Roche Diagnostics India has joined hands with the Society for Human and Environmental Development (SHED) to make a difference in a region of Maharashtra, India, where over 30% of the rural population comprises tribals. The company has adopted 17 villages in Palghar district, and is addressing the challenges faced by the tribal population in healthcare, education, and economic empowerment through Project Roshni. Already, over 8,000 families have benefited from healthcare, education, and livelihood support, with a 75% reduction in infant mortality.
Additionally, Roche Diagnostics India is empowering women through skill development and entrepreneurship programs.
In an interview with TheCSRUniverse, Manjira Sharma - Head Communications and CSR, Roche Diagnostics India & Neighbouring Markets, sheds further light on the multifarious work her organisation is doing to change societal attitudes towards women and improve their financial, physical, and social independence through skill development and entrepreneurship programs.
Scroll down to read the full interview.
Q: What were the biggest challenges faced by the villagers in terms of healthcare, education, and economic empowerment that motivated Roche Diagnostics India to adopt seventeen villages in Palghar? What impact and success have Roche CSR initiatives had in these villages?
A: In Maharashtra, a mere 100- 150 kms away from Mumbai, villages from Palghar district have a tribal population who have suffered from poverty and neglect for a very long time. There is poor access to healthcare, education, and economic empowerment especially women are the most afflicted and marginalised. Women and children suffer from various deficiencies including Vitamin A, D, anaemia, malnutrition etc., leading to ailments such as poor immunity, anaemia, sickle cell anaemia, menstrual disorder, osteoporosis, thyroid, skin diseases and more. To address this issue, Project Roshni was initiated in 2015 along with Society for Human and Environmental Development (SHED), our NGO partner, to ensure healthcare access and livelihood empowerment programmes for women in Palghar district of Maharashtra.
Below are the measures taken to empower, uplift and build a healthy community in the district:
- Regular health screening for HB count, thyroid, and menstrual health.
- Provide nutrition and healthcare support to women by way of doctor visits and examination as well as medicines and nutrition support.
- Awareness programmes on healthy nutrition, women’s hygiene, and economic independence.
- Livelihood training classes to help women get economically independent and improve financial support to the family. These included training for sewing and tailoring, handicraft, beautician courses and commercialization of kitchen garden produce for farmers' market Create awareness on COVID -19 precautions and vaccination.
- Children education through sourcing education material for regular schooling and referral library books like stories, comics, etc., and audio visuals material for E-learning in schools in Sonave village (Zilla Parishad School, Kondwapada and Zilla Parishad School, Borichapada). Moreover, under the project, we initiated the digital school for children impacted by the pandemic to ensure online education for tribal students and other advanced resource knowledge.
- Introduction of Scholarships, remedial classes, science lab and book bank for children.
- Rainwater harvesting programmes for 500 families to resolve the water crisis.
- During the pandemic, the Project Roshni team extended support to 300 families including farmers, daily wage labourers and ASHA workers to meet their needs for daily supplies.
Through Project Roshni we have been able to make a gradual yet a sustained impact. The project is designed to bring in a multiplier effect as it focuses on addressing primary issues related to health, poverty and education which are the cornerstone of any sustainable development plan.
- In the last 8 years, it has expanded to provide hygiene and sanitation, digital education and scholarships, rainwater harvesting, employment and skill development as well as financial literacy on Govt. schemes. More than 8000 families have benefited from this project so far.
- More than 50% of tribal women and beneficiaries in these villages are now living a healthy life, have become self-reliant and financially independent while ensuring basic education for their children. In fact, women with normal HB levels are able to give birth to healthy babies and preterm and infant mortality has reduced by75% from 2015 levels.
- We have registered 10-30 % YoY improvement in the health trajectory of beneficiaries.
- The project brought about changes in the attitude of society towards women, made them financially, physically and socially independent and built their character by developing leadership skills, promoting skill development and entrepreneurship
- Working in these villages for so long, we found that the poverty level in this district has had a direct impact on people’s health, especially among women. So we initiated training and skill development programmes for women in beautician courses, handicraft creation, tailoring and kitchen garden farming to ensure regular means of livelihood.
- In 2021-22, 50 families owning 1 acre or 0.5 acre of land and having water facilities were part of this programme. Along with counselling and selection of farmers, the team also got documentation work in place such as getting “Saath bara”, other details regarding land laws, which has helped the farmers to own their lands and get a farmer’s certificate. Apart from this, Roshni team arranged for soil testing and subsequent regeneration at these farms to help them improve the quality of the soil to ensure better farming opportunities. In 2022-23, 50 more families were added to the modern agricultural farming and income generation programme.
