Beneficiaries
Maheshwari, Tamil Nadu
A home tutor, Maheshwari is from Tamil Nadu. Her son Tejanshu is two and a half years old. She narrates that she gets her child vaccinated, but due to language barrier, she at times missed the opportunity. When on one of the days an ASHA visited her place to check on her child’s vaccination, she got to know about the missing shots. The health worker persuaded Maheshwari to avail of the facility at the centre which she did.
She believes that as her child is healthy taking all the necessary vaccines, all mothers like her must do the same!
Monu Singh, Delhi
Monu Singh, a shopkeeper from East Delhi, faced a difficult situation when his younger son, Yashmeet Singh, fell ill at the age of 8 months. Due to this, he missed his son's routine immunization. Although Yashmeet got better after some time, Monu and his wife forgot about the missed vaccine due to their negligence. One day, a community health worker visited their home and informed them about a nearby vaccination drive being conducted under the Mission Indradhanush initiative. Monu Singh took no time in taking the child to the nearby centre. He was also educated about the importance of vaccines in a child’s healthy life.
Mansi, Hapur, Uttar Pradesh
The story of Mansi reflects on how migration affects the vaccination of children. Mansi a domestic help, who originally is from Hapur, Uttar Pradesh came along with her family to NOIDA for work. Mansi, interestingly, did not forget to carry her MCP card with her. On one of the following days after her arrival, a frontline worker visited her home to check on the state of vaccination of her child. Mansi presented her with the MCP card. Looking at the card, ASHA worker could find that her child had missed a few shots, advising her to avail of the vaccination facility under Mission Indradhanush that catered to children who had dropped out for some reason. Not only Mansi took her child, she spread the word in her slum cluster and many followed suits.
Sultana Khatun, Howrah, West Bengal
Sultana Khatun narrates that her child who is two and half year-old was given vaccination on time, but when he fell sick, she avoided vaccination, but that made her very worrisome later about the health of her child. Sultana reflects that on one of the days when an ASHA worker visited her place, she came to know about Mission Indradhanush which was a special program to vaccinate all those children who had missed on some shots for some reason. Feeling a sigh of relief, she took her child and got her vaccinated.
Apurva &Ashish Arora -Noida, Uttar Pradesh
During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020-21, Ashish and Apurva, a young couple from Noida were worried about their child’s routine immunization. They couldn’t take their son, Avir to the hospital for vaccinations due to the safety concerns caused by the pandemic. Apurva searched for a solution to their problem and discovered about Mission Indradhanush initiative, launched by the government to ensure that all children who had missed their vaccination received their necessary doses. Ashish and Apurva reached a nearby health centre taking all necessary precautions against COVID-19 to vaccinate Avir. The couple was impressed by the efficient management and organization of the program.
Amjad Ahmad Sheikh, Thane, Maharashtra
Amjad Ahmad Sheikh, a resident of Rahmatpur in Shanti Nagar (Thane), initially refrained from getting his children vaccinated due to his family's fear that the vaccines may cause harm to their health. Despite announcements made at the local mosque about the importance of vaccinations, Amjad's family refused, citing concerns that vaccines were harmful and could cause fever, resulting, in his children missing the vaccines. Amjad shares that it was an ASHA Didi visiting his family a number of times, educating them about the significance of vaccines and where to get them. Convinced they changed their stance. Under the Mission Indradhanush campaign, Amjad got his children vaccinated near his home with the assistance of a healthcare worker. Amjad now acknowledges the benefits of vaccinations, as his children are healthy and protected against diseases. He and his family now make it a priority to ensure that their children do not miss any vaccination doses.