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Family Planing Stories From the Field
In the Family Planning Spotlight: 
Founded in 1975, CEDPA, The Centre for Development and Population Activities, has provided services to millions of women through partnerships with 138 organizations in 40 countries. To sustain the services women need, including access to voluntary family planning, and provide life-enriching skills, CEDPA strengthens community organizations that provide those choices and other vital support. Leaders of these groups, now more than 5,000 strong, form a powerful global CEDPA network. Together they advocate at national and global levels to bring about lasting change for women. For more information about CEDPA go to http://www.cedpa.org
CEDPA in Nepal The right of a woman to speak for herself and participate in making decisions is fundamental. CEDPA believes that women have the right to education and health care, to determine when and whom they will marry, and when they will have children. A woman should know how to protect herself from disease and abuse, and know where to go for help if she needs it. Until these rights are hers and she has the confidence to demand them, she will not be positioned to advocate for better circumstances for herself and others. Working with local organizations in Africa, Asia and Latin America, CEDPA begins with the individual to assure her access to high quality reproductive health and voluntary family planning. To sustain the services she needs and provide life-enriching skills, we establish integrated programs that bring together issues such as reproductive health services, literacy training, safe motherhood, HIV/AIDS prevention, youth involvement and community building. In Nepal, only 24% of women are literate. Only 36% of women use any type of contraception and just 11% of births are attended by skilled personnel ("Women of Our World," Population Reference Bureau). Nepal's maternal mortality rate is 125 times higher than the rate in the U.S. (UNICEF). CEDPA's programs in Nepal provide women with reproductive health and family planning information and services and literacy training, and empower them to make the decisions that affect their lives and the lives of their children. The following is a profile of one woman who changed the way she looked at her own life and, by doing so, was able to provide valuable information to members of her community.
Sometimes in life, you can lose your dreams but find them down the road. My dream was to go to school, but I couldn't. As I grew older, my dream was to attend literacy classes but I couldn't. I will tell you what happened. I was the eldest of five brothers and four sisters. I had to take the cattle to pasture. I had many household chores. I could not go to school. When literacy classes came to my village, I begged my parents to let me go. Finally they agreed. Right at that time, I got my first period of menstruation. I could not see anyone's face for one month. It is our Brahmin tradition. For this reason, I could not attend the classes. I was married at 14. I worked as a community health volunteer for CEDPA. In my work, I advised people on family planning. I advised them to have adequate gaps between children. I taught them about Depo (Depro-Provera), condoms and pills. In my own life, I used what I learned. My second child was born after a gap of three years. Now I have two children and use temporary means of family planning. Otherwise I would have given birth to at least five children. When I first became a community health volunteer, I was illiterate. I had to make drawings to help me do my work. I had to memorize everything that was said in the training. Then I got the chance to take literacy classes with World Education [a CEDPA partner]. My mother-in-law did not approve but my father-in-law gave me permission. Now I have learned to read and do math. Some of us in the literacy class are talking about forming a savings group. I am not presently working as a health worker, but people in the community still seek my advice on health and family planning. I have a book about AIDS. I show it at the community meetings. I teach them that sexual intercourse with many partners and unprotected sex are the main causes of AIDS. I tell them there is no medicine to cure AIDS. Many boys come to me to get condoms. I warn them that condoms can break. I even tell my husband that if he has to have sex with another woman, he should use a condom. Around the world, women like Ganga want to help solve the problems of their neighbors and their community so that others can benefit from their gains. They have organized groups to identify community needs. With the support of CEDPA, Ganga and other women in the CEDPA network have changed the face of their villages and indeed they are changing the face of the world. photos courtesy of CEDPA Biodiversity Challenges By Jennifer Swan, Everett Intern, Global Population and Environment Program
Once an Agrarian society, Nepal has changed tremendously over the last three decades due to rapid population growth and loss of agricultural land. Twenty-five million people live in less than 150,000 square kilometers, slightly larger than Arkansas. Nepal suffers from increasing environmental hazards, deforestation, soil erosion, landslides, flashfloods, poaching, and desertification. From the alpine pastures beneath the Himalayan mountain range to the tropical monsoon forest in the Terai plains, the diverse and fragile ecosystems of Nepal designate it as one of the world's biological "hot spots." There are over 5000 species of fungi, more than 600 species of lichens, 687 species of algae and over 570 species of medicinal flowering plants in Nepal. With only 0.1% of the world's total area, Nepal contains over 2% of the flowering plants, 8% of the birds and 4% of the mammals, many of which are endangered.² If measures to slow population growth are not embraced, it is expected that six species of edible fruit trees, four species of medicinal herbs, and some 50 species of little known trees and shrubs will be lost forever, along with the loss of habitat for many of the birds, mammals, and reptiles dependent on those species.¹ Land use for cattle production is the primary cause of the deforestation of Nepal's' forest. Due to deforestation, only 20% of land was able to be used for agricultural purposes in 2002. In 1998, increased deforestation occurred with over 95% of the population using wood as their fuel source because of the lack of alternative energy sources. Many of Nepal's farmers now look toward grazing cattle as a new source of income for their growing families. On average, over 240 million tons of valuable soil is lost each year because of erosion, making it difficult to grow enough grain to feed the livestock. In the year 2025, Nepals' population is projected to reach 37 million people. Preserving Nepal's ecosystems and decreasing biodiversity loss are primary goals of the government and of family planning assistance programs that educate people about reproductive health and birth spacing methods. Since 1985, concepts of family planning and reproductive health quickly diffused into the predominately Hindu nation. Now, more women take measures to improve their health and their children's health by planning their pregnancies and deciding how many children the family can sustain. The future of the biodiversity of Nepal and the health of the Nepalese people cannot be overlooked. Replanting forest hills, looking for alternative sources of energy, prohibiting poaching of endangered animals, teaching sustainable agricultural practices, and empowering men and women with information about reproductive health will not reverse Nepal's environmental problems, but it will take steps toward guaranteeing a sustainable future for the people and the environment.
