In 2017 while working on another project in India, we met a health worker named Robert. Robert had a son with cerebral palsy, and he struggled to care for him. He would have to travel with him every second day to a distant hospital with proper care facilities to get help. At home, he was constantly under stress. Then he wondered about other people struggling with care issues for their children with physical and intellectual disabilities. Robert knew some women in the community who supported one another through their networks and worked together to address community needs. Robert approached them with his problem and the women told him that they knew of many families who were struggling.
Because of stress and shame, many of the children never left their homes. He was able to coordinate a three day training session for the women to be able to identify children with various challenges. He sent them back into the community and told them to find all of the kids they could and bring them and their families to the hospital for a meeting.
“They did a very good job and they were all illiterate women. They only sometimes has trouble identifying kids with autism. We were able to share stories and think about what could be done to help each other because we were all struggling.”