Five-year-old Rani lives with her family of six in Sukhraili Village, Gurugram. Her mother is the sole bread winner in the family and works in a private company in Gurugram.

During the pandemic, Rani suffered a serious injury on her right foot and was unable to walk properly. However, due to financial constraints she wasn’t able to go to the hospital or consult a doctor.

In the meanwhile, her family came to know about Smile on Wheels, a mobile hospital service provided by Smile Foundation to provide healthcare services to the under-privileged in rural areas and urban slums of India and decided to consult our doctors.

The team of Smile on Wheels van supported by Ericsson examined her properly and started immediate treatment. Due to quick action and adequate measures by the doctors, Rani’s injury started healing.

Rani and her family are happy and grateful that she’s finally able to walk on her own.

When I took him to the doctor his scalp looked scary, now he has recovered and is so happy.

When Rita and Sandeep had Gaurav six months back the condition of their family was bad. Gaurav’s elder sister was down with a bout of viral fever. Being daily wage earners it became very difficult for them to bear so much expenses. Even though Gaurav was born in a government hospital, his parents took him back home against the advice of the doctors because his sister also had to be looked after.

Soon after the baby’s scalp started to turn red and flakes began to appear on his scalp. Initially the mother did not notice but when the flakes turned heavy she began to go to a local doctor to cure her baby but he could not do much. After hearing about the Smile on Wheels, Rita took her baby to the clinic where he was prescribed an ointment. Gaurav began to recover in no time and his parents are overjoyed that he is growing up healthy and happy.

“We thought we had seen everything in life, but life has the tendency to blow us away again. The drought was too severe this time. Just before the harvest, all the crops dried out. Sometime back, we lost most of our farms to the moneylenders, and when that wasn’t enough, I was forced to sell both our cows.

God knows how bitterly this woman cried the next morning when she found out what I had done. Her hard work inspired me to work even harder and I started saving secretly. One day, I asked her to close her eyes as I had bought her a surprise. She started muttering about me spending money in vain, but when she did open her eyes, I saw my woman crying and laughing at the same time to see the cows back.

Spending on healthcare was still difficult for us. Private clinics and medicines would cost us half of our earnings. And when the choice comes between food and medicine, you know what one would choose. When we saw a heath van unit nearby our village, we got curious and asked some questions. Now our check-ups and medicines—all are free. Is life hard? Yes. But some things have become easier now.”

Khemraj and his wife Mangla receive healthcare services under the Smile On Wheels initiative in Rajasthan.

Recently, I have been asked to earn for myself as nobody among my children could afford to feed me two times a day

Krishna Devi sells papad on the roadside. She earns 100-150 per day which is sufficient for her to feed herself and sometimes buy sweets for her grandchildren. Krishna’s wrinkled face and toothless smile does not give away her pain that she has to go through every day; her children refused to support her anymore and asked her to earn and live on her own. She also faces health issues related to old age.

When the Smile on Wheels volunteer came to know about Krishna she immediately visited her and told her about the regular visits of the Smile on wheels mobile hospital and the services provided. Krishna Devi was overjoyed because now she could avail healthcare at her door step and avoid losing a day’s earning.

Krishna Devi’s health care is now being taken care of by team Smile ion Wheels along with many like her.

Five year old Yash lives with his family in the JJ Colony of Noida’s Sector 9. His father Sispal is a mechanic by profession and earns just enough to sustain their family.

Yash was diagnosed with burns last year. He wasn’t keeping well for a long time and needed urgent medical attention in the middle of the pandemic. Due to financial constraints, his family could not take him to a private hospital. Meanwhile government hospitals were full because of COVID patients.

During a regular visit of the Smile on Wheels van supported by Ericsson in his area, Yash visited the MMU and was diagnosed with burns. Smile on Wheels is a mobile hospital service provided by Smile Foundation to provide healthcare services to the under-privileged in rural areas and urban slums of India.

