Thailand: PDA - Mind, body and community

Feature story from the Bangkok Post, 16 June 2009
By Arusa Pisuthipan

Like the majority of poor and rural Thais, the people of Nong Pluang village in Nakhon Ratchasima province rank health care last on their priority list. Living from hand to mouth and only just managing to put food on the table, they see doctor visits as not among the necessaries of life.

But the situation is about to change.

The Population and Community Development Association (PDA) has recently joined hands with Samitivej Hospitals, one of Thailand's private hospital groups, in organising a development programme entitled 'Strong Community Project', which aims to raise awareness about the importance of good health and simple ways to keep fit.

"If you want to help the poor, just giving them money is not going to work," said Mechai Viravaidya, founder and chairman of the PDA.

"Of course they need money but it is essential for them to realise the importance of physical and mental health too," Mechai noted.

Mechai's association brings together much expertise in rural development. For 35 years, it has worked to empower Thailand's remote communities in order to eradicate poverty and create sustainability. With medical support from Samitivej Hospitals, Mechai believes that their co-operation will help transform a once impoverished and unhealthy village into a strong, healthy and independent community.

"This project does not just want to make people healthy. Sustainability is, in fact, our key word," added Raymond Chong, managing director and CEO of Samitivej Hospitals.

And by providing the underprivileged with health-related knowledge, the project will help lessen the government's financial burden of public healthcare expenditure, Mechai added.

According to the PDA's chairman, "Strong Community Project" focuses on preventative health measures. It encourages people in the community, especially the young and the elderly, to improve their health and vitality hence preventing anyone getting sick in the first place.

Prevention is better than cure. Medical staff from Samitivej Hospitals provide basic physical check-ups for local people in Nong Pluang village, Nakhon Ratchasima province.

The project aims at equipping the villagers with practical ways of maintaining a healthy lifestyle through exercising regularly and eating proper diets as part of their everyday lives. It will also supply the villagers with information about personal hygiene, oral care and epidemic prevention.

People with chronic diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure will receive advice on how to take care of themselves at home while the mother-and-child programme encourages pre-natal care and breast-feeding.

Under the project, healthcare personnel will act as consultants. A team of over 30 medical staff, including doctors and nurses, will regularly provide basic physical examinations for Nong Pluang villagers to diagnose health problems so that specialists can treat them accordingly.

Healthcare consultants from the hospitals will organise free seminars on health-related topics. In addition, there will be a health coach programme in which the hospitals' medical experts will train village leaders, local people and the young generation to become the community's health volunteers.

"We are trying to create a community that has a school structure at its centre. Teachers are to take care of students' health, and older students are to take care of the little ones. We encourage youth participation because the young generation will one day grow up and become the next generation of community leaders. If children are healthy and know the importance of being so, their future community will also be healthy," commented Mechai.

The Samitivej Hospitals have also taken part in the PDA's Village Development Partnership programme by sponsoring Nong Pluang village so as to create a more socially and financially secure place for people to live.

According to Mechai, the Village Development Partnership programme addresses social and economic development, environment, health and education. "We place initial emphasis on social and economic development. In terms of community empowerment, we encourage each community to have an elected, gender-balanced Village Committee and we ensure that the locals understand, manage and lead their own development. We also encourage them to set up a Village Development Bank in the area so that they have access to micro-credit and start or expand income-generating activities."

Children in the community are encouraged to understand the importance of health care so that the young generation will be able to help maintain a healthy, sustainable village when they grow up.

"To help save the environment, we encourage people to grow trees which can be turned into cash. But most importantly, everything must be done and managed by people in the community themselves. We are just a facilitator," he added.

Once a society that suffered from a lack of good-quality public health care, information, and support for community development, the people in Nong Pluang are now active in self-care, organic farming and family budgeting so they can stay healthy while they increase their savings.

As their health improves, so does the health of their community. Strong ties resulting from such health activities have led to forest conservation drives and the setting up of a community bank. Youngsters of the community are particularly happy with the newly established computer centre which connects them to the outside world.

Beginning with Nong Pluang village, Samitivej Hospitals and PDA plan to provide fundamental health care for 260 villages nationwide over the next five years.

"When reaching out to help communities in Thailand's remote areas, 'opportunity' is the key word. To help the needy, we must look beyond the rich and poor divide. To create a better society, we must offer opportunities for people so they will have a better future," Mechai concluded.