153

Creating awareness about addiction for young people

Founded by Dr. Anil Desai, Dr. Lata Desai,

Dr. Dilip Desai, and Dr. Pratima Desai

in 1980

SEWA Rural, or the Society for

Education Welfare and Action Rural,

endeavours to reach and assist

the poorest of the poor through

health, medical and education

related service delivery and

research programmes for overall

and integrated development of

disadvantaged sections of rural, poor

and tribal society in general, and

of women, children and the elderly

in particular. It has been awarded

the SASAKAVA & Public Health

Champion Award from WHO, the

Mac Arthur Award, the SKOCH,

Digital Inclusion Award, the Bajaj

Award, and has an article written

about its excellent work in

Reader’s

Digest

in 1989.

   

,

four young professionals

determined to fulfil a dire need in the remote

Bharuch district of Gujarat. Illiteracy, poor

health infrastructure and poverty defined the

lives of local people with no succour from

government or voluntary organizations.

e fledgling NGO dived into the deep

end by providing preventive and curative

health services for the tribal community

through a small existing maternity home

that they took over. ese efforts won over

the people, providing access to quality

medical services almost free of cost. ‘Over

the years, like-minded professionals with

commitment and dedication to serve society

also started joining us, owning the spirit of

the organization. Soon the medical work

spilled beyond the four walls of the hospital,

providing community-based outreach

healthcare services at peoples’ doorsteps,’

says Dr. Pankaj Shah, Managing Trustee,

SEWA Rural.

SEWA Rural was the first NGO to partner

with the government to manage a PHC.

Since then, the organization has grown

SEWA Rural

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