Page 120 - SocialHarmony

124 Social Harmony

babies every year in our state, which means that twelve lakh
mothers have to be taken care of annually. Out of these, three
four lakh mothers are such that they don’t need to be taken care
of by the government, leaving eight-nine lakh mothers who need
government aid. This has led the State Government to plan the
“Healthy Child Year”. Studies have revealed that pregnant
women need a well-balanced diet. An understanding family will
take care of a pregnant woman, even if they are poor. They will
ensure that their pregnant daughter-in-law is given sufficient
quantities of ghee (clarified butter) and green vegetables. Even
the poorest of mother-in-law wants a healthy child in her family.

We need to ponder over how to provide sufficient nutritious
food to pregnant women. Villages have many food supply
centres. We can decide to include pregnant women in these
arrangements. If every villager contributes 100 grams of
“sukhdi” to the panchayat every week to be distributed among
pregnant women, it would greatly contribute to their good
health. A healthy mother will give birth to a healthy child. I
believe that the “Healthy Child Year” a people’s movement, and
hence I want the entire society to join in this mission. If only
one family in the village has cattle, they would never think about
selling the milk. In the past, villagers believed that butter-milk
can never be sold; it is meant to be distributed among neighbours
and friends because no matter what the quantity, it is a source
of protein that they are providing. Gradually, this mindset and
this arrangement have broken down. Can this form of collective
responsibility be revived? The entire village together should
decide that no pregnant woman shall suffer for want of
nourishment. Helping a pregnant woman means helping two
lives. Even today, many people believe that good childcare is
limited to proper vaccination. For a long time I have been asking
doctors to treat patients free of charge for one day in a month.
One day a month, twelve days in twelve months, 120 patients is
not a big loss to any doctor. It is our duty to inspire doctors for
this noble task. Why is it that not a single doctor has yet become
a part of this Matruvandana Program?

Young children face the same situation. We wrongly believe
that only if we study hard, we can become intelligent and make