The ascendency of India as an economic world power

Getting medical treatment in remote village areas in India is really a big problem. It is true that India’s economy is now going upward. However, the rural areas are yet to see the development. In this situation, Children's charity Plan India has come up with an innovative idea of making villagers aware of minor ailments. In some South Indian villages, children aged between eight and fourteen trained by Children’s charity Plan India, are now providing advices to the villagers on different minor diseases like diarrhea, burns, snakebite, sunstroke and cuts and bruises.

The Age reported:

The "chinnari" (or small) doctors in the Nizamabad district of Andhra Pradesh State are responsible for about 10 to 14 households near their own home in the village.

If they hear that a young child has diarrhoea, they advise the mother to administer oral rehydration salts.

If someone has been bitten by a snake they discourage villagers from resorting to traditional methods and urge hospital treatment instead.

During their training, the children learn through games and films. In a special version of snakes and ladders, the snakes are bad sanitary habits and the ladders are good habits.

With a white first aid box, the young doctors are now going to the households whenever they get the news of any person suffering from these minor ailments. They may not be able to give a clear cut treatment but they can advice the villagers to go to the nearest hospitals instead of going to a quark. Actually, it is an effective way to drive out superstitions among the villagers. Moreover, another positive site of this training is that these children will no longer be superstitious in future and will inspire others to come out of tradition ideas regarding minor diseases.