Our IMPACT
ZealGrit Foundation’s impact is human and patient. Change happens step by step. Visit by visit. Conversation by conversation.Each story below shows how empathy, respect, and knowledge transform lives from one to the other. These stories are not unique, yet the subtle shifts in knowledge and practice reveal a deeper process of listening, observing, learning, and reflection.
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We document both qualitative and quantitative change through detailed field notes, baseline and endline assessments, anecdotal evidence, case stories, and testimonials.
​Risha is 23. She is a mother of three. Married at 16. She lives in a joint family of more than six members. One winter morning, she was seen feeding her older child from a plate while holding her newborn on her lap. Life demanded constant juggling. Her newborn was not exclusively breastfed. Her mother-in-law gave the baby sips of tea and water, believing it soothed the child. Risha accepted it as normal. However, the baby was often uncomfortable and weak.
Through regular home visits and trust-building, we began supporting Risha. Our facilitator shared simple guidance on childcare, breastfeeding positions, and homemade ways to improve milk flow. Gradually, Risha stopped giving pre-lacteals. Her baby grew healthier.
Trust deepened. Risha began asking questions about all her children’s health: why one child’s urine was always dark yellow, why another refused to eat, and what she herself should eat to stay healthy. Each visit built on the previous one. We listened first, and then addressed one concern at a time with practical examples from her own kitchen, empowering her rather than instructing her.
She also received practical advice on age-appropriate complementary feeding, hydration, and locally available nutritious foods.
ZealGrit’s 1000 Days illustrations based calendar became an important tool in her daily life. Even when no one was there, the trusted advice was visible on her wall.
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ZealGrit’s facilitator explaining the 1000 days calendar
Over seven months of consistent engagement and follow-ups, the changes were visible. The youngest child was exclusively breastfed, and complementary feeding began at the right time with the right foods. The older children’s diets improved. Risha shared her learnings with her sisters-in-law, one of whom was also pregnant. A small change had sparked many more. It showed how patient, community-based support can shift household practices and strengthen women’s confidence to make healthier decisions for their families.
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Initiating complementary feeding at 6 months with the support of an Anganwadi worker
Komal was a 9th-grade student. She was always an active and curious learner, but she always complained of tiredness and low energy. Through ZealGrit’s activity-based learning sessions, she began to explore health topics in a fun way. Games like musical chairs, lock-and-key, blindfold challenges, and others helped turn complex topics like nutrition, hygiene, emotional well-being, and reproductive health into simple, relatable lessons. Slowly, information that once felt confusing became easy to understand and talk about.
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School girls during an outdoor activity session
Gradually, Komal started taking care of her health. She not only began consuming iron and folic acid tablets regularly but also encouraged her peers to do the same. She stopped skipping meals, reduced her intake of packaged snacks, and never missed any of ZealGrit’s sessions. She also shared her classroom learnings with friends and family. Her steady progress was reflected in her behaviour, more confident, aware, and responsible for her choices. Komal’s story shows how the right guidance in a safe space can help girls take charge of their health.
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Dumb charades game during a session on WASH
​Rumi was nine months pregnant when she first met us. Already a mother of five daughters, she had lost one child at birth. Pregnancy had become routine. No antenatal checkups. No guidance. No care. With her husband working far away, she managed the household alone.
During the first few interactions, ZealGrit’s facilitator spent time listening, building trust and understanding her daily realities before sharing any guidance. Gently shared simple, doable steps. Like first hour breastfeeding, different breastfeeding techniques, newborn care practices, and the importance of knowing a child's developmental milestones.
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Hands-on demonstration on monitoring a baby’s growth and infant wrapping techniques
Through regular follow-ups and hands-on demonstrations like how to help a baby latch properly, and how to recognise hunger cues; Rumi gradually built confidence in her own childcare abilities. By six months, she could track vaccinations, monitor her baby’s growth, and mark milestones on a calendar. She absorbed information with curiosity and confidence.
Rumi began sharing her knowledge with others in her community. She encouraged mothers to care for themselves and their children. Her journey shows how knowledge, trust, and practical support can ripple through entire communities.
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Sakina, a mother of four: three daughters and one son. She lives in a big joint family. Postpartum, her diet was limited to dal, roti, and milk. Vegetables, fruits, eggs, and meat were absent, not by choice, but by fear. Water intake was low, barely a liter a day, sipped only during meals. The family believed water could cause a cold or illness in the newborn. She had received iron-folic acid tablets but did not know its significance and how to consume them.
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During home visits, ZealGrit’s facilitator used simple visual cues (customised pocket cards and 1000 Days calendars) and conversations around Sakina’s routines to talk about nourishment and recovery. Change came gradually. ZealGrit guided her respectfully, connecting new knowledge with traditional practices. Small demonstrations, like cooking together and showing how to include iron-rich food/IFA tablets in the daily diet, helped her see that healthy practices could fit within what her family already believed and ate.
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Engaging families to bridge caregiving knowledge gaps and foster collective learning
Over weeks, Sakina’s habits shifted. She drank 3–4 liters of water daily, expanded her diet to include vegetables like pumpkin and bitter gourd, and took iron-folic acid supplements regularly. She felt stronger and more energetic. Breastfeeding improved. Her mother-in-law, initially resistant, started accepting the new practices. A single household began to transform.
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Poonam, seven months pregnant and mother to a two-year-old, had little access to formal education or health services. Poonam lived with her husband and father-in-law.
When ZealGrit’s facilitators met her, she had not undergone a single antenatal check-up, not even during her previous pregnancy. With no one to care for her, she faced neglect and episodes of domestic violence. Her diet and pregnancy care were never a priority.
During home visits, we began by listening to her fears, her routines, and her family dynamics. Gradually, the facilitators started involving her husband and father-in-law in conversations about care during and after pregnancy. We started with simple conversations around the importance of antenatal check-ups, a balanced diet, and adequate rest, and explained how these could be achieved with everyone’s support.
Over four visits, change began to take shape. Her father-in-law took her to the hospital for her first ANC visit, a rare scenario in a rural area. Her husband started bringing home low-cost, nutritious foods like moringa leaves, beetroot, yam, and pumpkin, and even began helping with household chores.
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Poonam’s diet improved. Her energy returned. Her confidence grew. She was happier.
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Poonam’s first ANC visit
Community discussions
With continued support, she gave birth to a healthy baby weighing 3.5 kilograms. Today, the baby is growing fine, she is keeping well, and everyone is actively involved in child care. What began as small conversations grew into shared understanding and a home that learned to nurture, together.