¹ Review of the Biodiversity Conservation Status of Nepal. Nepalnet. 1996. Panasia Organization photo courtesty of www.thamel.com/htms/himalayas.htm In the Family Planning Spotlight: 
Working with local organizations to create innovative programs that respond to the diversity of women and families in developing countries, Pathfinder is committed to bringing family planning and reproductive health services to those who need and want it most. In isolated, rural communities, Pathfinder support enables women to receive contraceptive services in their own homes from trained providers who live nearby. Pathfinder helps women recovering from unsafe abortions in hospital emergency rooms receive family planning counseling and contraception. See details about Pathfinder at http://www.pathfind.org Innovative Project in Central Peru Combines Environmental Awareness and Reproductive Health Care 
Doņa Maria has spent her entire life in Pias, a small rural community in central Peru. Married at 16, she is now 35 years old with two teenage daughters and three grandsons. Economic hardship led to marital problems, causing Dona Maria's husband to abandon the family for weeks at a time. Dona Maria's struggling household became even larger when her daughter and two grandsons moved in after the sudden death of her daughter's husband. Doņa Maria sought assistance from a "mother's club," a community group that offers women a safe space to share their problems and fears. These women come together to discuss a variety of topics, from nutrition to basic health care to women's self esteem. "It was there when I first heard about how to avoid getting pregnant," Doņa Maria explained. "The women at the health post also explained to us what to use in order not to have more babies. I learned many new things about health care and nutrition, and now when I go to the bioherto [organic vegetable garden] I can talk about these things with other women and help them." Doņa Maria is one of many women in Pias who are benefiting from an innovative program that combines environmental conservation, reproductive health, and personal empowerment. Pathfinder International, an international family planning and reproductive health organization, and APECO, a Peruvian environmental organization, have teamed together for the program, which is funded by the Flora Family Foundation. The goal of the project is to improve the lives of the people of Pias by providing them with vital reproductive health services as well as the awareness and tools they need to preserve their environment. Pias is notable for its isolation - getting there requires two flights to the nearest district and then catching a bus to Pias. The jewel of this remote region is the Rio Abiseo National Park, created in 1983 to protect the fauna and flora of the humid forests characteristic of this part of the Andes Mountain Range. As the park's steward, APECO is charged with preserving the park and promoting sustainable development in the surrounding communities. The project with Pathfinder International builds upon APECO's wide-ranging community activities to incorporate reproductive health education and services, such as family planning, STD and HIV/AIDS prevention, and maternal health care. Part of the project involves working with Community Garden Committees, groups of village women who work together on small, sustainable organic gardens, to teach women about family planning, diet and nutrition, health, and environmental protection. The women reached through these committees gain a greater awareness of health and the environment, and equally important, a sense of empowerment that comes from increasing their economic contributions to their families. In a community that lacks even rudimentary health and sanitation services, improving the delivery of health care is an important goal. Through staff training and building improvements, such as improved lighting in examination rooms, the project has equipped the sole health post in Pias to provide reproductive and maternal health care and family planning services. Local health promoters have been trained to provide basic care in their villages and to recognize more serious medical problems that require professional attention. The project is also working with local authorities to improve basic sanitation in the community by constructing a latrine for every household. To encourage students to take an active role in environmental protection, the local school has built a sustainable organic garden. The program has raised student interest in the environment, and several have started recycling and composting programs in the school. "The impact of this project can be measured by the enormous change in attitudes we are perceiving with school children and teenagers," explains Milka Dinev, Pathfinder's country representative in Peru. Ultimately, the project strives to demonstrate the important interconnections between family planning and environmental preservation. Family planning and child spacing reduces population pressure on natural resources and improves the health and quality of life of women and their families. Like its delicate environment, Pias' rugged isolation may soon be threatened. Two mining companies are constructing a highway through the region that will undoubtedly impact upon this remote community. The approaching highway gives new urgency to the project's environmental and sustainable development messages. In the future, Pathfinder International hopes to secure additional funding for the Pias project and expand the program into the nearby community of Buldibuyo. According to Ms. Dinev, "We need more time to make this project sustainable, and to have the community maintain the services they are getting from the program's health posts." For information about the Population-Environment-Family Planning Connection in Peru go to: http://www.sierraclub.org/population/reports/winter02/stories.asp Back to Spring 2002 Population Report Photos courtesy Pathfinder Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club |
