is an Associate Practitioner at TRI, working in the Rajpur block of Barwani district, Madhya Pradesh. She has completed a two-year program in Public Policy and Management from IIM Ahmedabad. Passionate about policy research and grassroots development, she is dedicated to driving meaningful change through her work.
