The concept is simpler than the name suggests: To improve communities and the livelihoods of their people.
The approach is called Population, Health and Environment, PHE for short. PHE programs are specifically designed to promote modern family planning, encourage environmental conservation and improve health outcomes by creating a package of interventions such as pairing education about dwindling fisheries with education around contraception and malaria prevention.
“The underlying theme is meeting a community’s needs by more than just planting trees or providing contraception,” says the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs’ Sarah Harlan, a senior program officer with the Knowledge for Health (K4Health) project.
But PHE goes far beyond programs. At the heart of each successful program are the people who live in some of the most richly biodiverse places on the planet and who have taken it upon themselves to preserve – or undo damage to – the unique locations they call home. Their personal stories are what drive the project’s advocacy efforts.
This is where K4Health comes in.
K4Health, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, has dedicated itself in recent years to using storytelling as knowledge sharing tool – and helping others do the same. Staff have travelled to Ethiopia, Madagascar and the Philippines to hold workshops on the art of storytelling and to collect stories, photographs and videos to help bring more attention to PHE and to help decision makers improve PHE policies.
In the Philippines, some of the stories focus on efforts to educate people about the environmental costs of illegal fishing – while also educating them about family planning and malaria prevention. In Ethiopia, where deforestation is a major concern, stories describe the impact of reforestation programs that also include family planning and nutrition components.
CCP’s David Alexander, who takes many of the beautiful photographs used by the project, was inspired by his 2017 trip to Madagascar: “From the personal narratives, photos and shared knowledge, a genuine sense of purpose and passion emerged. The Madagascar PHE Network members — people who believe that improved health and wellbeing for people and planet share both the same benefits and the same barriers — were passionate about their work.”
Harlan says the PHE project helps reach new audiences with family planning messages. She spoke of interviewing Shek Kasim Kurke, a religious leader and village elder in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. He spoke about how he came around to being a family planning advocate by way of the environmental sector.
He saw that in his community, where women didn’t use family planning and gave birth to many children, there wasn’t enough food to eat, there weren’t enough jobs for everyone. People were destroying forests to clear the land in order to grow even more food. That’s when things clicked.
“To hear his story about how he changed his mind was powerful,” Harlan says. “And he changed his mind through his concern for how the growing population was damaging the community in which he lived.”
CCP’s Amy Lee, who also helps gather stories, told of an interview she did with Alpios ‘Jojo’ Delima, a former economist who now works in the government of Bohol in the Philippines. Years ago, Lee says, he could eat fish all of the time. There were so many fish that sometimes fishermen gave away their catch. That is no longer the case, he told her. Fish is now considered a luxury. He recalled that at a recent barbecue, his son, who was eating chicken, was told that he was eating a “poor man’s meal.”
“Because of overfishing and overuse of their resources,” Lee says, “many Filipinos have had to adjust their diets. This man told me he is working to create a future where his children can eat the food he ate as a child, where there are plenty of fish for everyone.”
To gather stories, K4Health staff talks to people in the cities and in some of the farthest rural regions. The trips aren’t straightforward. On a trip last year to the Philippines, in a single day, Harlan and her colleagues rode an airplane, a van, a ferry, a shuttle, a motorized tricycle and a bus to reach their destination. And, to get back to town that night, they took an ambulance since the bus was no longer running.
The team works with local partners who help identify interview subjects and who coach them on how best to approach people in cultures they know little about. Often, though, the stories pour out.
Ethiopia, for example, has a parable culture that lends itself perfectly to the use of storytelling. “They already understand the value of stories but they had never seen it as part of their work,” Harlan says. “Now they do.”
