27-31
VILLAGE THEATER
EXAMPLE 4: THE IMPORTANCE OF BREAST FEEDING
As part of the CHILD-to-child Program in Ajoya,
Mexico, school children conducted a ‘diarrhea survey’
in their own homes. (This is described on page 24-17.) From
the survey the children learned that, in their village, diarrhea
is 5 times more common in bottle-fed babies than in
breast-fed babies. They also found that over 70% of the
mothers were bottle feeding their babies!
Some of the women in Ajoya were very disturbed by the
children’s findings. A group of them decided to put on this
play, to make the whole community aware of the importance
of breast feeding. The health workers helped the women
plan and organize the play.
Note: The ‘babies’ used in this play were
made from cardboard, carefully colored to
make them look real. To show the 3 babies at
different ages and states of health, 8 different
cardboard figures were used.
This bottle-fed baby,
malnourished and with
diarrhea, was brought to
village health workers in
Ajoya for treatment
1)
2) First, the main characters introduce
themselves. Their names are symbolic.
Adapted for this translation, they are:
CHARITY: the village health worker
VANITY:
a rich woman, but vain
(overly proud)
MODESTY: a poor woman, but modest
PRUDENCE: a poor woman, but prudent
(wise)
3) One day Modesty and Vanity meet
in the street. They stop to chat about their
babies. Both babies were born during the
same week, and both look beautiful and
healthy.