Meet the ASHA’s of Barakat Bundle
We could never express just how grateful we are for your support in contributing to the initiatives of Barakat Bundle through our monthly donations.
Barakat Bundle provides life-saving care and education bundles for mothers and newborns in South Asia through the distribution of Barakat Bundles that have been developed by public and health professionals. Each Barakat Bundle provides evidence-based items that are essential for a safe birth and a successful first year for a mother and her newborn.
With the help of our donations, so far the organisation has been able to develop 166 Bundles to distribute and are training an additional 50 community health-care workers across 5 locations in India - that’s a quarter of their ASHA training goal so far! Health-care workers are known as ASHA’s (Accredited Social Health Activists) and they are imperative to the distribution of Barakat Bundles.
“ASHAs are the heart and soul of Barakat Bundle. These amazing women are the backbone of our mission, making a real impact where it counts. They are critical to delivering Barakat Bundles and spreading the word on maternal and newborn care,” says SriVani Ganti of Barakat Bundle.
“In India, where we operate, there are significant maternal and newborn health challenges. Shockingly, every year, about 45,000 mothers and 640,000 newborns face health complications or worse. This is why ASHAs are critical to our success.”
There are several steps when it comes to distributing the Barakat Bundle and ASHA’s play a big part in working with health centres to partner with for distribution. Additionally, the health-care workers are the ones who are trained on the items included in the Barakat Bundle as well as important topics to cover with the mothers receiving them.
“We're all about integrating with existing healthcare systems; these superwomen are our allies in this journey. Our team spares no effort in training ASHAs on the contents of a Barakat Bundle but also in providing the best care and education to moms and newborns. They work with local healthcare centres, regionally known as Anganwadis, to promote appropriate postpartum and newborn care.”
“ASHAs lend their support, not just to us but to the entire community,” Says SriVani.
“With India's bustling cities and rural villages, community health workers are critical to ensuring everyone has access to healthcare. Beyond supporting Barakat Bundle, they also offer basic healthcare, from immunizations to health check-ups. We're proud to have ASHAs as part of the Barakat Bundle family. We celebrate their incredible work and importance in India.”
Barakat Bundle has a goal to train an additional 150+ community health-care workers to conduct home visits that align with the Indian government standards.
We are so grateful for the support of our Daughters of India community to be able to contribute to initiatives such as this. The Barakat Bundle team works tirelessly to make a difference in maternal and child health and your support is having a direct impact on families in need.
Every purchase is uplifting women in some way, and we are just so thankful! This is your gentle reminder that dreams can come true, so, if you have a goal, know that we are supporting you to take the leap and go for it!
By Ella Josephine Archer
