ASHA-Diocesan Board of Social Service
Diocese of Sambalpur

The Diocese of Sambalpur in North India, covers eleven districts comprised of six district church councils, 53 pastorates, and 23,000 members. One of the pastorates is the Phatkara Pastorate and is located in Phatkara. It is one of the oldest churches and missionary centers. It was started by British missionaries in 1925 and consists of nine CNI Churches and is surrounded by nine villages.

The people living in the Phatkara are marginalized. They are extremely poor socially, educationally, and politically. Forty five percent of the population lives below the poverty line. The health of pregnant women is very poor with the infant mortality rate at 95 per 1000 live births and the maternal mortality rate at 450 per 100,000 live births.

The goal of the project is to ensure the improved health status of all members of the Phatkara Pastorate in three years through enhancement of self-awareness; demonstration of new knowledge and skills, and utilization of resources and available infrastructures.

Expected outcomes at the end of the three-year project include:

• Reducing the infant mortality rate to below 50 per 1000 live births
• Reducing the maternal mortality rate to below 400 per 100,000 live births
• Reducing the overall birth rate to 25 per 1000 population

Specific program objectives are:

• Enable the communities to become empowered.
• Create awareness of existing resources and services available through government and private organizations.
• Enable community members to generate income opportunities.
• Improve nutrition and overall health of the population; particularly for pregnant and nursing women, infants, children, and adolescent girls.
• Educate couples about family planning.
• Increase educational opportunities and functional literacy among women to increase self-confidence and self-sufficiency.
• Encourage children to attend school on a consistent basis.
• Provide training on delivery procedures to birth attendants.
• Educate women on prenatal care.

• Educate families on detection and early treatment of diarrhea and acute responsibility infections.
• Provide immunizations to decrease the occurrence of six preventable diseases including: tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio and measles.
• Provide treatment for substance abuse.
• Educate the population about the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.

The project will require a baseline of data. This data will be collected through surveys completed during the first three months of the project implementation and then specific activities designed for the goals listed.