For reference: Revised guidelines for Meeting 1: the hamlet gets together to form the Tushikamane Group

MEETING1: THE HAMLET GETS TOGETHER TO FORM THE GROUP

What is the purpose of Meeting 1?

Before the Tushikamane process can begin to form groups within the hamlet, there needs to be a meeting within the hamlet of anyone who has any sort of potential involvement in the process.

However, with the leaders of the wider community having already met and given approval to the process, there is no need to repeat this high-level meeting at the hamlet.

The purpose of Meeting 1 in the hamlet will therefore be:

1.    To inform the local community about the project, and ask help and involvement, and

2.    To recruit the women who will form the core of the Tushikamane group.

Who should attend Meeting 1?

Even though the Tunguli and Msamvu Wards have given permission at high level, it is a good idea to get local leaders on board. Meeting 1 should therefore include:

•          Any existing community group networks or any NGOs or other organisations working with that hamlet

•          Traditional leaders and elected representatives in the hamlet

•          Religious leaders

•          Especially, key women in the hamlet – eg teachers, women in positions of leadership, as well as women who are natural leaders

Additionally, of course, meeting 1 needs to include all the hamlet women who will then form the Tushikamane group.

Who is in the Tushikamane Group?

The Tushikamane group begins as a ‘women’s group’ who will conduct meetings 2 to 7, in order for the women to explore the root-causes of death, and to come up with some ideas as to what to do about them.

This group will at first be almost all women, and should include:

•          Young women, mothers and pregnant women – and especially those women who come from a family that has lost women in childbirth, or suffered the death of a baby

•          Village Health Workers (even if male)

•          Traditional birth attendants

•          Traditional health practitioners (even if male)

•          But specifically it will not include the normal male opinion leaders, husbands, mababu, etc. The idea is to get women to be thinking and talking about the causes of death.

These women therefore all need to be there at the first meeting, to find out what Tushikamane is all about.

What happens at the Hamlet first meeting?

Two (African!) hours should be allowed for the first meeting of the hamlet. The meeting should be held in a centrally located venue that has ample space for all participants.

The purpose of the meeting is to get commitment, collaboration and involvement from those present to the Tushikamane process.

This needs to begin with sharing what Tushikamane is all about: to give women – especially women of child-bearing age – a voice in discussing how to reduce deaths of mothers and their babies. This will lead, eventually, to planning with the whole hamlet what things they would like to tackle, and how.

The eventual plan is to come up with really good ideas and priorities to be tackled, that will get the whole community working together to reduce these tragic deaths. They should realise that in doing so, many other benefits will begin to materialise in the community.

Topics of discussion during the meeting should include:

·         How awful it is when a mother dies

·         How the people present are an amazing resource, but need a way of working together

·         That working together will bring in help from outside agencies

·         This will especially happen if the community can show sustainable progress, and can show that their plans are working to reduce death of mothers and babies.

·         Tushikamane meetings will not be a huge demand on their time.

Hamlet first meeting agenda

The recommended agenda is to conduct the meeting as follows:

1.    Welcome, introductions, and objectives of the meeting should be set out by the Project Supervisor, Alex Gongwe.

2.    There will be only one Project Facilitator present – the one who will be working with that hamlet.

3.    The Project Facilitator, with help from Alex, will then explain a rough outline of the way Tushikamane works:

Phase 1: Identifying problems together	Five meetings	2 – 6 months
Phase 2: Identifying solutions together	Three meetings	2 – 3 months
Phase 3: Implementing solutions together	Three meetings	6 - 12 months
Phase 4: Evaluating together	Three meetings	2 - 3 months
Total		12    – 24 months

4.    At some point, Alex should clarify in a bit more detail the types of practical solutions that Tushikamane groups may want to implement; of the type he has seen happen in Malawi: eg Transport; clean delivery kits; income generation; TBA training; improving health facilities; vegetable gardens; malaria prevention; better sanitation and or water; etc. (See annexe 1)

5.    Questions, comments and ideas from the audience. Give plenty of time for questions and answers. Encourage people to come up with ideas about how it could bring about good things – and about what part local people could play in making it happen.

6.    Finally, it would be good if a group of 2 or 3 hamlet people formed a committee to help the Facilitator run the Tushikamane process – eg help her set up meetings, help remind people to come, give her advice and support, etc.

7.    The Facilitator should make a register of all attendees, and take minutes of what was said. These need to be properly written up. An electronic summary needs to be later on agreed between the Facilitator and Alex, and this summary is then emailled to the Project Lead, Wilbard Mrase. (see Annexe 2)

8.    Closing remarks by Alex Gongwe.

Annexe 1

Establishing what Tushikamane will  - and will not - provide

Before the meeting finishes, and the Tushikamane process gets formally under way, there needs to be complete clarity in the community as to what will, and will not, be provided to the hamlet by Tushikamane:

What will be provided to each hamlet:

A trained Facilitator will form a Tushikamane Group and will lead meetings.

A Supervisor will help the Facilitator achieve success with the Group.

Once the process has reached the point that the Hamlet has examined the root-causes of death of mothers and babies, and has prioritised what it wants to do about them, Tushikamane will try to help provide the hamlet with links to those who can help – for instance links to other hamlets tackling the same problem; or to local organisations or initiatives which might be able to help; or to charities and NGOs who are looking to support the kind of thing being planned.

Examples

For example, the hamlet might prioritise the development of transport solutions to help get sick pregnant women to hospital. Perhaps other hamlets locally will have prioritised the same thing. Tushikamane might be able to put the communities in touch with a charity willing to provide a motorbike ambulance, once the charity is sure that the systems for maintenance, driving, etc are all in place.

The Tushikamane groups in the hamlets would then take responsibility for making sure that such systems are implemented.

Other examples might include:

·         Skills development – eg Setting up a programme of ongoing training for Traditional Birth Attendants

·         Health Services – eg Setting up accessible services for immunisation, checking blood pressure, treating anaemia, etc; or Helping the community to embrace appropriate family planning, and to provide services

·         Agriculture and food – eg Setting up feeding schemes for weaning babies

·         Education – eg Improving maternal education about health in pregnancy

·         Environmental health and sanitation – eg all working together to improve access to clean water

What will not be provided to communities:

·         Financial support or handouts of any kind from the Tushikamane team itself

·         Incentives or ‘Asantes’

·         Things being ‘done to them’ by others without their participation. Any help which comes will begin with community self-determination, and community participation. It will not be based on what outsiders think the community might need. It will not just be ‘dumped’ onto the hamlet.

Annexe 2

Key issues for your report on Meeting 1

·         The attendance register should be summarised: how many came, how many were women, how many were pregnant?

·         How did the meeting go – any particular achievements or problems?

·         Who are the local committee / steering group?

·         What are the rules for the way the meetings will be run?