SOCHARA Fellows

Dr. Viraj Bharambe is a graduate medical doctor from the UK. He trained at the University of Southampton and worked in a medical capacity for the past 2 years in Gloucestershire. He joined as a flexi-fellow in March and is interested in improving healthcare workforce distribution to rural areas and promoting rural career choices, particularly among allopathic doctors.

Dr. Amrita John is from Chennai, Tamil Nadu and is a graduate in Dentistry. She is also pursuing Diploma in Population Studies from International Institute of Population Studies, Mumbai. She has more than two years of experience practicing as a dentist and has worked in Khariar, Odisha; Chennai and Trichy, Tamil Nadu. Her area of interest is health promotion and she plans to pursue master’s degree in public health in the future. She joined CHLP as Flexi to learn about the community and community health from 6th Mar 2015 to 5th June 2015.

Ms Pooja Venkatesh is from Bangalore, Karnataka but grew up across multiple cities (Mexico, Dubai, Delhi) in classrooms that were a mix of languages, people and cultures. She has done her post-graduation in Human Development informed by an interest in phenomenological inquiry. She has worked as a programme coordinator at Bhasha Research and Publication Centre, on a project concerned with tribal conception of wellness in Sabarkanta and Dahod districts of Gujarat. The time spent she spent there, though brief, introduced her to the central role of languages in keeping alive indigenous knowledge systems, culture and ecology. Her areas of interest include auto-ethnotheories of experiential health, the body and mind; community/ indigenous knowledge systems and conceptions of selfhood, the body and ecological consciousness; epistemology and research methodologies in the social sciences.She joined CHLP to learn about key issues concerning community life; culture and the negotiation of change; the fieldwork process; and the chance to meet fellows from varied background.

Ms. Shashikala is from Chikkabalapur, Karnataka and is a post-graduate in Social Work. She has six months of experience working Corporate Social Responsibility project of ITC Company in Bengaluru. Her areas of interest include hygiene and sanitation, and women empowerment. She has joined CHLP to build her communication skills and to improve English knowledge. Her future plans is to undertake community work.

Ms. Anu Maria Jacob is from Chennai, Tamil Nadu and is a post-graduate in Master of Public Health. She has one year of work experiencewith the Spices Board of India prior to joining CHLP. She has joined CHLP learn more about and develop skills in communit

Mr. Samer Khan is from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh and is a graduate in Computer Application. He also has completed post-graduate program in Insurance Management. He has prior work experience of around 5 years working in different capacities including as Documentation Officer for Centre for Integrated Development on a project for eradication of child labour and has volunteered with various NGO’s. He joined CHLP to fulfill his quest for organised knowledge about health. In the future, he wants to work with indigenous communities and to learn from them. He also aspires to contribute to the Peoples Health Movement with his writing abilities.

Ms. Shanaz Begum C is from Bengaluru, Karnataka and is a post-graduate in Psychology. She has joined CHLP as it serves as a platform for her to understand the community in an appropriate way. Her area of interest is mental health on which she would like to work in the future.

Ms. Swetha Y is from Bengaluru, Karnataka and is a post-graduate in Psychology. She has joined CHLP to learn about grassroots level work and involving people in health, about NRHM and to improve her communication skills. Her area of interest is health issues of senior citizens. In the future, she would like to work on rural development and pursue her PhD in Psychology.

Mr. Azam Khan is from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh is a post-graduate in Economics and has also completed bachelor’s degree in Law. His area of interest is human rights and has seven years of experience in the social sector with a focus on human rights approach. He has joined CHLP to learn about health and research. He wants to work with the people in the future. His hobbies include football and reading articles and magazines on socio-political issues.

Mr. Kuleshwar Majhi is from Naupada, Odisha and is a post-graduate in Social Work. He has spent a year in Romania as a volunteer with a European Union initiative working on sports in schools. He has joined CHLP to develop his knowledge of community health and to learn about various aspects of the community. He is interested to work with youth on community development.

Kamlesh Sahu is from Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh and is a post-graduate in Social Work. He has also completed his post-graduate diploma in Rural Development and Computer Application. He has three years of experience working in education and health sectors. His areas of interest include child and youth programmes, and environment programmes. He has joined CHLP to increase his health knowledge and aspires to learn new knowledge. His future plans are to do social work with the community.

