KHPT’s MNCH team realized that that in urban slum areas, the ASHA was not respected or trusted in the community, and few people accessed her services or health services at the local Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC). To increase the community’s confidence in ASHAs, and encourage them to access services at the Singasandra UPHC, the KHPT team organized Arogya Habba, a one-day health festival on March 30 under its Wipro Cares urban health initiative. The event was comprised of a health screening camp for blood pressure, blood sugar, and anaemia, followed by consultations with doctors from the Singasandra Urban Primary Health Centre. The camp drew 118 residents from the Koodlu slum quarters community.

A cultural performance was given by the ASHAs and children from the community to create a festive ambience. A major highlight of the event was the experiential theatre show in the evening, during which the ASHAs in the area enacted the story of a pregnant woman and how she was affected because she did not access healthcare services in time. The audience was encouraged to share their views about her dilemma, and to respond to what had happened in the play as if they were in her situation. This Experiential Learning Intimate Theatre was successful  in triggering the thoughts ofthe ‘Spect Actors’ (audience) on the key community level issues related to MNCH care. More importantly, it was successful in sensitizing the community about the ASHA’s roles and responsibilities in improving MNCH care  at the community level