Key issues plaguing the area are access to good public health centers, access to quality education, and also nutrition; especially taking the impact of Covid-19 into consideration. In a short span of time, the foundation has achieved many milestones. The nearby tribal population now has access to information about menstrual hygiene and reproductive issues without any shame or shyness. And the info
rmation is now available in nearby towns, colleges, and girls’ hostels. Powered by the vision of Maya Vishwakarma, Sukarma Foundation is now aiming for multiple outreaches in the areas of public health, menstrual hygiene, women’s empowerment, nutrition, and education. There are three key initiatives that Sukarma Foundation engages in to further it’s goal of general well being of its catchment population:
1. Women’s Health & Hygiene: The foundation’s initial focus was on women’s health and menstrual hygiene. To make a positive difference, Sukarma currently manufactures sanitary pads and distributes them to rural women at highly subsidized prices of about half of the prevalent market prices. With 10-12
women from local communities helming the manufacturing process, the pad-making factory has produced nearly 500,000 sanitary pads since it first began in November 2017. This initiative currently benefits women across the country, including
far-flung states like Rajasthan, Kerala, and Maharashtra.
2. Telemedicine: Before the impact of covid, Maya, had set up a telemedicine center in Mehragaon village district Narsinghpur, MP which catered to the primary health care (PHC) and medical consulting needs of the local populace. Due to the impact of covid, they had to repurpose the telemedicine center into a primary covid care facility by adding beds and including equipment
like oxygen concentrators, SPO2 measuring devices, masks, sanitizers, and adding covid related medicines in their repertoire. Due to the unavailability of primary healthcare in their vicinity. Using advances in technology and with the help of the passionate and humane doctors in Jaipur, a city in India, Sukarma Foundation has started a telemedicine center in Mehergaon, a remote village in the Narsinghpur district of Madhya Pradesh. With over 250 patients in the past six months, the telemedicine center has proved to be a boon for families that are worried about the costs of basic health and fighting the risk of an empty stomach.
3. Education: Sukarma Foundation also works on
initiatives in the education sector, with activities
including providing computer-related education to
rural school kids as well as building school buildings as a center for education. The idea is to have classrooms from 1st grade to 12th grade in one building in the school as this location is at the center of the village.