Ms Asha Begum is from Koppala, Karnataka and is a post-graduate in Social Work. She has undergone one month training on data collection as part of National Family Health Survey -4(NFHS-4). She came to know about CHLP through an alumnus and Sakhi Trust, Hospet. Her areas of interest include local health traditions, and woman and child development. She joined CHLP to learn about community health and for self-development. Her future plans are to work with any health organisation for community development.

Ms. Fatima is from Yadgir, Karnataka and is a post-graduate in Social Work. She has undergone one month training on data collection as a part of National Family Health Survey - 4(NFHS-4). Her area of interest is women and child development. She has joined CHLP to learn more about community health. She plans to work for the community and also explore teaching in the future.

Ms Aruna P is from Kolar, Karnataka and is a post-graduate in Social Work (Human Resources Management). She has 6 months of experience working with a project focusing on women empowerment. Her area of interest is research on women’s health. She has joined CHLP to learn more about community and community health. Her future plans include being a good citizen and facilitate solving problems faced by the community.

Mr. Anjaneya is from Chikkaballapur, Karnataka and is a post-graduate in Social Work. He has one year of experience working as a project coordinator in Manush Community Development Centre, Chintamani. His area of interest is sanitation. He has joined CHLP to know more about the community and community health, to build his career in social work field and to improve his English communication skills. His future plans include registering and running a NGO, and furthering his career in social work.

Ms Yomri is from East Siang, Arunachal Pradesh and is post-graduate in Social Work and has also done diploma in Human Rights. She has experience of one year working in a social work institution in Nepal. Her areas of interest include mental health among women and children, gender and cultural studies, and social stratification. She has joined CHLP to understand concept of community as a whole and to develop her skills in dealing with community. She wants to be a catalyst of change in the future.

Ms Uma is from West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh and has completed her Master of Pharmacy. Her area of interest is drug related issues. She joined CHLP to understand and learn about community health, and to sensitise, enable and motivate the community on rational drug use. Her future plans are to work on promoting rational use of drugs, manufacture of essential drugs to meet the needs of the country, rational prescription by doctors and rational dispensing.

Ms. Dala Akor is from East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya and is a post-graduate in Social Work. She has one and half years’ experience of teaching Social Work in Meghalaya. Her areas of interest include working with marginalised people and women in distress. She wants set herself apart in the process of empowering women, and would like to understand in-depth the diversity of different Indian communities. She joined CHLP to enhance her inside learning experience, to understand more in depth the community health perspective and to be able to implement the knowledge into practice. In the future she would like to be scholar activist.

Mr. Khirod Sahu is from Angul, Odisha and is a post-graduate in Business Administration. He has worked as an assistant commercial executive in a brass manufacturing company for two years. His areas of interest are community mobilization, public relation activities, communication and dissemination of Information, monitoring and evaluation. He wants to equip himself with advanced knowledge in public health and effectively contribute for the betterment of the society. He wants to work for organizations where there is an opportunity for personal development and also provides equal chance to contribute effectively to the community health development.

Mr. Jaison K Sebastian is from Kannur, Kerala and is a post-graduate in Social Work. His area of interest is child and youth empowerment. He joined CHLP to understand community health, its relevance in the present context and its future. His future plans are to build a career in heath sector and promote community health.

Dr Rajeev B R is from Bengaluru, Karnataka and is a post graduate in Dental Public Health. He has worked earlier as a research assistant in the Oral health unit at World Health Organisation Head Quarters, Geneva, Switzerland and part time lecturer at KVG Dental College, Sullya, Karnataka. His areas of interest include social Determinants of health, oral health inequalities and epidemiology, health promotion, environmental sciences and health, anthropology- cultural and social influences on health, health care delivery systems, political sociology, health economics, health policy and advocacy.He has joined CHLP so as to broaden his perspective, which is needed to work on public health, from the basic tool set provided by the education curriculum where he has studied. He feels that it would be very helpful for him to see the public health problems in India from a different perspective. He is positive about the experience that he will gain in SOCHARA will allow him to work with more confidence to deal with health problems at field level and also to effectively plan out programs to combat the same. His future plans are to continue his research career by pursuing a PhD in Oral health care delivery system in India.

Ms. Shangmi is from Chandel, Manipur and is a post graduate in Social Work. Her areas of interest include mental health, women and child health. She joined CHLP to increase her knowledge in the realm of health and to develop skills of working with the community on health at different levels. Her future plans include being engaged in a community where people need her.

