Thirty-two years back, a young doctor couple left their comfortable careers and moved to Sittilingi village in Dharmapuri, one of the most underdeveloped tribal areas in India then. The work that started from a clinic based out of a hurriedly built mud hut went on to completely transform the lives of the population in Sittilingi valley.
This is the story of Dr Regi and Dr Lalitha, who founded the NGO, Tribal Health Initiative in 1993.
Their top priority in the initial years was to bring down infant mortality and maternal mortality. One out of every five children born in the valley in those days used to die in the very first year.
Regi and Lalitha realized that getting the community to take ownership for their own health was the first step towards improving health indicators. They started by training local tribal girls as Health Workers. They also created another group of older women selected by their respective villages as Health Auxiliaries. That was when the transformation started. Infant mortality reduced by a factor of 3.
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However, the couple realized that for the health indicators to further improve, many other aspects that contribute to good health needs to be worked upon — nutrition and livelihood were both important factors for improving health.
In an inspiring conversation with Azim Premji Foundation’s RamG Vallath, Regi shares the step-by-step way in which they helped transform the community — by catalysing work on farming, processing, and marketing of organic produce; watershed; enhanced nutrition; and local governance.
It is an inspiring story — one that will make the listener spellbound with admiration and awe.