Three couples went on a trip to Gudkhar Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat, on Diwali in 2009. Little did they know that the trip would be life-changing for them and the people of nearby villages. LifeBeyondNumbers got a chance to communicate with Viral Doshi, one of the members of the group.
“We intended to go on a trip to relax and enjoy. But, destiny had planned something else for us. Out of curiosity, we asked our guide about the nearby villages and the occupation of people living. He shared about the “Agariya” tribe residing in the nearby village. They worked on salt-making through the groundwater process.”
The couples were all curious about how salt is made through groundwater. The guide took them to the nearby villages, where they observed the process and met a few people. The villages were located amidst dessert in the Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. Seeing the heat and living conditions, they were curious about how they survived.
The whole process of making salt from groundwater is of 8 months, and it starts after the monsoon. All the couples were disturbed to see the conditions in which those people lived. The salt-making process required extreme efforts and hard work. They observed that people were aging quickly due to the environment in which they were working.
Low-income level, minimal amenities for health & education for kids, lack of nutritious food, and vegetables, milk, and higher death ratio were some of the main issues they noticed.
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A joyful trip was not that fun anymore. They left the Sanctuary with a lot of compassion and concern for the people there.
Extending Help
“This place was only at a location of 100kms from Ahmedabad and it felt like we were in the 18th Century. We came home and shared the scenario with our parents. Soon, we decided that whenever we plan to do something good, this will be the place we will contribute to. So like we normally do, we decided to take some food and clothing to go and help them. However, that was not what they needed.”
Before they decided to help, they got in touch with that guide and shared the idea. Luckily, he was in Ahmedabad and insisted on meeting them before they extended their help. When they met, the guide shared that it was a great idea to help. However, the village needed help in the Health sector. He requested them to do something in that aspect, if possible.
Viral Bhai and his family had no background in the health sector. None of their close relatives were in the medical field. This confused them initially, thinking about what can be done.
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But as they say, where there is a will, there is a way. They decided to get in touch with the doctors they knew and share their concerns. With their guidance, they started organizing medical camps in the Kharaghoda village.
They got a small space in the village where they took the needed staff and medicines for a health checkup. And this is how they began their work in 2009 with a medical camp and continued it till 2014. Monthly camps were conducted continuously for five years, and sometimes they were also conducted every 15 days in other nearby villages. 200-250 patients were examined in a single camp and given proper treatment.
The beginning of SETU!
Till now the activities were happening without any established entity. But, the time finally came when they decided to give a name to this group working for the salt workers. Here’s what Viral bhai shares about the initiative,
“As and when we shared about what we were doing with our friends or relatives, they would contribute to the cause. We had accumulated the funding for 2 years of medical camps in the initial months only. This gave us the confidence to go ahead. The elders involved in the whole planning advised forming a trust. So, in 2013 the trust was formed by the name SETU.”
SETU means a ‘bridge’. This trust was formed with an intention to become a bridge that converts the tears of people into smiles. After conducting many camps, the need for a permanent space in the village was raised. It was needed to store the medicines and conduct the activities regularly.
There was an empty bungalow amidst the village. It belonged to a salt trader who did not live there anymore. They got into a conversation with the owner. He happily gave them the space for SETU Charitable Trust till the organization is active. That was the beginning of SETU Arogya Kendra, and there was no looking back since then.
The journey of healing
The patients who needed special treatment for critical conditions were brought to Ahmedabad. They were given the needed treatment and financial support for the same. After a few years, they started to ponder upon the idea of telemedicine. It was the only way to bring the expertise of doctors without their physical presence to the village.
In 2017, they began with this experiment and were successful after lots of improvisation. Finally, they had a phase where telemedicine was successfully implemented. With the help of the paramedical staff at Arogya Kendra, they were able to treat patients through teleconsultation.
In absence of a laboratory nearby, treatments were getting delayed. With needed financial & technical help, it became a reality and they soon got a lab within the SETU Arogya Kendra in the village
Treatments became much easier and quicker with this development. To date, SETU has treated more than 1,25,000 patients and saved many lives. There have been situations wherein some patients were extremely critical. If treatment wasn’t given on time, it might have been hard to save them.
The whole group of trustees and ‘friends of SETU’ (volunteers) works with full dedication. They make sure to help each individual that visits SETU Arogya Kendra. Along with other organizations, SETU Charitable Trust has also worked on various other causes like food kit distribution, providing clean water, and education.
They are truly building a SETU – bridge to convert their tears to smiles!