Ms. Balentina is from Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya and a Post-graduate in Social Work with specialization in Community Development. She has three months of work experience with Bethany Society, Shillong. Her areas of interest include community health of tribal; women and children health. She has joined CHLP in order to enhance her knowledge on community health specially community monitoring and to improve her learning skills. Through the programme she aspires to build a network with the experts and organization dealing or working or having similar objectives as her. In the future she wants to engage with the marginalised and vulnerable people in order to improve their health condition.

Anusha graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas with a degree in Molecular Biology and minor in Computer Science. Prior to joining SOCHARA, she had over three years of experience in various biomedical research and healthcare settings the United States. She worked as a research assistant in genetics and computational biology at UT Dallas, research technician in translational cancer research at UT Southwestern Medical Center and medical scribe at Legacy ER (Texas). Anusha, a native of Bangalore, joined SOCHARA as a CHLP fellow to expand her understanding of health from a lens alternative to the dominant biomedical perspective. Her research interests are understanding the determinants of chronic diseases and the role of healthcare systems and communities in managing them, particularly in urban slums. She is also interested in mental health, health promotion and alternative health systems.

Pawan Vishwakarma is from Harda, Madhya Pradesh and is a post-graduate of Social Work. He has experience working on awareness generation in women community groups andself-help group formation, village level and block level group development, Elected Women Leadership Development, poor and vulnerable community development, and supporting education programs and communications program. He is also adept at operating video camera and video documentation. His areas of interest include community mental health, sanitation, child rights, communicable and non-communicable diseases. He plans to work for the development of poor and vulnerable community in the future. His hobbies include puppet making, playing cricket, listening to music.

Krishna Pratap Singh is from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh and is a post-graduate in Economics. He has over nine years of experience as a Health Educator, Health Promotion Programme with Ramakrishna Mission Home of Service. His area of interest is Research.

Phool Singh is from Alwar, Rajasthan and is currently pursuing his Masters in Sociology from University of Rajasthan. He has over seven years of experience and was working as Master with DoosraDashak, Alwar. Prior to joining the Community Health Learning Program (CHLP) earlier worked with Gayandeep Public School, Alwarand as an Assistant Praira with Government LitracyPrograme in SarwajanicPustkalya and Watchnalya, Alwar. His area of interest is women and child health.

Rahul Pandit is from Khargone, Madhya Pradesh and is a post-graduate in Social Work. He has five years of experience and was working as District Coordinator with Asha Gram Trust Badwani under the Akshaya Project on Tuberculosis in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh prior to joining the Community Health Learning Program (CHLP) and earlier worked as a Coordinator with PrimeOne Workforce Pvt. Ltd. Indore. His areas of interest include child nutrition, sanitation and NGO management.

Syed. Toseef Husain is from Raisen, Madhya Pradesh and is currently pursuing Masters course from Barkatullah University, Madhya Pradesh. He has seven years of experience and was working as a Village Coordinator with Sabjan Vikaas Seva Samiti prior to joining the Community Health Learning Program (CHLP) and earlier worked as a high school teacher and was involved in running a minority scholarship help center. His areas of interest include mental health, livelihood and health education. His hobbies include reading books, making new friends, travelling and social service.

Ashma Jahan is from Rewa, Madhya Pradesh and is post-graduate in Social Work. She has more than six years of experience and was working as Research Assistant in Janani Suraksha Yojana with R.D. Gardi Medical College, Ujjain prior to joining the Community Health Learning Program (CHLP) and has experience working as an investigator with ORG Center for Social Research, Madhya Pradesh; Investigator in “Audit of Annual Health Survey” with Taleem Research Foundation in Madhya Pradesh& Uttar Pradesh; Research Investigator with National Institute of Nutrition on Health & Nutrition of (0-5yrs)project, Madhya Pradesh; Research Investigator, District Level Household Survey-3, Madhya Pradesh; Global Adult Tobacco Survey by QUI PACK in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh; Supervisor in Palak Mahila Jagran Samiti, Madhya Pradesh; Supervisor in “RCH” AIDS control program in Madhya Pradesh. Her areas of interest include health, education, women empowerment and urban &rural development.

Aphasana Khan is from Alwar, Rajasthan and holds a Diploma in Electrical Engineering. She has experience of over 1 year with Dusra Dashak as a Master Trainer in project for girls’ education and as a Life Skills education trainer. Her areas of interest are women and child health, social work and research. Her hobbies include listening to music and news, and reading books.

