When you pick up a Hesperian book, you’ll see life-sustaining health information and drawings on every page, but what you don’t see are the hundreds of hands, heads, and hearts that have shaped every word.
Every Hesperian book is collaboratively field-tested, which means that we send our draft chapters, stories, and activities to partners all over the world. Grassroots health workers and educators read and try out our materials, and provide comments and suggestions to help us improve everything that we publish.
So we’re excited to share our new interactive map to highlight our partners’ experiences field testing Health Actions for Women. Its always important and often controversial women’s health content was tested by community groups in 23 countries!
Health information can transform a community. In Guinea, men were so inspired by the education and outreach to prevent gender-based violence, STIs, and HIV carried out by a Tanzanian men’s organization that they decided to start their own group.
As former Hesperian board member Amy Wilson, who has used Hesperian materials in Brazil with deaf community groups, said, “People start to realize, ‘Whoa – I can take care of myself, I can get together with other people, I can discuss these problems. Other people have these same difficulties in society, and we can band together.’ And it happens!”
