In order for the villagers to truly participate in the development process, it will be important that they come up with solutions to their problems by themselves. We are not going to the villages to solve their problems for them, Balaji says, we are going to create problem solvers. Hence, AID will assist the villagers in recognizing problems and tackling those problems themselves. Uncanny as it sounds, identifying the problem is usually the biggest hurdle in most cases. Once the problem has been identified, the villagers promptly come up with an appropriate solution for it themselves and encourage other villagers to join in, Balaji said.
AID then assists the villagers to implement the solutions.
Like they did in Andharmanik, a typical problem-ridden village in West Bengal, through Swanirvar. But the conservative village leaders were unwilling. Swanirvar had also identified this village to be in dire need of basic health care. So they approached Hafeezah, a village woman, who readily agreed to teach the villagers basic hygiene, oral rehydration, and inform them about prenatal care and immunizations. Soon, much to her delight, the women of the village started asking for and taking her advice on family planning methods.