Amarendra Kumar is from Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh and is a post graduate in Sociology. He has over nine years of experience and was working as community based rehabilitation (CBR) worker prior with Kiran Society, Varanasi prior to joining the Community Health Learning Program (CHLP), and earlier worked as a medical staff with Usmani Hospital, Allahabad and as CBR worker with Manav Seva Kendra, Naugarh. His areas of interest are community health programme, RCH programme and malnutrition.

Jyothi Lakshmi CR is from Thrissur, Kerala and holds an MPhil in Social work. She has experience of over ten years and was working as Psychosocial Consultant at Empower Global Society, Bangalore prior to joining the Community Health Learning Program (CHLP), and earlier worked as Medical Social Worker in Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Cochin and was also the Head of Department of Social Work at Ansar Women’s College, Thrissur. Her areas of interest include end of life care issues (Medical Ethics), mental health of adolescent boys and environmental health. She joined CHLP to expand her intellectual and emotional horizons so that she can develop a strong commitment to social change that promotes equity and justice in the field of health, and also to fight in her own way for the removal of inequalities and injustices in the determinants of health. Though she does not have specific hobbies she is interested in reading, cooking and gardening.

Huntiful Lyngdoh Marshillong is from West Khasi Hills, Meghalaya is a post-graduate in Social Work. She has work experience of four months as a Volunteer in Social Audit of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in Ribhoi district, Meghalaya. Her area of interest is women, children and adolescent health. She joined the Community Health Learning Program to get an in depth knowledge about community health, and to learn to deal and work with people in the community about health problems. She intends to be a school health worker and a health activist in the future. Her hobbies include gardening, playing guitar, cooking, reading, helping my parents in their work and travelling.

Regina Ryngnga is from East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya and is a post-graduate in Social Work. She has work experience of four months as a Volunteer in Social Audit of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in Ribhoi district, Meghalaya. Her area of interest is women, children and adolescent health. She joined the Community Health Learning Program to get in-depth information about the Community Health and to explore the community to get a better understanding about health problems so that she can serve better the people in need. She aspires to become a Counselor for adolescents and also to work on nutrition related issues in the future. Her hobbies include listening to music, dancing, cooking, gardening, listening stories, being and playing with children.

Vishan Devda is from Harda, Madhya Pradesh and is a graduate in Biology. He has experience of 3years working with Synergy Sansthan in Madhya Pradesh. His areas of interest include maternal and child health, and malnutrition among those living in rural and tribal area. He joined Community Health Learning Program to learn about community problems and conditions and to equip himself with skills. He intends to work on Community Health and Rural Development in the future. His hobbies include reading and singing.

Juliat Angel Shangrit is from West Khasi Hills, Meghalaya and is a post-graduate in Social Work. She has joined Community Health Learning Program (CHLP) following her post-graduation. Her areas of interest include health of women and children, and sanitation. She joined CHLP because is an opportunity for her to explore and develop her knowledge to build the community. She aspires to work for vulnerable and marginalized people in the future. Her hobbies include travelling and listening to music.

Dr Bharti Shekhar Sahu is from Raipur, Chhattisgarh and is a graduate of Dental Sciences. She has experience of two years and was working as a Medical Officer at Medi Assist India Pvt. Ltd prior to joining the Community Health Learning Program (CHLP) and earlier worked as a Medical Consultant at HealthcareMagic.com. Her area of interest is women and child health. She joined CHLP to work at grass root level for the needy people. She intends to further her career in Public Health in the future. Her hobbies include photography and music.

Saraswathi S is from Madurai, Tamil Nadu and is a post-graduate in Social Work (Community Development). She has work experience of 5 Months working in DEEPS, Dharmapuri. Her areas of interest include health of women and children living in rural and tribal areas. She joined the Community Health Learning Program to learn about community problems and conditions and to equip her skills. Her future plans are to work for the disadvantaged people. Her hobbies include reading and listening music.

Yashoda G is from Bellary, Karnataka and is a post-graduate in Social Work. She has work experience of more than two years and was working as a Field Researcher in Mahila Samakhaya Karnataka in Bellary prior to joining the Community Health Learning Program (CHLP) and earlier worked as a Community Organizer with Myrada. Her area of interest is women’s education. She aspires to continue in the field of social work in the future. She joined CHLP for increasing her knowledge about Community and Health,and also to improve her English communication skills. Her hobbies include reading books, gathering information in net.

