Summary

DHRUVA is an Associate Organization of the BAIF Development Research Foundation registered in 1995 under the Societies Registration Act of 1960 and Bombay Public Trust Act of 1950. DHRUVA is an acronym for "Dharampur Utthan Vahini" or the "Vanguard of Awakening in Dharampur".

Program goals

Today, DHRUVA has expanded its area of operations to include tribal parts of the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Its program areas include: - Livelihood generation through farming system improvement - Watershed development - Livestock management - Women's development - Health, sanitation and nutrition - Micro-finance - Agri-produce processing and marketing - Strengthening of local communities and user groups through the formation of People's Organisations.

Key program components

DRUVA's activities are spread over three predominantly tribal districts of South Gujarat - Navsari, Valsad and Dangs.

The organization's main work in health includes: - Community health - Herbo techniques - Village level sanitation - Health Education

Community Health Program

Access to health services and lack of awareness on health and hygiene are the primary reasons for increased morbidity among the tribal poor. Expenditure on health drains off a major portion of their income, further jeopardizing their existence. The Community Health Program aims to educate the local community on the health practices that can be incorporated in their daily life, create a local resource base that will deliver primary health care and revive traditional remedies. The Community Health Program trains a network of tribal youth as village health guides to provide basic health services including:

• Family health,
• Prevention of infant and child morbidity and mortality
• Immunization of children,
• Supply of clean potable water,
• Hygiene and sanitation including the provision of safe drinking water (chlorination, maintaining sanitation around the source, installation of hand pumps, etc.),
• Primary health care for minor ailments,
• Prenatal health care
• Health education.

Other aspects of the community health strategy includes developing relationships with government programs for public health such as immunization drives like pulse polio, as well as ante-natal clinics, and camps for family planning. The community health strategy also seeks to further primary health care by training local ‘dais’ (midwives) and creating a network of local ‘Bhagats’ (traditional healers).

Herbal-based health program

DHRUVA is committed to preserving the traditional health practices prevailing in the tribal areas. The Traditional Health Practitioners have extensive knowledge on the medicinal properties of local plants and herbs growing in the region. DHRUVA has engaged in dialogue with traditional healers to document these remedies and has identified nearly 200 species of medicinal plants with their support.