Right To Life And Health For Kids And Pregnant Women In Chhatisgarh

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It was 13th January 2016. While I was in field work as part of Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellowship (PMRDF), in remote tribal pocket of Malkangiri District of Odisha, I got a call from Naresh, a fellow PMRDF for Sukma District of Chhattisgarh.. He said he has something important to share. We were in intense naxal affected areas, he was in Dornapal & I was in Podia regions. It's the perennial Sabari River that divides the two districts. He crossed the river by boat & showed a picture from his mobile, which we can never forget for our lives. What is thought to be only a Sub-Saharan African phenomenon was witnessed that day in this part of Central India, horrific site of a Severe Acute Malnourished kid. It has shaken our conscience.

Two days to this incident, the kid has expired despite our efforts to bring the kid to the District Hospital for treatment.

This is not just one case; the malnutrition rate of this District is 40%, as per official records , unofficially 50% plus only. Konta block, within which the Dornapal is located, itself has 70% plus malnourished kids. Due to the intense conflict between Naxal & security forces and poor infrastructure, there are hardly any Non government organizations working (or interested to work) in this region in healthcare.

We have decided to take it as a life time mission, to ensure every kid grows healthy & reach their full potential, both physical and mental ability, in this remote, LWE affected area.

The Challenge we had:

Due to the consistent support of the then District Collector, Niraj Kumar Bansod, IAS and Mr B.Sudhakar, DPO, WCD, we, through my I DO ngo,  have initiated a pilot project in Sukma in Sep-2016 in 3 villages, to create a model that can prevent malnutrition, diagnose the kids & treat the malnourished kids

Many of you are aware of the recent news that shook the nation, Burkapal incident, where about 25 CRPF jawans were martyred in this region. Not just that, the decades of conflict in this region, has already consumed many hundreds of Kids, before they could call their parents and many more Pregnant Mothers, before they could witness their baby’s birth cry.

Let us join hands to ensure the Right to Life & Health for the kids and Pregnant Women.

Note: Dear partners , we are open for any kind of audit.