Asma S is from Bellary, Karnataka and is a post-graduate in Social Work. She has experience of two years as a Counselor in St. Mary’s Hospital, Bellary in a project related to HIV/AIDS. Her area of interest is malnutrition and plans to work in the future on the same issue. She joined Community Health Learning Program to learn about community health and conditions experienced by people, and to gain knowledge on community health. Her hobbies include reading books and listening to songs.

Sabeena Lyngdoh is a post graduate in Social work from Martin Luther Christian University [MLCU]. She is a keen learner who wants to learn about community Communitisation; to identify community’s problems with them, and through community empowerment and in future she hopes to improve community participation in North east by health education and health promotion of the community as a whole by community action for health.

Chongneithem Lhouvum is originally from Manipur, living presently in Shillong, Meghalaya has completed Bachelors in Arts, Political Science Honors from St Mary’s College and Masters in Social Work, Martin Luther Christian University [MLCU]. She is friendly and likes meeting people, networking and is passionate about women and children’s Health. Would like to expand her work to FSW, people living with HIV/AIDS She is Interested in community mental health in rural and urban areas with a special focus on adolescent and youth health promotion and suicide prevention program while working in North East

Ms Nandaris Marwein hails from South West Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya, India. She came from a matrilineal society where women inherit the property of their parents. She is MSW with many field work experiences. Marwein was working as Programme Manager in one Targeted Intervention for Female sex workers implemented by Meghalaya AIDS control society and now a faculty at Martin Luther Christian University, Shillong

Banri is a lively folk singer from Cherrapunjee, Meghalaya. She has a PG degree in MSW from Martin Luther Christian University [MLCU]. She loves traveling and adventure sports. She is interested in Communitisation

Mr. Suresh N., is a Master's degree holder in the field of Social Work from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. He was previously a care giver, whose area of interest is communitization process across the country. His main focus is to minimize private interventions and enhance the government services with voluntarism, with respect to Community Mental HEalth (Mental Illness and Mental Retardation). Suresh also has a passion to understand how music therapy can work for the same.

R. Venkatesan from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. A community health worker, from Social Work background pursuing Ph.D in social sciences in Health from JNU. His areas of interest include Environment, Health, Social Movements, Communatization, Sociology of health and Medical Pluralism. He is also interested in Music, Movies and Modern Tamil literature. He worked with SOCHARA-CEU team under CAH project. He is a good writer and published two books, collection of prograssive songs written by him as two audio CDs recently.

Lekshmy hails from Thiruvananthapuram has completed MSC Homescience and finished one year of training and working as a dietician. As a fresher in community health and public health and wants to learn more. Interested in elderly health and community nutrition. Her future ambition is to do something for the society, mainly for elderly people. Her hobbies are dancing, music and chatting with friends. She also wants to learn more about communitisation.

Mr. Suraj Sarvode a software engineer having completed his BE in Computer Science, has worked as a software engineer in MNCs for over five years. He has a deep desire to work among orphans and vulnerable children in the field of HIV/AIDS. He has been a group leader and served as a volunteer at YRG Care, Chennai, an NGO working amongst people living with HIV/AIDS. He works as an Assistant Programme Manager at Asha Kirana, Mysore, a voluntary not-for profit charitable trust with a hospital engaged in pioneering work in the field of HIV/AIDS in Karnataka.

Dr, Vidya D has done her Bachelor of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences (Indian Systems of Medicine) from the Rajiv Gandhi University, Bangalore. She works as an AYUSH consultant. She has done studies in yoga and hydrotherapy. She has actively participated in health camps and takes yoga classes.

Dr Sushmit Dias completed his BDS from CMC Ludhiana. He has worked as a medical officer at Christian Medical Society’s Christian Hospital, Nowrangpur, Orissa under the Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church JELC, Koraput, Orissa. He has worked as a consultant dentist and a lecturer at various dental colleges. He has a keen passion to work in community health.

Mr. J.S. Santhosh has completed his Masters of Social Work from Loyola College, University of Chennai. He has taken an active role in many community-based programmes prior to joining his internship. He is keen to take up a career in the field of community health.

Ms. Shireen Sureksha has completed her BSc Nursing studies and is working as a lecturer in a nursing college. She is interested in the field of community health with a focus on mental health and therefore joined the CHLP.

Mr. Mallikarjuna K. is from Bellary, Karnataka. He has done his Masters in Psychology. He worked as community facilitator in KHPT SANKALPA. During his internship, he expanded his knowledge on the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and the concept of health and health rights. He coordinated meetings and trainings in Bellary and Belagaum districts as part of the JAAK. He is currently working with Dr.Ajay, Punyakoti Foundation, Hospet to address the rights of persons with mentally illness. He is working for Punyakoti Foundation as Counsellor cum Community Resource person, working on Mental health.

