Anita leads the way to better health
Anita, a 16-year-old girl from a remote village in Kaushambi district, Uttar Pradesh, often fell sick during her menstrual days. The discomfort and weakness kept her from stepping out, attending school, or spending time with her friends. Over time, this became her normal.
When CRY’s Adolescent Collective shared Anita’s situation with the project team, they stepped in without delay. During their visit, they realized that Anita’s parents had very limited awareness about immunization, nutritious food, the importance of iron during adolescence, and the risks that arise when these needs are unmet. The team gently counselled Anita and her parents, helping them understand how proper nutrition, iron supplements, and timely immunization could protect her health and prevent anemia. They also guided Anita on menstrual hygiene management and created a safe, welcoming space where she and other girls in the community could openly discuss health, nutrition, anemia, menstrual hygiene, and immunization.
When Anita was given iron and folic acid tablets, she was curious. How would these small tablets make any real difference? Instead of handing her books, the team organized an engaging audio-visual session using IEC materials, making the information simple, visual, and easy to absorb. Slowly, Anita began taking her iron supplements regularly and received the necessary vaccinations with support from the project team and frontline workers. Within weeks, she started to feel the change in her body as she felt stronger, more energetic, more confident.
But Anita did not stop at her own progress. She began attending Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Days (VHSNDs) and encouraged her peers to join her. On one VHSND, something remarkable happened. For the first time in the village, 12 adolescent girls accessed immunization in a single day, with Anita proudly leading the way.
*Image used for representational purpose only
The Problem
Project Doaba Vikas Evam Utthan Samiti is working across 60 villages in the Kaushambi and Prayagraj districts of Uttar Pradesh to facilitate quality education and healthcare for community members. However, the lack of livelihood opportunities is forcing families to migrate seasonally, disrupting their children’s education and pushing many into child labor. Poor access to healthcare, combined with entrenched community traditions and gender inequality, has led to high rates of infant mortality, widespread malnutrition, and early marriages, putting the lives of mothers and children at risk.
The Solution
CRY America’s Project DVEUS ensures that communities and households are aware of appropriate child-rearing practices. The project works towards reducing infant mortality, including neonatal deaths, by strengthening home-based newborn care and ensuring access to quality healthcare and nutrition to combat malnutrition in infants and anaemia among pregnant women and adolescent girls. The project also ensures access to quality education by enrolling first-time learners in schools, mainstreaming irregular and out-of-school children, and strengthening child protection systems to reduce instances of child marriage and child labor.
Impact Of The Project
10,797
Community members sensitized on maternal & child health care
2,700
Sanitary pads distributed to adolescents
1,127
Pregnant women received iron tablets & counselling sessions
1,112
Institutional deliveries ensured
1,105
Children aged 0-1 fully immunized
19
Severely Underweight children (SUW) progressed to Moderate Underweight (MUW)
160
MUW children moved to complete recovery
192
Children attending Child Activity Centers
180
Children aged 6-14 mainstreamed in schools
100
Adolescents completed Module 3 of Life Skill sessions
2026 Plans
- Provide counseling to 1,200 pregnant women, 1,150 lactating mothers, 300 newly married couples, and caregivers on early ANC registration, immunization, and best child-rearing practices.
- Strengthen 57 mothers’ groups, 60 adolescent groups, and 60 fathers’ meetings using audiovisual tools to address superstitions impacting maternal and child health.
- Conduct 1,000 household visits to sensitize families on the consequences of home deliveries and newborn care practices.
- Conduct Life Skills sessions for 60 CRY’s Adolescent Girls Collectives
- Build the capacity of 30 community change agents and peer leaders to promote community-led awareness and behavior change.
- Conduct anemia testing for 1,000 adolescents.
- Track 1,200 pregnant women and 6,500 newborns to ensure timely access to healthcare.
- Sensitize 12 VHNCs (Village Health and Nutrition Committees) and 57 AWC (Anganwadi) mother groups on their participation in Community-Based Management of Malnutrition.
- Enable 1,000 households to adopt kitchen gardening practices, with a focus on malnourished children and pregnant women.
- Ensure nutrition counseling for caregivers of 1,751 SUW/MUW children on age-appropriate feeding.
Link 500 vulnerable families with income opportunities.
2026 Total Budget
2025 Grant Disbursed $74,790
2026 Grant Approved $64,999