- In 2022 there were around more than 40 sessions conducted under the Self-Help Group programme for women focussing on financial literacy, importance, and information on banking and Govt welfare schemes. SHGs had played a very important role in each woman’s life and inculcated in them the habit of saving and regular deposits.
- The standard of living has improved upto 60% in the last 4 years with more girls being educated and seeking higher education, more women being employed in textile, packaging, and paper industries as well as improved farming yield. Today, most families in these 17 clutters have both men and women becoming equal contributors to the family income.
Q: What are the main focus areas of your CSR initiatives? Please shed some light on the key components of the Project Roshni initiative. How has your partnership with the Society for Human and Environmental Development (SHED) helped you scale up your efforts?
A: Maharashtra’s Palghar district has over 3,00,000 rural population with more than 30% of tribal population as per the state census. We at Roche are involved in supporting these tribal communities, particularly the most vulnerable groups, in order to make an impact in the local communities we serve. Our CSR activities are guided by the values of integrity, courage and passion to make a positive and long-standing difference in these people’s lives. All our CSR initiatives are driven by the vision to create a sustainable model that improves access to healthcare and creates a long-term impact on targeted beneficiaries. Society for Human and Environmental Development (SHED) has played a pivotal role in helping us in this journey.
When we started the outreach in 2015, our focus was on addressing anaemia among women in two tribal clusters comprising 17 villages in Palghar, so the Initial focus of Project Roshni was primarily on healthcare and nutrition. However, over time, the scope of the project has expanded to include education, livelihood support and environmental sustainability as well. We believe that these three focus areas are critical to achieving sustainable development and improving the overall well-being of underprivileged communities.
Partnerships with SHED have helped us scale up our efforts in numerous ways.
- With SHED's local knowledge and networks, we were able to access hard-to-reach communities in the region and provide support where it was needed the most.
- SHED played a critical role in our partnership, helping us identify the needs and challenges of the local communities, and design programmes to address those needs.
- Together, we have set up and supported primary healthcare centres, promoted education and vocational training, and implemented sustainable agricultural practices in the region.
Here is the impact created by Project Roshni through our partnership with SHED:
Healthy future: In order to include more women in our anaemia management programme, we carefully track no. of healthy beneficiaries who have registered healthy haemoglobin levels for more than 18 months. These beneficiaries become Roshni ambassadors and work with local ASHA workers to expand the programme and drive awareness about its benefits. In 2022-23, 280 out of 480 women were moved out of the programme to ambassadorship; 200 new beneficiaries were enrolled in the women’s health programme.
Nutritional support: Project Roshni started off as a programme focused on women’s health and problems caused by anaemia. Apart from medical support in the form of vitamins and supplements, we have also educated the tribal beneficiaries of Saphale on simple nutritional meals which can be easily prepared using local produce.
Financial stability: From 2018 onwards, Project Roshni has offered livelihood enhancement training to over 220 women in Saphale to ensure they can be self-reliant and improve living standards for themselves and their families. This has resulted in overall 60% improvement in household income of beneficiaries (refer Table II).
Environmental sustainability: In 2022-23, we have added 2 more sites to our existing 12 sites for rainwater harvesting at Saphale village. This has substantially improved the lives of women who would otherwise walk >7-10 kms daily to fetch water during the months of Jan-June.
Education - a game changer: Additionally, striving to improve long-term opportunities for residents of the region, we have invested heavily in the education of beneficiaries’ children since 2020. Post setting up of the digital classroom for children of Zilla Parishad School, Kondwadapada and Zilla Parishad School, Borichapada in July 2020, we have prepared online teaching material in vernacular for children of classes 1-4th grades.
In 2022-23, we have deepened efforts towards education:
- Introduced scholarship worth INR 3,00,000 for 50 deserving students of Rajguru H.M Pandit Vidyalaya & Arts, Commerce Jr college. Saphale, Yashwantrao Chaphekar College of Commerce and Management, and R. H. Save Arts, Seth C.J. Bhanushali Commerce & B A Dandekar Science Junior college who were unable to continue with higher education due to their familial circumstances.
- Set up a science lab at Zilla Parishad School, Pargao secondary school for teachers to conduct SSC and HSC curriculum practicals. The lab also includes a book bank of study material for various 12+ level entrance exams such as railways, nursing, municipal corporation, etc.
- Started remedial coaching classes for slow learners of Madhyamic Vidyalaya, Zilla Parishad School,Borichapada and Zilla Parishad School Kondwadapada secondary school from grades 8-10th.