Ms. P. Shobha is from Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu. She has done her MSW in Community Development. She worked with Shanthi Nilayam, Nagercoil, Community Health Development Project, Nagercoil, Nala Oli, Voluntary Health Association of Kanyakumari (VHAK), Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA India), Nagercoil and the Indian Red Cross Society, Nagercoil. She was associated with the Community action for health project in Agastheewaram block in Kanyakumari district. She focused on creating awareness on sanitation among children, community members and Village Health and Sanitation Committee members. She is exploring various options as a trainer.

Mr. Hanumanthappa who hailed from Davangere, Karnataka was associated with the Karnataka chapter of the People’s Health Movement (PHM) and his focus of work was on issues related to Disability, Right to Information Act, HIV/AIDS, TB and NREGA. He joined CHLP in 2010, learnt about Determinants of Health, Health as a Human Right and Disability and post fellowship he continued to work in Davangere to support people’s struggles for their rights including work with people with disability.

Mr. Ganesh S. comes from Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. He has a Masters in Social Work and M.Phil in Social Work. As part of the internship, he was involved in the Community action for health project in Perambalur district, Tamil Nadu. He coordinated the district level meetings and trainings. He also conducted trainings for the Federation members of the Village health and sanitation committee members in Thirumannur block. He developed a module on Panchayati raj for the VHSC members. He is currently preparing to take the Indian Administrative Services exams.

Ms. Shivamma A. has a Masters Degree in Women’s Studies and has a B.Ed. She worked for Sakhi where she was involved in conducting surveys of PHCs and understanding women’s’ health especially from the unorganized sector. As part of her internship, she mapped out the challenges of women workers in the health social sector (ASHAs, Anganwadi teachers and self- help group members) at the community. Through the study of malnutrition in a village in North Karnataka, her understanding of the challenges of access to food at the household level was critical to her reflection on community health. She is currently pursuing her PhD.

Mr. Madhappan M hails from Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu and has an M.Sc. in Zoology and B.Ed. During his internship, he was involved in creating awareness through trainings and cultural jatha on the NRHM services in villages of Nallampalli block, Dharmapuri district. He also mapped the nutrition schemes available at the village level and developed a manual explaining the services and redressal mechanisms of all government programmes related to improving nutrition of households. He is exploring options in Dharmapuri district as a community health resource person.

Ms. Manjula is from Raichur, Karnataka and has done her Masters in Sociology. She worked in the Child Labour School, SEVA, Raichur as a teacher. When she worked Nava Jeevana Mahila Okkoota as a community organizer, she helped women to start one of the first Dalit womens Co-operative Society. She helped in developing a cadre of local karyakartas to take up the issues of ‘Violence on women’. This involved creating awareness and taking steps to stop devadasi system, child marriages, child labour and domestic violence. She developed research, analysis and critical thinking skills by coordinating a study to understand the nutritional status of households in a rural village in Raichur district. She is involved in advocacy at grass roots, district and state level on the issues of – Right to Food (RFC), Right to Health and Right to Employment. She is working with the Nava Jeevana Mahila Okkoota,Raichur. She is also working with the JMS team, Pothnal to strengthen their capacities.

Ms. Sejal Parikh hails from Ahmedabad, Gujarat. She has a bachelor’s degree in engineering in Electronics and Communications. She has been a volunteer in the ‘Struggle against GM foods’, Health related initiatives in some of the slums of Noida, Flood relief activities for Bihar and Orissa. She has also contributed to Zero Waste Management initiatives of Association for India’s Development (AID) Bangalore. During the internship, she was part of the national coordination team of the Right to Food Campaign and visited Bihar and Madhya Pradesh to understand people’s struggles for their basic rights. She continues to support the Right to Food Campaign and is working with the Jagrut Adivasi Dalit Sanghatan (JADS) in Barwani district, Madhya Pradesh

Dr. Rohini Devakrupanidhi is a dentist from Bidar, Karnataka. She worked as a Dental Surgeon for seven years before joining CHLP. She wants to work with communities especially with children and increase their awareness about health services

