Guide for Community Assessments on Women's Health Care - ICRW

Additional Activity: <strong>Community</strong> Health Walk
Facilitator’s Note: This is an extra activity if you have the time. It involves a walk, guided by a few
participants, through one section of a village to find out more about the community, its activities,
resources, and problems. While you are walking, you can ask questions to the participants who are
guiding you and any villagers you meet.
“At the end of one day in Dordabis, we went <strong>for</strong> a walk through the village with a few participants.
This completely changed the day – it made things real <strong>for</strong> me. During the workshop women had
talked about the “toilet water” and we assumed they meant sewage. However, during the walk
we discovered that they meant water full of excreta. A whole section of the village was dominated
by the smell of raw sewage which was not being treated properly. Through the walk we also saw
the houses and the level of poverty. This walk significantly changed the meaning of the things
that the women had been talking about in the workshop.” (Comment from a facilitator with the
Parliamentarian project’s pilot community assessment.)
Objectives:
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Collect in<strong>for</strong>mation on the community: its activities, resources and problems.
Get to know the larger socio-economic context, which will help with the understanding of
issues raised during the workshops.
Time: 30-60 minutes
Steps:
➊ COMMUNITY HEALTH WALK: Ask a few participants to show you their village so that you can
get a better understanding of health issues and services available. As you walk ask questions about
the things you see: economic activities, food production, social activities, women’s work, condition of
houses and families, water points, latrines, etc.
➋ WRITING NOTES: While you are walking, keep notes and write up a report when you are finished.
Use the in<strong>for</strong>mation to help deepen your understanding of the issues identified in the workshops.
Photo Record: Photos can be more powerful than words in depicting certain conditions. Be<strong>for</strong>e you
start taking photos, check that it is acceptable to take photos of the village and the things you see.
Chapter C: Facilitating <strong>Community</strong> Assessment Workshops 49