Wazo hilo ni rahisi kuliko jina linavyodokeza: Kuboresha jamii na maisha ya watu wao. "Mtazamo huu unaitwa ""Ulimwengu, Afya na Mazingira"" (PHE)." Programu za PHE zimekusudiwa hasa kukuza mipango ya kisasa ya familia, kuhamasisha uhifadhi wa mazingira na kuboresha matokeo ya afya kwa kuunda mfuko wa hatua kama vile kuunganisha elimu juu ya uvuvi unaopungua na elimu juu ya kuzuia mimba na kuzuia malaria. "Mtazamo wa msingi ni kukidhi mahitaji ya jamii kwa zaidi ya kupanda miti au kutoa njia za kuzuia mimba, ""anasema Kituo cha Johns Hopkins cha Programu za Mawasiliano Sarah Harlan, afisa mwandamizi wa programu na mradi wa Ujuzi kwa Afya (K4Health). """ Lakini PHE inaendelea zaidi ya programu. Katika moyo wa kila mpango wa mafanikio ni watu ambao wanaishi katika baadhi ya maeneo yenye utajiri wa viumbe hai duniani na ambao wamechukua juu yao wenyewe kuhifadhi au kuondoa uharibifu wa maeneo ya kipekee wanayoita nyumbani. Hadithi zao za kibinafsi ndizo zinazoendesha juhudi za utetezi wa mradi huo. Hapa ndipo K4Health inapoingia. K4Health, inayofadhiliwa na Shirika la Marekani la Maendeleo ya Kimataifa, imejitolea katika miaka ya hivi karibuni kutumia hadithi kama chombo cha kushiriki maarifa na kusaidia wengine kufanya vivyo hivyo. Wafanyakazi wamesafiri kwenda Ethiopia, Madagascar na Ufilipino kufanya warsha juu ya sanaa ya hadithi na kukusanya hadithi, picha na video kusaidia kuleta umakini zaidi kwa PHE na kusaidia watunga maamuzi kuboresha sera za PHE. Katika Ufilipino, baadhi ya hadithi zinazingatia juhudi za kuwaelimisha watu juu ya gharama za mazingira za uvuvi haramu <unk> wakati pia kuwaelimisha juu ya mipango ya familia na kuzuia malaria. Katika Ethiopia, ambapo ukataji misitu ni wasiwasi mkubwa, hadithi zinaelezea athari za mipango ya ukataji misitu ambayo pia inajumuisha vipengele vya mipango ya familia na lishe. "David Alexander, ambaye alichukua picha nyingi za kupendeza zinazotumiwa na mradi huo, alichochewa na safari yake ya 2017 kwenda Madagascar: ""Kutoka kwa hadithi za kibinafsi, picha na maarifa yaliyoshirikiwa, hisia halisi ya kusudi na shauku ilitokea." """Wanachama wa Mtandao wa PHE wa Madagaska - watu ambao wanaamini kuwa afya na ustawi wa watu na sayari wanashiriki faida sawa na vizuizi sawa - walikuwa na shauku juu ya kazi yao,"" Harlan anasema mradi wa PHE unasaidia kufikia watazamaji wapya na ujumbe wa mipango ya familia." Mwalimu huyo wa dini, Sheikh Qasim Kurki, ni kiongozi wa dini katika eneo la Oromia nchini Ethiopia. Alieleza jinsi alivyoanza kuwa mtetezi wa mipango ya familia kupitia sekta ya mazingira. Aliona kwamba katika jamii yake, ambapo wanawake hawakutumia mipango ya familia na kuzaa watoto wengi, hakukuwa na chakula cha kutosha kula, hakukuwa na kazi za kutosha kwa kila mtu. Watu walikuwa wakiharibu misitu ili kuondoa ardhi ili kukuza chakula zaidi. Hapo ndipo mambo yalipoanza kueleweka. "Kusikia hadithi yake kuhusu jinsi alivyobadilisha mawazo yake ilikuwa yenye nguvu", Harlan anasema. "Alikuwa na wasiwasi kuhusu jinsi idadi ya watu inayokua inavyoharibu jamii alikoishi, ""Amy Lee, ambaye pia husaidia kukusanya hadithi, alisimulia mahojiano aliyofanya na Alpios ""Jojo"" Delima, mtaalamu wa uchumi wa zamani ambaye sasa anafanya kazi katika serikali ya Bohol nchini Ufilipino." Miaka mingi iliyopita, Lee anasema, angeweza kula samaki wakati wote. Kulikuwa na samaki wengi sana hivi kwamba nyakati nyingine wavuvi walitoa samaki waliovua. Alimwambia kwamba hali haikuwa hivyo tena. Sasa samaki huonwa kuwa kitu cha anasa. "Aliwakumbusha kwamba katika karamu ya barbeque ya hivi karibuni, mwanawe, ambaye alikuwa akila kuku, aliambiwa kwamba alikuwa akila ""mlo wa mtu maskini"" ""Kwa sababu ya uvuvi wa kupita kiasi na matumizi ya rasilimali zao, ""Lee anasema, ""Wafilipino wengi wamelazimika kurekebisha lishe yao." "Mwanamume huyo aliniambia kwamba anafanya kazi ya kuunda siku zijazo ambapo watoto wake wanaweza kula chakula alichokula akiwa mtoto, ambapo kuna samaki wengi kwa kila mtu. ""Kujikusanya hadithi, wafanyakazi wa K4Health wanazungumza na watu katika miji na katika baadhi ya maeneo ya vijijini ya mbali." Safari hizo si rahisi. Katika safari ya mwaka jana kwenda Ufilipino, Harlan na wenzake waliendesha ndege, gari, feri, shuttle, baiskeli ya magari matatu na basi kwa siku moja ili kufika mahali walipokuwa wakienda. Na, ili kurudi mjini usiku huo, walichukua gari la wagonjwa kwa kuwa basi halikuwa likisafiri tena. Timu hiyo inafanya kazi na washirika wa ndani ambao husaidia kutambua mada za mahojiano na ambao huwafundisha jinsi ya kukaribia watu katika tamaduni ambazo hawajui mengi juu yao. Hata hivyo, mara nyingi hadithi hizo huchapishwa. Kwa mfano, Ethiopia ina utamaduni wa kusimulia hadithi ambao unasaidia sana katika kueleza hadithi. "Wao tayari wanaelewa thamani ya hadithi lakini hawajawahi kuiona kama sehemu ya kazi yao", Harlan anasema. <unk>Sasa wanafanya hivyo.<unk>