Caterina Meier-Pfister is Head Programme Partnerships at Save the Children Switzerland and was on a project visit to India with our partner Preglem/Gedeon Richter. In the interview she talks about the projects she visited and the strong contrasts that she saw there.

"Selfie, Selfie"...an exclamation that accompanied the travel group - here with a local team and after a demonstration of the rescue exercises for disaster situations.

Local communities, such as here a committed mothers' group, play an important role in the Save the Children projects.

The "Child Rights Champions" actively campaign against child labour or child marriage in their neighbourhood in the south of Delhi.

You were on a project visit to India – what were you doing there?

Preglem/Gedeon Richter is a long-standing and valued corporate partner, whose financial support Save the Children can use where it is most urgently needed. The cooperation also includes an annual joint project visit, to which Preglem/Gedeon Richter also invites selected healthcare professionals. Together with my team colleague Daphné de Laleu, I accompanied the trip. In this case, the guests were doctors who greatly appreciated seeing with their own eyes what Save the Children can achieve with its work. They were also impressed by the incredible strength of children and their families we met, who often live in extremely precarious circumstances.

What projects does Save the Children implement on the ground?

We were in two project areas: The first project was in the state of Jharkhand, in the east of India. After the long journey, we visited a project that provides activities and learning sessions in Early Childhood Development for children between 0 and 3 years of age. Many tribal communities live in this area. In the already existing so-called “Anganwadi Centres”, which also function as community centres, we train the staff and also sensitise the parents that the early support of their children has an important influence on their development. There is also always a local organisation on site that is involved in the activities. We also encourage the involvement of fathers in the upbringing of their children.

On the second day we visited a health project. The medical centre was a small building with a sparse infrastructure. A health worker is responsible for about 8000 people! The aim of our project there, also in cooperation with local actors and authorities, is, among other things, to collect statistical data on under- and malnutrition of children, which unfortunately is very common in this region. These figures will then form an important basis for the responsible government agencies to budget the necessary measures to improve the situation for those affected.

After Jharkhand, we visited a project in a slum in South Delhi and had the opportunity to experience how children and youth are willing to take responsibility if they are involved. This includes, for example, identifying and eliminating dangers for children, but also preparing for the event of a disaster such as fire or flooding in their living quarters. On a map they mark dangers in everyday life: open power lines, sewers, holes in the path, etc. At strategic locations, sand buckets are placed in the narrow alleys to extinguish fires in the event of a short circuit. This is also marked on the map as well as the homes of the elderly, pregnant women or people with a disability, so that they can be helped quickly in disaster situations.

A team of children and young people demonstrated to us how they are ready to help with simple means in the event of a disaster: Stretchers made of a cloth, a rope with knots as a ladder, trained handles to evacuate injured people in an emergency, etc. The pride of this team was not only touching, but also very inspiring!

What are your impressions? What was special for you?

Well, the program was very intense and we saw and experienced a lot. The children we met come from very poor backgrounds, which has massive consequences for their health: 45% of the children in Jharkhand are malnourished or undernourished, 40% with irreparable consequences regarding their health. That was hard to see and I was also very moved by the situation of their mothers. The health centres are far away, medicines are often not available or unaffordable – all very challenging conditions. Nevertheless, these women are extremely strong and fight daily for their children. I am proud to be able to stand up for them in my role at Save the Children.

In many Save the Children projects, parents from the poorest backgrounds learn how to stimulate their children even as babies and how to incorporate this into their everyday lives. In this way, the course can be set for an optimal transition to primary school, because the children can satisfy their learning needs at an early age and make better use of their potential. Many women have shown us on site how they have implemented this in their everyday life and were proud of how well the children respond to it. That was really very inspiring.

How are the children involved in the project?

Save the Children wants to give children a voice. Their participation in our projects is accordingly high. On the last day in Jharkhand we had a meeting with so-called “Child Champions”, delegates from different communities. They told us about their impressive tasks. For example, they actively work against child marriage and child trafficking! Since the rate of such cases is unfortunately extremely high in the region, the “Child Champions” form committees in risky situations and seek to talk to the parents! This is extremely impressive. They were young people between 11 and 18 years of age.

I find this involvement of the children extremely important and valuable! If children are involved in a suitable way, they can represent their needs and concerns very convincingly and achieve incredible things for their community.

How did the visit affect you? What particularly impressed you?

Firstly, the contrast between the slum in Delhi and the situation in the remote areas of Jharkhand was enormous and it was impressive for me to see how we can tailor proven approaches to the respective context of our projects and implement them successfully. I was particularly impressed by the great cooperation between local smaller organisations, government agencies and our local Save the Children teams. In this way, we can ensure that our projects are firmly anchored in the local community and at the same time we can learn from each other. In our country offices, almost 100% of our staff are local people, which I think is very important and right. I was also particularly touched by the extremely respectful way in which my local colleagues treat the beneficiaries of our work, be they children or adults.

Ultimately, this project visit has once again strengthened my belief that we can change seemingly hopeless destinies for the better. Every strengthened and protected child makes a difference.