AHMEDABAD: Late
Monday night in Boston, 25 students pursuing masters in public health
from Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health gathered post-dinner for
an important class.
At the same time, three Self Employed Women's Association (Sewa) workers assembled at their office in Ellis bridge early on Tuesday morning to impart lessons to the students on the cooperative body's work and on leadership. The interaction session conducted through Skype lasted for an hour.
The Harvard students from medical and legal backgrounds, which included 24 girls and one boy of Indian origin, posed questions to Pamila Parmar, president of Lok Swasthya SEWA Health Cooperative Ltd (LSSHCL) and two of her colleagues Subhadra Patel and Ayesha Pathan on their field of work and challenges they have faced.
The academic session was conducted by Paula Johnson, professor in the department of epidemiology of the institute. Two years back Paula had visited India and held interactions with Sewa workers and their experience in the women healthcare segment. "Some six months back, Paula along with Sewa prepared a joint case study titled `Self Employed Women's Association A sisterhood dedicated to change'.During the one-hour session we discussed this case study," said Mirai Chatterjee, director, Sewa Social Security . "We visit villages, create awareness on diseases like uterus and breast cancers and AIDS on a daily basis. Also we refer patients to primary health centres and if needed to civil hospitals," said Parmar who has been working in LSSHCL for last 14 years.
LSSHCL was established 25 years ago with 50 women members. Today it has 2,000 members and a turnover of Rs 5 crore. " Now we plan to set up Sewa Shakti Kendras in Ahmedabad, Surat and Tapi to educate women about healthcare," said Susan Thomas, coordinator, Sewa Healthcare and Child team.
At the same time, three Self Employed Women's Association (Sewa) workers assembled at their office in Ellis bridge early on Tuesday morning to impart lessons to the students on the cooperative body's work and on leadership. The interaction session conducted through Skype lasted for an hour.
The Harvard students from medical and legal backgrounds, which included 24 girls and one boy of Indian origin, posed questions to Pamila Parmar, president of Lok Swasthya SEWA Health Cooperative Ltd (LSSHCL) and two of her colleagues Subhadra Patel and Ayesha Pathan on their field of work and challenges they have faced.
The academic session was conducted by Paula Johnson, professor in the department of epidemiology of the institute. Two years back Paula had visited India and held interactions with Sewa workers and their experience in the women healthcare segment. "Some six months back, Paula along with Sewa prepared a joint case study titled `Self Employed Women's Association A sisterhood dedicated to change'.During the one-hour session we discussed this case study," said Mirai Chatterjee, director, Sewa Social Security . "We visit villages, create awareness on diseases like uterus and breast cancers and AIDS on a daily basis. Also we refer patients to primary health centres and if needed to civil hospitals," said Parmar who has been working in LSSHCL for last 14 years.
LSSHCL was established 25 years ago with 50 women members. Today it has 2,000 members and a turnover of Rs 5 crore. " Now we plan to set up Sewa Shakti Kendras in Ahmedabad, Surat and Tapi to educate women about healthcare," said Susan Thomas, coordinator, Sewa Healthcare and Child team.
