Folk performances are a popular form of entertainment in
rural areas. Five popular folk styles were selected and
folk troupes with experience in these styles were chosen
to be trained on the campaign objectives, message content
and delivery. They are :.
Nautanki (folk
theatre)
Qawwali
(traditional songs in Urdu)
Puppetry
Alha and Birha
(traditional ballad singers)
Magic
Training
In order to bring
uniformity in message content and effective message
delivery, all the selected troupes undergo rigorous
training which includes development of scripts.
SIFPSA has conducted six training workshops since
1999. These workshops have developed the capacity of
performing troupes in several spheres. The last one
was held from 21-31 January 2007 in which 76
professional folk troupes of these five forms have
been trained.
The training workshop involves a complete
orientation of the troupes based on the objectives
of the SIFPSA project, sensitizing them to the
nature of the messages required and interactive
sessions on finalized scripts.
Performances
More than 11,350
performances have been organized in 1999-2007, over
nine phases, in SIFPSA funded NGO projects areas and
Non NGO areas of 38 districts. A detailed route plan
for performances prepared at SIFPSA was provided to
the trained troupes. NGOs and Milk Cooperatives and
Pradhans were involved in the implementation and
monitoring of the performances.
The performances have been a rewarding experience
for NGOs and cooperatives involved, as they have
served as a platform to disseminate their project
objectives. Enquiries from the intended audience
poured in after the performances, which helped them
achieve their objectives of taking family planning
services to the doorsteps. This activity has been
the major success with demands for more
performances. Folk performances have also proved
very useful in promoting the local community health
worker and the services being offered by her and
have effectively carried family planning messages to
the rural population.