Mr. Anand Kumar has a Masters degree in Clinical Research. He worked in a pharmaceutical company for one year as a Clinical Research Associate. He calls himself a political activist with an experience of three and half years with the New Socialist Alternative (Indian section of the Committee for Workers International). He is also on the editorial board of the group’s bimonthly newspaper Dudiyoora Hoorata (Worker’s Struggle). During his internship, he gained deep insights into the issues of unorganized worker groups and was associated with the FEDINA, an organization in Bangalore in understanding collectivization of the women Agarbatti workers. He has joined the Centre for Studies in Ethics and Rights (CSER), Mumbai and is working on sociological research in pharmaceutical policies

Ms. Tejaswini Santosh Tathe has a MSW (Community Development) and worked as counsellor in AIDS Awareness programmes in Maharashtra. She was trainer and community organizer in the Drought prone Area Project of Hind Swaraj Trust in Ralegan Siddhi district, Maharashtra. She had gained a deeper understanding of malnutrition in a community and the challenges in addressing it through her internship

Ms. Tanuja Sharmi is associated with the Manipur Positive Women’s Network for the last five years. During the internship, she has gained an understanding of the women’s movements in India and has been able to network with many groups working on issues like violence against women and women’s health. She is keen to raise awareness of the reproductive health issues of women in Manipur.

Ms. Snehalatha D. completed her BSW in Dharwad, Karnataka and is pursuing MSW. She hails from the family of a well-known dalit activist and poet in Karnataka. She worked in Koppal and Raichur Districts prior to her joining the CHLP. She was one of the district resource persons for the pilot programme on Community Monitoring under the NRHM in Raichur district during 2008-09. During CHLP, she was with the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement to understand the community health programme for reproductive health. She undertook field visits in Raichur and Bagalkote districts to understand the health issues of communities affected by the floods. She is currently working as the convenor for an organization called Citizens for Social Justice in Bangalore

Ms. Shelley Dhar hails from Guwahati, Assam. She has a Masters in Political Science. She began her fellowship with the interest in exploring different strategies of communities in advocacy for health and the role of the state and civil society in this process. She is working with the Action North East Trust, Bongaigaon district, Assam as a coordinator of an initiative called IDeA. IDeA works as a training institute for other NGO’s in the North East.

Ms. Mary Julie is associated with the Positive Women’s Network in Tamil Nadu providing training in life skills education, developing modules and event management for children affected by HIV/AIDS. She gained perspectives on community health and also a much broader understanding of the issues of children with HIV/AIDS from their view point and therefore how children’s rights has to be addressed. She and her husband Jeyapaul (CHLP alumnus of 1st batch) have started a centre for child development focusing on Health and Educational needs of orphans and vulnerable children in the community. The Centre is named “NALAM (which means well-being) Child Development Centre in Tiruchengode Taluk of Namakkal district (Tamil Nadu).

Ms. Jaya Rajbongshi is a graduate of Arts. Her experience range from being a National Service Volunteer, field researcher, working with Self Help Groups, research assistant, counseling and women’s empowerment in Assam. She has worked with the Action Northeast Trust (the ANT), in organizing the women of the internally displaced communities at Deosri, Assam and identifying their concerns. As part of the internship, she has learnt about the challenges of community health work and about the services of the NRHM and challenges in providing health care. After the internship, she is associated with the ANT as Health Training coordinator

Ms. Bhavya Reddy has a Bachelor of Arts in Development Studies. She was an intern at the Public Health and Communication and Development (PHCD), Addis Ababa. She also worked with the Dwarkanath Reddy Ramanarpanam Trust (DRRT) and Association for Voluntary Action and Service (AVAS) where she worked with the urban poor. She keenly pursued her exploration about population policies and reproductive rights of women during her internship. She currently works as a research associate in a project looking at Health Policy, Gender Equity and Maternal Health issues at the Centre for Policy Studies, Indian Institute for Management, Bangalore.

Ms. Sudha Nagavarapu is an electronics engineer and her work in a medical device factory exposed her to the larger politics of health care. She has been involved with Association for India’s Development (AID), US and in environmental and political issues in Minnesota, US which taught her about community initiatives and social implications of government policy. She has conducted workshops on Politics of Development for the AID chapters and coordinated a mega-workshop at the AID 2009 Conference along with her partner. She was associated with an organization called SKMS (Sangtin Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan), in itapur, Uttar Pradesh.

