IL&FS Transportation along with Smile Foundation, flagged off Smile of Wheels, the mobile healthcare programme for rendering health services to underprivileged rural population of Bilaspur district in Himachal Pradesh.
Smile Foundation with this support will implement and operate its innovative and award-winning mobile healthcare programme Smile on Wheels (SoW) in 42 villages in four blocks of district Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh. Keeping in mind the curative, promotive and preventive healthcare needs of the community, various facilities like mobile health clinics, regular eye screening, pre-natal and post natal care, regular OPD’s, special healthcare camps, school health programmes and promotive health seeking behaviour will be offered to the villagers.
The villagers will now receive healthcare facilities at their doorsteps, with special focus on women and children. The programme will also complement the existing government facilities, form linkages and help the villagers overcome accessibility to the same.
Talking about the importance of this partnership, Dr. Nishant Srivastava, Project Director, ‘Kiratpur Ner Chowk Expressway Ltd (KNPCEL) under IL & FS Transportation Ltd. said, “We understand our social responsibility as an organization and always look for correct partners to work towards this. Smile Foundation has been doing great work for community development and we are happy to associate with them to promote healthcare. This will be surely a fruitful association with Smile Foundation.”
Through this partnership and support of IL&FS Transportation, Smile Foundation will enable 42 villages of Sadar, Naina Devi, Jhandutta and Ghumarwin blocks to avail mobile healthcare services that include with a team of doctor, nurse, community mobiliser and a project coordinator along with diagnostic and pathological kits, medicines, counseling and referral facilities.
Expressing his views about this partnership Mr. Vikram Singh Verma, Chief Operating Officer, Smile Foundation said, “The trust and valuable support from IL&FS Transportation has helped us to bring our national level mobile healthcare programme to the villages in Himachal Pradesh. We are bringing all our learning so far from Smile on Wheels programme to serve the remote outreach villages of the region the best possible manner.”
About Smile Foundation:
Smile Foundation is a national level development organisation benefitting over 300,000 underprivileged children, their families and the community directly through 158 welfare projects on subjects such as education, healthcare, livelihood, and women empowerment across 25 states of India. Adopting a life cycle approach of development, Smile Foundation focuses its interventions on children, their families and the community.
http://smilefoundationindia.org/
About Smile on Wheels:
Smile on Wheels is a national level mobile hospital programme taking curative, preventive and promotive healthcare to the doorsteps of urban poor and underserved villagers benefitting 231,000 lives directly in a year through 19 projects in 265 remote villages and urban slums across India.