Recently i was reading about a health club called Kalyani started by the women of Kunra, a small village in Raipur district of Chattisgarh. Apparantly, the club came into being after the women got highly influenced by the Doordarshan based show called Kalyani which discussed a plethora of issues related to health. The women initially contacted the producer of the show, who suggested them to start a health club. It brought about a remarkable change in the way it helped in the decline of diarrhea which was a major illness among children. It also helped to generate awareness on malaria and polio vaccination. Kalyani is also making attempts to educate people on issues like HIV and Aids.
Kalyani, the show, is broadcast in nine states and it helps creating health awareness about malaria, tuberculosis, tobacco, reproductive health, sanitation, hygiene and HIV/AIDS. The programme is produced in partnership with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Family Welfare and the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO).
This forces me to think about how much visual media can contribute in waking people up for various causes, as it is rightly called a 'television engendered development'. Another point made by the whole programme is again something that we have been hearing for as long long as we can remember- development catalysed by women.