- 50 teachers received training for upgrading their knowledge to deliver quality education to the children.
- Distributed stationery and exam writing kits to 430 children of Zilla Parishad Schools, Kondwapada, Borichapada and Madhyamic Vidyalaya, Pargao.
- Distributed bicycles to 100 students of Zilla Parishad Schools, Kondwapada, Borichapada, Madhyamic Vidyalaya secondary school who had to walk >7 kms to attend school. We will soon be sanctioning funds for another 50 children from the same school who work at a nearby brick-making factory which is >10 kms away.
- Distributed shoes to >600 children of Zilla Parishad Schools, Kondwapada, Zilla Parishad School Borichapada, Madhyamic Vidyalaya secondary school schools who often walked to school barefoot.
- In 2023-24, we plan to sponsor the Maharashtra Govt’s 3-month computer literacy training for 50 youth of Saphale.
The partnership has been a great success, and we are proud to have made a positive impact on the lives of thousands of people in the Palghar district.
Q: In your work with various communities, how do you engage with them and have you developed specific engagement tools? Additionally, what has been the acceptance rate of your services among communities, particularly those with an orthodox mindset or who have a dependence on traditional healthcare measures and may be hesitant towards new approaches such as vaccines?
A: To engage with the community, we collaborated with local NGOs and healthcare workers who were familiar with the local culture, language and beliefs. We have used numerous tools to consider the needs and requirements of the villagers and our objectives.
For example:
- We organise street plays, puppet shows and door-to-door visits to educate the population on health, hygiene and various government schemes available to tribal groups
- We have volunteers, teachers and doctors who live in those communities and are aware of their local beliefs. We have adopted a sensitive approach to address their concerns while understanding their cultural and social factors that influence their beliefs.
We are proud to report a positive response from the community, with increased participation in health camps and a reduction in malnutrition cases. Our project also received recognition and awards for its impact on the community by the health district officials.
Q: Unlike other Indian CSR stakeholders who may work in silos or have an exit strategy for their initiatives, can you describe how your approach is different? What are your expectations from local government bodies, and how do you want them to expedite your efforts?
A: Project Roshni is a well-crafted initiative that is based on an ever-evolving approach, a 360 degree holistic upliftment of the community. From an anaemia screening and management programme amongst women in tribal clusters (comprising 17 villages) of Palghar, the project has metamorphosed into a community development programme with women and children’s empowerment being the centre of all things. We are committed to creating sustainable change that benefits the communities we serve for years to come.
The scalable aspects of Project Roshni include:
- Anaemia screening programme and comprehensive healthcare for women and children: This is most befitting and aligned to the government’s mission to eliminate sickle cell anaemia by 2047. In Maharashtra, a National Alliance of Sickle Cell Organization (Nasco) data of 2021 reveals that there is a prevalence of 2.10 lakh cases of sickle cell anaemia. In the year 2023, we are expanding this programme to include two more villages and reach out to another 300 people including children and women to identify and address issue of malnutrition, anaemia, sickle cell anaemia and other ailments
- Children’s education programme: We have discovered that many Zilla Parishad schools in these districts do not have enough learning aids for e.g. practical science lab, book library etc. We have recently engaged with 17 schools of Palghar to organise an academic fair, where we invited 50 students from each of these schools to put forward their ideas on maths, science and technology. Through this initiative, we are engaging with these schools to understand their requirement to offer them with learning aids not only for an academic perspective but also beyond academics.
- Also, we have joined hands with Seva Sahyog, an NGO working in around 10 districts of Maharashtra, to expand our education programme to improve literacy and employment in Wada district.
Long term goals:
- We aim to impact at least 500 more people each year through our Project Roshni
- Currently we see severe anaemia in around 1-2% of women and we aim to bring all beneficiaries under normal HB levels, or refer them for additional medical consultation.
- Identify and address cases of sickle cell anemia and support them with management of the disorder.
- Expand our women’s health programme to include cervical cancer vaccination.
- Expand our Education programme with Seva Sahayog to repair and rehabilitate 7 schools in Wada district of rural Maharashtra.
Support needed for government and local authorities:
We believe that for a larger impact, we will need more partners- NGOs and Government authorities to join forces and expand healthcare access and education in the far flung areas. We need government support to ensure the population in this region receive all government benefits that they are entitled to. With a partnership with the government, we will be able to expand access to healthcare and education leading to a larger impact.
Q: Tell us about the digital wing in Zila Parishad School in Kondwapada village and how has it contributed to the continued learning of children?
