In Kalapur town in Uttar Pradesh, the vast majority were not in any way taking the second COVID-19 wave seriously, figuring it would pass similarly as the first wave — except Shakuntala — the lone community health entrepreneur in the town, who realized cases were quickly expanding and guaranteeing more lives to be taken.

“I felt like I had to do my part and save the village from turning into a COVID-19 hotspot. Healing Fields Foundation had set up a quarantine facility, and I got people with symptoms like fever, cough, and headache to quarantine immediately,” Shakuntala says, adding the village steered clear of any potential outbreak.”

indeed, Kalapur suffered only a couple of cases, which enlivened close-by towns to follow wellbeing estimates like keeping social separation and wearing veils.

32-year-old Suman Thakur, a local community health entrepreneur (CHE) since 2014 and later a basic care provider  (BSP) in Chhichhor town in UP — says the villagers were not enthusiastic about allowing migrant laborers to get back when COVID-19 previously broke out in March 2020.

She recalls, “Even the family members were ignoring them because they were worried about the children contracting COVID-19. I convinced the Panchayat and schoolmasters that we have to make some arrangements because they are our villagers and can’t just turn away. When they still wouldn’t unlock the schools, we made arrangements on the school terrace and supplied them with daily essentials with the help of Healing Fields Foundation.” 

Set up in 2000, Hyderabad-based non-benefit association Healing Fields Foundation was established by Mukti Bosco, who had imagined making medical services available in provincial India by making an organization of ladies as local area wellbeing business people.

(Mukti K bosco founder)

After nearly two decades, these endeavors finished in aiding provincial India battle the pandemic when most towns were unfit with the existing medical services framework.

The NGO’s flagship program has 5,000 women CHE, reaching 6.25 million individuals across 10 states.

These women have been trained as first healthcare responders, ensuring the COVID-19 situation remains under control in their respective villages. 

The World Economic Forum has recognized the work of these women and selected Healing Fields Foundation among India’s top 50 COVID-19 responders. 

Women empowerment

Mukti was seeking after her Masters in Healthcare Management from ASCI-Hinduja Institute-Johns Hopkins University when she found out about the failed condition of “medical services plans” in the wake of collaborating with local people at Charminar region in Hyderabad.

She recalls that a six-year-old had passed on the school to earn enough to pay the bills as the dad was sick with typhoid, and the family needed to return a credit of Rs 5000.

“My son was just five years old at the time, and I felt it was so unfair for such a young child to work 12 hours a day,” says Mukti — a 2017 Ashoka Fellow and the MSDS Woman Social Entrepreneur Award winner for 2009.

In different villages, she saw individuals willing to pay in return for a noble and supportive clinical framework reachable.

Following quite a while of preparation, gathering assets starting from the earliest stage, overseeing subsidizing difficulties, and the absence of expert abilities accessible, Mukti is satisfying the twin objectives of making medical services open in provincial India and making ladies monetarily free through it.

The NGO is run on gifts from a blend of unfamiliar and Indian associations and CSR gifts from corporate organizations. The majority of the COVID-19-related drives are upheld through publicly supported financing.

Walking on with nobility

37-year-old Shakuntala is a mother of three — two little girls and a boy — and lives with her husband and mother-in-law. She had spent a large portion of her life underneath a Ghunghat (veil) focusing just on family work.

She says, “As I started getting trained and cooperating with individuals and aiding those out of luck, the Ghunghat went up as did my confidence and certainty. My husband advised me just to zero in on the work and not enjoy others’ opinions.”

Meanwhile, individuals who used to scrutinize her for working, today regard her. At the point when not watching out for health-related crises, Shakuntala can be found going from one way to another, teaching individuals about the significance of taking the COVID-19 immunization, how it helps support resistance however not safeguard completely from the sickness, and how one should eat a long time before taking the jab.

“I am very grateful for the foundation for making me capable of serving anybody in need,” she says. 

Other than quick clinical intercessions, Healing Fields Foundation is instructing the rustic masses about feminine wellbeing through programs and the dispersion of sterile napkins, among others.

The association is currently hoping to dispatch telehealth administrations in more than 300 towns across Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Original refernce link: How 5K women from Healing Fields Foundation fought COVID-19 in rural India (yourstory.com)