Document(s) 8 of 10

When the work is done the people will say: "We've done it ourselves."

"Community voice" - participatory action research (PAR) module recently commenced its field operation as part of the on going field research modules of household health seeking behaviour of the Tanzania Essential Health Intervention Project (TEHIP). This action research is a multi disciplinary programme. Its composition includes DHMT members, district community development staff, research assistants and module leaders.

The potential benefit for co-opting DHMT and the district community development department staff is that, they will practically participate in the process of creation of an effective procedural framework for communicative actions towards health development that will be a tool for health planning process not only during the project life but more important after the project is over. This module will not only seek to identify community potential in influencing planning and implementation of selected health interventions but also test approaches and framework for introducing community preferences in DHMT planning and implementation of essential health interventions. Soon after community entry process, sensitization/awareness creation meetings were held at village and hamlet levels in four villages (two villagers in each of study districts - Morogoro Rural and Rufiji).

Although it is still early to mention the benefits of the PAR process, there are convincing results that the technique has given hope among community members that this research will lead to action for the benefit of the community.For example,community members of two hamlets identified the lack of a dispensary to be a number one community problem and have agreed that every ten cell leadership should contribute 1,000 bricks as a step towards solving this long standing problem. This should go hand in hand with each community member contributing Tsh.1,000 to revive the safe water source. Lack of a dispensary and safe water were mentioned as immediate community problems in all hamlets. In one hamlet members of the community have made a committee to oversee the development of the dispensary.

In Kibungo Juu, Morogoro Rural District community members had always thought renovation work was the responsibility of the government and not theirs. PAR technique and tools have reversed their previous thinking. Three weeks after the sensitization meeting, the same community organized itself on self help basis and began renovation work. In Gefu hamlet in Kilimani Village, (Rufiji District), in an informal discussion under a cashewnut tree shade, some elders expressed satisfaction on participatory action research (PAR) philosophy and have suggested to educate their fellow village members to open a village health account that will take care of health issues. Money for this account will be accrued from local taxation of their products (cashewnuts, rice, fish and timber). Some members of Nyamango hamlet (Bungu-Rufiji) pressured their chairman to call the PAR research assistant and his team to attend a meeting in which they expressed their desire to have PAR activities started. One hamlet member was quoted as saying, "We understood the objective of the introduction meeting held at our primary school, we want things to get started now."

Document(s) 8 of 10