Ms. Savitri L.P. had been with the Vimukti Social Cell and Jagrutha Mahila Sangatana, Potnal (Raichur district, Karnataka) as a volunteer. During the CHLP, she worked in Raichur district to enhance capacities of communities and Village Health and Sanitation Committees on aspects of community monitoring of public health services as part of the NRHM. After her internship, she was working with the Jagrutha Mahila Sangatana, a Dalit women’s organization, for two months. She then worked with Agricultural Development Training Society (ADTS), Baggepalli, Chikkabalapur district (Karnataka), as an extension worker to facilitate livelihoods of the villagers. She joined Seva Trust for the Blind in Ranibennur, Haveri District (Karnataka) for six months. She is presently the Project Director for a government project addressing and seeking interventions on issues of trafficking in women and children.

Mr. Jeyapaul Sunder Singh S. has a post-graduate degree in NGO Management from Madurai Kamaraj University. He is associated with the Positive Women’s Network (PWN+) in Chennai. He is passionate about improving the lives of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) affected by HIV and AIDS in a rural community of Namakkal District. Along with his wife, Ms. Mary Julie (CHLP alumnus of 2nd batch), they have established a centre for child development focussing on Health and Educational needs of orphans and vulnerable children in the community. The Centre is named “NALAM (which means well-being) Child Development Centre in Tiruchengode taluk of Namakkal District (Tamil Nadu)

Ms. Varsha H. Gaikwad, is the President of the Positive Women’s Network, Maharashtra. She is working as Counsellor at the ART Centre in IGGMC, a government hospital in Nagpur. She worked with the People’s Health Movement and has taken the learning from various Community Health initiatives in Maharashtra to build the Positve Women’s Network (PWN) in Maharashtra. She strives to build the capacity of the Positive Women’s Network, Maharashtra in addressing issues of people living with HIV-AIDS. She is instrumental in expanding the PWN to five district level networks in Maharashtra

Sr. Ria Emmanuel, a nursing professional, is working with the hospital of the Holy Cross Congregation in Chickmagulur as the Administrator. She is responsible for ensuring that the health services reach out to the needy and coordinates all the community outreach work. She is responsible to implement the government national health programmes and the hospital conducts mobile clinics in 10 villages under the National Rural Health Mission

Dr. Adithya P. has completed his MBBS at St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore. He had focused on understanding the various dimensions and linkages of environment, development and health during the internship. His internship reflected his engagement with pollution affected and marginalized communities as well as his ability to perform meaningful research. He worked as a Research Assistant in the Regional Occupational Health Centre, Indian Council of Medical Research, Bangalore. He contributed to data collection, analysis and report writing of various projects, specifically working on issues of landfills and occupational health of unorganized workers in rural areas. He later joined Centre for Public Health and Equity (CPHE), a unit of SOCHARA, as Research and Training Assistant. He has taken up projects in the field of environment, agriculture and health. He is also assisting workers groups who have occupational health related issues. He also facilitated sessions on Environment and Occupational Health in the CHLP, Bangalore and Community Health Fellowship Programme in Bhopal. He has just completed the Masters in Environmental Health & Public Health course at the London School for Health and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

BAMS

Dr. Arun Guptha studied Medicine in Russia, Moscow. After few years of Graduation with the support and inspiration of Fr. Claude D’Souza he joined the Fellowship. During his association with CHLP he explored the Dalit issues, Manual Scavenging, Appropriate Technologies for Health, Hunger and Health, child sexual abuse and other Community challenges. He did his field posting in Navasarjan in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. After completing his fellowship he was working as a community practitioner and passed away in a tragic road accident

The Society for Community Health Awareness, Research and Action (SOCHARA) and its functional units have promoted a people-centred paradigm for health and development, envisioned through a community health movement and a community health approach to public health problems. Two decades into its inception, SOCHARA continues to participate and strengthen health movements in India and around the world, supporting and engaging with people, communities, professional bodies and governments for equitable health and development, towards the goal of ‘Health for All’.

The Society for Community Health Awareness, Research and Action (SOCHARA) and its functional units have promoted a people-centred paradigm for health and development, envisioned through a community health movement and a community health approach to public health problems. Two decades into its inception, SOCHARA continues to participate and strengthen health movements in India and around the world, supporting and engaging with people, communities, professional bodies and governments for equitable health and development, towards the goal of ‘Health for All’.

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The Society for Community Health Awareness, Research and Action (SOCHARA) and its functional units have promoted a people-centred paradigm for health and development, envisioned through a community health movement and a community health approach to public health problems. Two decades into its inception, SOCHARA continues to participate and strengthen health movements in India and around the world, supporting and engaging with people, communities, professional bodies and governments for equitable health and development, towards the goal of ‘Health for All’.