Due to the COVID pandemic, Calcutta Rescue street medicine ambulances have not been able to go to core slum areas and provide service like before. Currently, we are only able to serve our registered patients but there are more and more people who need us. It is important to reach out to these beneficiaries.
Given the present scenario, the best way to reach out to them is through someone who is from the community and has a close understanding of the community. Calcutta Rescue, hence, wants to engage Community Health Workers (CHW), who will work as a link between the community and CR will serve the purpose.
The idea is to train women from the slum community who will become eyes and ears of Calcutta Rescue.
For the training, CR has chosen four slum areas initially.
Three women have already been chosen for training. 2 from Kolkata station slum area and 1 from Garden reach.
The girls were provided with books and notes beforehand containing everything they will learn. The head of the Health Education of Tala Park clinic Ruma is taking the classes. The class is being organised online or by conference call if the network is not up to the mark. Every week Monday and friday they have classes for an hour in the afternoon.