Grandmothers: A Learning Institution - Basic Education and Policy ...

households in order to determine the role,influence, and practices of grandmothersand other household actors related eitherdirectly or indirectly to neonatal health. 9While most similar studies in the healthsector adopt a narrow, or reductionist,framework and collect information fromyounger women, and occasionally fromgrandmothers and/or husbands, exclusivelyon their knowledge and practices relatedto the health topic of interest, the methodologyadopted by HKI had a much broaderscope. On the one hand, the intervieweesincluded not only young women, but alsograndmothers, husbands, and male villageleaders. On the other hand, data was collectedon grandmothers’ overall role in thefamily and society, rather than only on theirrole in the health and nutrition of children.This analysis included collection of informationon the patterns of interaction anddecision-making between grandmothersand other household and communityactors (including husbands, heads ofextended families, and TBAs—TraditionalBirthing Assistants) related to newbornhealth.The results of the study revealed coreroles of grandmothers in Malian society,namely:• caring for children’s physical needsrelated to nutrition;• hygiene and safety;• attending to children’s emotionalneeds;• educating young children on culturaltraditions and values;• diagnosing child and family healthproblems, providing home treatments,and advising on referral tospecialists outside the family;• coordinating household food/nutritionactivities;• managing domestic work; contributingresources for household expenditures;• teaching and supervising daughtersin-law;• advising both male heads of theextended family and male heads ofhousehold on all matters related tomaternal and child health and wellbeing;• conflict-resolution within the family;• supervising young children of neighbouringfamilies;• advising young women outside oftheir own family on matters relatedto maternal and child health anddevelopment ; and• sharing their knowledge with andlearning from other women in theirage group, i.e. other grandmothers.The study in Mali clearly revealed that inBambara society grandmothers are consistentlyviewed as “family resource persons”in these different domains, due to their culturallydefined roles and vast knowledgeand experience in these critical areas offamily life.The study also provided informationon the specific practices that grandmothersencourage other family membersto adopt and that they use themselves,9 The systems methodology used in Mali was informed by but expanded upon by the methodology used earlier inLaos in 1996 (Aubel et al.,) and in Senegal in 1999 by the author working in collaboration with these organizations.Thesystems methodology later used in Uzbekistan (2003) built on all of these other experiences.68 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT