The 1979 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership

RESPONSE of Mabelle Rajanikant Arole

My husband and I thank you for honoring us with the Ramon Magsaysay Award. In the life of the late President Magsaysay we find inspiration to serve our fellowmen and bring credit to the great humanitarian in whose memory this Award is given.

One of the most sensitive and accurate indicators of the development of a society or nation is the status and condition of its women and children. In most countries of the world, women and children are exploited socially and economically and, to this extent, these countries are not truly developed. The plight of women and children in the rural areas that I have seen is beyond description. Living in abject poverty, women alone have to bear the burden of childbearing and child raising. It is also the women who have to do the backbreaking work in the fields, very often even acting as beasts of burden. Worse still, these tasks have to be performed under the hardship of unbelievable social restrictions and oppression. They are subject to the whims of society and strictures of caste and community. Women and female children are the most nutritionally deprived and they lack access to education because of social taboos. They have little or no decision-making power or self-esteem, even when they are the main wage earners. Ultimately, the only choice left to them is whether to live in silence or not live at all. Only death relieves their suffering. They are caught between the Scylla of poverty and the Charybdis of tradition.

The need then, for comprehensive social and economic change for the betterment of women cannot be overemphasized. Health services, no matter how efficient, cannot change the condition of women unless we help them to be self-reliant. The traditional role of woman as a wife and mother needs to be expanded by involving them in leadership positions and transforming them into change agents. The liberating effect of education and consciousness-raising on oppressed women has been well documented. Women's participation in deciding on policies, and in planning, implementing and controlling human development programs, will result in self-reliance.

Simple, humble illiterate women around Jamkhed have a potential for full development. We put our trust in this potential. Initially, the women in this area would not believe that they could be trained. With perseverance, they soon found out their own capabilities. Scores of women have come forward and acquired knowledge and skill in health matters. They have acquired organizational skills. They can produce educational materials and communicate with the masses through audiovisual aids, drama and other media. They have learned to be sensitive to injustices heaped on the weaker sections of society and they have found ways and means to combat these practices. These illiterate women have dramatically reduced infant mortality, maternal mortality and the birth rate, and have helped other villagers enjoy better health. They have helped the community overcome irrational traditions, have spread education, and have improved the quality of village life in general.

We, the educated elite, need to realize that formal school and university education is not the only education for bettering the quality of life. People, our best assets, can learn from doing. Common people need to be trusted and equipped with knowledge and skills so they can stand on the own feet. This process of non-formal education must permeate rapidly if we want to alleviate the suffering of the masses who are existing in inhuman conditions today. We professionals form part of the community in which we live and work. A continuing dialogue is necessary between the broad community and those of us who have knowledge. Such a dialogue enables us to acquire a better understanding of the community's feelings, its hopes and aspirations. For their part, the people will learn to identify their own needs and learn to become involved in and promote community action for health and human development.

Thus, society will come to realize that health and human development are not only the rights of all but also the responsibility of all and in doing so, we professionals will find our own proper role.