Community Animal Health Workers: Way Beyond Being Just Service Providers

Taking the training they receive to a different level of engagement altogether, CAHWs are instrumental in bringing about change at various levels, helping women find their confidence, dignity and recognition, thereby making them a force to reckon with

T HEY CALL THEMSELVES ‘Service Providers’ for animals, or Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs). Their work reflects their diligence. They work for a cause and with purpose, and are engaged at the ground level, from dawn to dusk, in creating awareness about the scientific methods of livestockrearing. Their involvement, however, goes beyond this work, in ways that have not been taught to them in their training. They have vowed to reach every family in their vicinity. They are determined to touch the life of every woman and motivate her to leading a dignified life. Their efforts indicate that a new era of empowerment has dawned. Their journey is in progress…and a long path is yet to be traversed. They have sprung from the women’s collectives, making their presence felt not only in the SHGs, but also in the hearts of the community where they work.