Prema (name changed), a married woman, lives in Keshvi, Dhudhiya village, with her five children and husband. The remote location and lack of transportation in her region have been a major reason behind the underdevelopment of the village.

Prema’s husband works as a truck driver and frequently spends time away from home. He spends most of his earnings on alcohol, leaving the family’s needs unmet. Prema’s four children belong to the same age group. While Prema struggled to find enough nutritious food while pregnant with her fifth child, and her husband’s alcohol consumption put a strain on their finances. After learning about Prema’s pregnancy, an Anganwadi and AAH Community Mobiliser (CM) discovered that the child she was pregnant with was very weak and was anemic. This stressed Prema for obvious reasons, as it could have led to her losing the child.

Under such scenario, when Prema needed a good amount of care, there was no one else at home to look after her or even take her to the health centre regularly for check-ups. This is when Action Against Hunger team devised a plan to take care of Prema. They took her to the health facility and also visited her home regularly. Prema’s neighbours assisted in providing nutritious food comprising of pulses, vegetables, fruits, and milk. In the seventh month of her pregnancy, Prema suffered stomach aches. Following an investigation, it was determined that the child’s life was in danger, and Prema needed complete bed rest. For two months, Anganwadi health workers and Prema’s neighbours worked together to look after her. Eventually, things went well and Prema was blessed with a healthy newborn.