Sokina's Story
Ninety-three percent of the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan is covered in mountains. It's a breathtaking landscape for families who inhabit the Rasht Valley, which remains a culturally isolated place largely untouched by the outside world. But the isolation also means that, in most small villages, formal medical care is nonexistent and even basic hygiene practices are not widely followed.
Mercy Corps is helping improve village health by training local volunteers to teach basic practices around nutrition, hygiene and maternity.
In her tiny village of Mullobadal, 31-year-old Sokina teaches the basics of safe motherhood to about 20 colorfully dressed women seated on the covered porch of a mud-brick house. Tacked to one wall are pictograms that illustrate proper handwashing, how to keep food covered and good latrine maintenance. "We knew a lot of these things," says Sokina, herself a mother of three, "but we didn't pay enough attention to them before."
A heightened awareness of women's health led to a community-wide effort to better respond to dangerous complications, such as anemia, that can arise during pregnancy. Sokina recently collected $1 from each household to cover the cost to transport pregnant women to the nearest doctor.
Some Rasht Valley villages in which we work are accessible only by footpaths. But we're making sure that for women in these picturesque places, all paths lead to better health.
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