In rural communities, women are often the key players in its economy and caregivers of their families. ‘Project Hope’ is among the many programmes that are working towards empowering them. You! takes a look...
In rural communities, women are often the key players in its economy and caregivers of their families. ‘Project Hope’ is among the many programmes that are working towards empowering them. You! takes a look...
Women in society play many important roles on a regular basis as nurturers and professionals. However, when it comes to rural communities, women are often the key players in its economy.
Not only are they custodians of traditions and culture, they work as farmers, primary wage earners and even entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, among many social barriers they have limited access to healthcare and often share a disproportionate burden of unpaid labour.
Among many programmes that have been working to empower these women, one such programme is ‘Project Hope’. This development programme was initiated by Reckitt Benckiser (RB) in collaboration with renowned Pakistani companies including Shield Corporation, Shan Foods and Santex, with support of UK Department for International Development-funded Business Innovation Facility (BIF) and Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN). While it started off as an initiative to reduce the incidences of preventable diseases in rural areas, it is also empowering the local women as agents of change in their communities.
Most of these women in the rural villages of Punjab are primary wage earners in their households. For this project, these women are playing an integral part. They go door-to-door within their communities, selling hygiene products and teaching good health practices. Not only are they providing a service, they are also earning and supporting their families.
In this regard, You! speaks to Patricia O’Hayer, Global Head of External Communications and Government Affairs at RB, tasked to lead ‘Project Hope’, and highlights its aims and objectives...
You! What inspired ‘Project Hope’?
Patricia O’Hayer: It started in 2016 because we had a programme called ‘Save the child a minute’, which was really focusing on eradicating preventable diseases like diarrhoea. The stigma around diarrhoea is huge and people don’t like to talk about such an unsavoury subject. But, when I saw the statistics that 150000 children dying of diarrhoea, it seemed inconceivable. And, I wanted to do something about it.
You! Where did you start this project?
POH: In development, we always say to start from the place where it is the hardest hit. From the world we narrowed it down to Pakistan, India and Nigeria. From there, we headed to the Punjab and then finally reached this village where the incidences of children dying from diarrhoea were the highest.
We began in 2016 in Dhori, a small village in Sargodha, Punjab, where 60 per cent of the population had been suffering from diarrhoea on a regular basis. We thought if we could make this a success here, then we can make it a success in other places.
You! How is ‘Project Hope’ different from others?
POH: I went the traditional route and found there were things we could do to prevent it like the hand washing campaigns, rotavirus vaccination etc. But, already they were being done by different entities, which we didn’t want to repeat.
If the existing programmes were so effective, we wouldn’t still have had this issue. I researched and came across the 7-point plan formulated by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). It is a very holistic plan that covers all aspects of why a child gets diarrhoea.
You! How did you implement this model?
POH: We had to understand that for instance if hand washing is the problem, then why weren’t women washing their hands? So, like consumer-based companies, we went and asked local women what they wanted in the bar of soap for them to use it 4-5 times a day. This completely changed our decision making and made us realise that we need to listen to these women more in order to figure out how to help them. After this, a basket of products was custom made for them. We complemented the 7-point plan by empowering these women and getting their feedback. This helped us understand how to support these women in providing better, hygiene and sanitation solution for their families.
You! Who are the ‘sehat aapas’?
POH: The women who are recruited as sehat aapas are either homemakers, widows or the ones who have no other means to provide for their families. The local community leaders often suggest their names who would need this opportunity. The sehat aapas are on a commission scheme and the products are subsidised to compensate her for the time spent being educated. Each company involved is required to give a 20 to 50 per cent discount so that the women can make the profits. They earn a minimum of 4000 PKR which goes up to 8000 PKR depending on the time and efforts they are investing. She is being trained and educated which also allows her other opportunities such as becoming a teacher.
You! What was their training process?
POH: In order to create this opportunity, we had to talk about the barriers. We had to make sure that these women felt empowered enough so she could challenge the society. For that, we had to teach her about finance, the products and gave her basic education around medicine so people in her community would listen to her. For instance, when she comes to the house providing a service with the products, she will also help in guiding them. Other women will also confide in them by telling if their child is sick and ask to give some sort of medicine. The sisters are trained on very basics like scabies, so if it is something else, she will encourage the mother to consult a doctor. The education element is very important which allows the disease reduction to actually happen. Moreover, we are not a donor agency so I cannot continue to invest indefinitely. This programme is better in the sense that it creates constant reinforcement. There is a build-up of this peer pressure women-to-woman, where they will admonish each other if they haven’t washed their hands or done anything of the sort. They will not listen to me but they will to their peers.
You! What were the issues you faced while trying to implement your model?
POH: On the business side, we use an expression in the company which is ‘cannibalising products’. We created a different version of the same product specifically for the village which could ruin the sale for the original one. What would happen to the bigger soaps if the ones made for Dhori was going to be sold in bulk in Karachi? It was counterproductive to the company because it’s the profits from the original product that we were able to conduct these programmes. So, we had to figure out how we could protect the business and still create a space for that. The second issue was that it is very difficult to have a supply chain to get product to rural areas, and that too cost-effectively.
You! How do you figure out if a product works and what do you do about it?
POH: These products are based on the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) that are needed for this task such as soaps, mosquito repellent, oral hygiene, and including food items like spices and biscuits. While 80 per cent of the products are all health related the remaining 20 per cent introduce some promotional products depending on the suggestions and feedback of the women. It is a very dynamic process with the feedback on the products. They tell us if they want or don’t want something, if they find it expensive and so on. Although, there are some things that they have asked for like nail varnish, whitening creams, cosmetics but we have said no to it. We also need to be responsible for them so that she doesn’t buy makeup when she should be buying food. The core of the portfolio should be fulfilled. The business we are trying to build for the women is that it empowers her and ultimately it makes her family healthier.
You! What are your future plans for this project?
POH: We want to reach 5500 villages across Pakistan in the next five years. And, I won’t be happy until I reach our ultimate goal of one million households. The project started off with three sehat aapas but now there are 48. These women receive a lot of respect for their selfless efforts by stepping out and educating and helping people with health and hygiene. We started with a bar of soap and now we have created this company dedicated to serve these women, which for me is a testament of these women. It is them who have achieved this and I am only her vehicle...