A: In 2022, we inaugurated a digital wing in Zila Parishad School, in Kondwapada village to ensure continued learning for children in the region. The school's digital wing has enabled children to access quality education and engage in online learning, which has been especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. The digital wing has provided students with access to online resources and tools, allowing them to learn at their own pace and in their own time. The digital infrastructure is equipped with modern amenities, and we hope that this will inspire children to learn more and explore new avenues of knowledge.
In line with this initiative, this year we have inaugurated our science labs at Madhyamik School, Pargao for students of standard 8 to 10th to be able to practice and perform their necessary academic experiments. This year, for the first time, the students appearing for the SSC exams have had their practical exams performed in the school itself. The lab also has a book library with study guides for a variety of 12+ level entrance tests, including those for the railways, nursing, municipal corporations, etc. In order to improve their expertise and provide children with high-quality education, 50 teachers underwent training. 430 students at the Madhyamic Vidyalaya in Pargao and the Zilla Parishad Schools in Kondwapada and Borichapada received stationery and exam writing kits. Also, we have joined hands with Seva Sahyog, an NGO working in around 10 districts of Maharashtra, to expand our education programme to improve literacy and employment in Wada district.
Q: Since you are aware of the ground-level problems, you know that there is a requirement for need-based plus demand-based planning of CSR initiatives. What advice will you give to the corporates in terms of planning and implementation of initiatives in the healthcare domain?
A: As an organization that has worked closely with communities to address ground-level problems, we understand the importance of need-based and demand-based planning when it comes to corporate social responsibility initiatives, especially across domains.
Based on our experience with Project Roshni in Palghar district, Maharashtra, we believe that corporates need to focus on designing and implementing initiatives that are tailored to the specific needs of the communities they serve. In different domains like health, education, and environment, initiatives should prioritise interventions that address the most pressing needs of the community. For example, in the healthcare domain, initiatives should focus on improving access to affordable and quality healthcare services, promoting healthy behaviors, and preventing and managing common diseases. In the education domain, initiatives can focus on improving access to education, supporting teacher training and development, and providing learning resources. In the environment domain, initiatives can prioritise interventions that promote sustainable practices, address climate change, and protect natural resources.
While we acknowledge the commendable efforts made by other corporates in contributing to society, our experience in the healthcare domain has taught us several key takeaways that we believe are crucial for successful CSR initiatives.
Q: Please share a few case studies where the impact has been concrete and meaningful.
A: Below are the two case studies:
Case Study 1: Anita Anant Parab - A Survivor's Story of Accessing Healthcare
Anita Anant Parab is a survivor who has had to battle several health issues, such as anaemia and thyroid. Living in a village that lacked appropriate healthcare facilities, coupled with financial constraints, Anita and her family struggled to make ends meet.
Despite living in a village just 150 kms from Mumbai, Anita's family did not have access to even a simple general practitioner. They were forced to rely on traditional home remedies for simple ailments and their fate for any serious illness.
In 2016, Anita's friend introduced her to Project Roshni, a program started by Roche Diagnostics in partnership with SHED, an NGO providing free health screening, medical aid, and nutritional support. Delighted by the opportunity to access medical aid for free, Anita joined the program.
Through Project Roshni, Anita received medical aid, health education, and training for organic farming. Her life has since transformed. She feels independent, has started her own business, and has more time to spend with her children. Anita is grateful for the support she has received and the impact it has had on her life.
Case Study 2: Ruchita Shuklange – Overcoming Adversity to Pursue Her Passion
Ruchita Shuklange developed a love for mechanics at an early age. Despite her family’s financial struggles, she tried to mend broken toys and her mother’s utensils. She was fascinated by the workings of the wheel on her father’s bullock cart and even attempted to fix one of the broken wheels. However, due to financial constraints, her family was unable to send her to school.
When Ruchita’s mother became a beneficiary of Project Roshni, a program initiated by Roche Diagnostics in partnership with SHED, an NGO, her friend spoke to her parents and enrolled her in school. Ruchita seized every opportunity to study and grow her knowledge in science. However, the COVID pandemic halted her education as teachers stopped coming to school.
Project Roshni came to the rescue by creating digital classrooms for students to continue their education during the pandemic. They also introduced a science lab, which was a first for Ruchita’s school. She was thrilled to explore the lab, which contained different mechanical models and science-related learning aids that helped her gain a better understanding of the subject.
Ruchita is grateful to the Project Roshni team for giving her wings to fly. She is confident that her dream of becoming a mechanical engineer will come true. Despite the challenges she faced, Ruchita’s determination and passion for mechanics allowed her to pursue her dreams with the help of Project Roshni.
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