Site Visit: Navapura Village

The CORE team visited Navapura village to understand some of the oral health issues faced by rural Indian women, all informal workers, and their families. They were welcomed warmly in the Indian tradition, with garlands made from khadi, the thread Mahatma Gandhi popularised during the freedom movement and a symbol of local production today. A vibrant welcome dance was performed by young girls from our adolescents collective. Their energetic performance set the joyful tone for the day.

Varsha Thakor, a farmer and SEWA grassroots leader of 20 years standing, shared her inspiring journey, including being invited to be the key note speaker at the Prince Mahidol Annual Conference on public health in Bangkok. She said that her experiences moved her to serve and work for other informal women workers like herself. Her insights underscored how solidarity at the grassroots, led by women workers, builds resilience and collective strength.

Yasmin Shaikh spoke about the pivotal role of the SEWA Shakti Kendra (SSK) or SEWA Empowerment Centre, and how it serves as the hub for various social security campaigns and significantly enhances informal women workers’ access to government health and social security schemes. Through its initiatives, the SSK has effectively bridged the gap between government services and the local population, ensuring that vulnerable informal women workers and their families receive the support and services they need. Yasmin leads SEWA’s health team in Gujarat and is a garment worker and is second generation leader.

Yasmin’s insights highlighted the SSK’s impact in fostering greater awareness and engagement with government programmes, ultimately enabling women workers and their families to access their entitlements and improve their overall well-being.

Discussions on oral health with women in Navapura village revealed an understanding of its impact on overall well-being. They highlighted the need for awareness and education in this area, as well as appropriate, affordable and accessible oral health care.

The village Sarpanch (elected leader of the village) was present throughout the meeting with the CORE team and spoke about the strong partnership between the village panchayat or council which he leads and SEWA members in his village. He especially acknowledged Varsha’s leadership on health and related issues like water and sanitation. He promised to continue supporting her and others in their efforts to serve informal women workers. The visit was full of mutual learnings on community engagement at the grassroots level, fostering connections and highlighted the collective efforts needed to enhance health awareness and overall well-being in rural areas.