26-38
SHARING IDEAS AND EXPERIENCES AMONG PROGRAMS
Growing communications between health programs in neighboring and distant
locations have led to valuable sharing of ideas and experiences. Here is an example
of how a teaching story from this book, shared by the health team in Ajoya, Mexico,
helped health workers from another area to solve a community problem:
Health workers from Huachimetas, a lumbering area in Mexico, took part in an
‘educational exchange’ of training methods in Ajoya. Together with health workers
from other countries, they read the STORY OF LUIS and analyzed the chain of
causes that led to his death (see p. 26-3 to 26-7).
A few weeks after they returned
to Huachimetas, a young, very thin
child died of diarrhea. Everyone in the
village was concerned because the
child had been sick for a long time and
no one had been able to help him,
The health workers called a meeting
and led the villagers in exploring the
chain of causes that had led to the
child’s death. They asked people to
focus on a cause that they themselves
could correct. People said that lack
of food was a major cause of the
food was a major cause of the child’s
death. But everyone agreed that a big part of the problem was that men were
spending their lumber wages to buy liquor and beer, instead of more food for
their families.
Villagers from Huachimetas began to visit surrounding communities, talking with
people about the problems resulting from drinking. Finally they gathered enough
people’s backing so that the local farmworkers’ council {representatives from the
different villages) took action to prevent liquor being trucked into the area. Today,
although small quantities of liquor are still quietly brought in, drunkenness does not
contribute to malnutrition as much as it did before.
The importance of sharing experiences from one village or community or program
to another should not be overlooked. It gives people a fresh view of their own
problems and may give them ideas for constructive action. It also helps people
realize how similar their own problems are to those of the poor in villages and barrios
in many parts of the world. People gain courage when they learn that others are
also struggling to overcome their problems—and sometimes succeeding.
REQUESTTOTHE READER
We hope you will send us your own examples of ways in which
villagers and health workers in your area have acted to overcome
difficult social problems that have affected people’s health. We
would like to make a collection of these stories so that everyone
can learn and get ideas from the experiences of others.