The doctors at Smile on Wheels prescribed proper medication to him and counseled his parents on how to take care of him. Due to correct treatment and care from his family, his condition started improving.

Yash and his family are grateful to Smile on Wheels team for saving his life during the pandemic.

Our children always complained that we did not do enough for them and then they left us in our old age.

Mahesh and his wife have five daughters. They raised them with equal love and never did they regret not having a son. His children grew up, got married and moved to different places. They began blaming their parents for not providing enough for them and slowly over time stopped coming to see them altogether. Both Mahesh and his wife began to suffer from old age related problems and even when their mother was on her death bed none of the children came.

Mahesh’s health too started to suffer after the demise of his wife and with no one to care for him he became weaker. It was during one of the community counseling sessions that Mahesh came to know about Smile on Wheels clinic and began to attend it regularly. His health has improved and he also talks to the volunteers and jokes around with them. He tries to keep happy and healthy like the doctor asked him to.

“I have seen people leaving me– either due to death or difficult circumstances. When my husband passed away all of a sudden, I saw my three little children crying because of hunger. My inability to pay their school fees forced them to quit education. My immediate family and relatives gave one or the other reason to avoid taking our responsibility. But the faces of my innocent children gave me strength to fight back.

I was determined to make them feel that their lives can still be as fruitful as it could have been in their father’s presence. I struggled for a bit and succeeded to find a job too! Passengers often question me, “Don’t you feel awkward working as a coolie. You are a woman after all. And my reply is always the same– “A mother never fails saheb jee.”

Lajwanti works as a Coolie at Ludhiana’s Railway Station. We are proud to have met her during a community mobilisation drive under our Smile on Wheels mobile hospital project in the city.

“I don’t know if I will be able to survive another winter. After losing my only son, I became homeless. Strangers from the slums have offered me places to sleep and food to eat. My health has become tricky. I fall sick often. Some days, I cannot even get up from my makeshift arrangements.

By God’s grace, I came across a medical van that was offering people free medical check-ups and medicines. It was surprising for me to see such a set-up inside a van. The doctors are kind and listen to me patiently when I tell them about my condition. It has been a life-changing experience for me.”

Sarita Devi receives free healthcare services through Smile on Wheels mobile hospital project in New Delhi.

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I break stones in a nearby construction site. My husband is paralysed since a long time so I must feed him. I have seen the world change around me. I have seen people leaving you alone in hard times. Sitting in a corner and crying about your destiny helps no one. I work hard to provide for my husband and I. Physical labour and old age means that my body would have to face many medical ailments. On many days, my body aches beyond my strength to cope with it.

When fixing two meals becomes a challenge, health-related expenses have to take a backseat. But the free doorstep healthcare by Smile Foundation has made our lives better. We now get our health check-ups done regularly and get medicines free of cost here.”

Mamtha and her husband (both in their late 60s) are able to access free healthcare through our free doorstep healthcare initiative, Smile on Wheels.

We are old and poor. Our health is failing. We only find relief in each other.

82 year old Savitha lives with her husband in a tin shanty in the middle of a congested and unhygienic Chennai slum. When their children refused to take care of them they had no option but to suffer silently. There was no one who could provide them warmth. Her husband is slowly losing his eye sight and both husband and wife are suffering from many other health problems due to their age. The families in slums like these do not have time to care for diseases or even if they do they do not have a choice because they have to earn their daily bread and look after their families. Most people in these slums suffer in silence, often losing their lives to curable diseases.

It was through her friends that Mission Education Program of Smile Foundation came to know about Purnima and her brothers. After much discussions and talks with her grandparents Purnima was finally admitted at the centre. She currently studies in class 6, her brother Shubh is in class 3 and another of her brother Som will come to class 1. Very soon their hard work and dreams are going to bear fruit and they are going to be successful.

I raised my son alone. 12 years ago, Ravi got married and his wife did not want to live with me. They left me alone and went to the city.

Savitri faced a lot of hardships while raising her son alone after the death of her husband but she worked on daily wage and in the fields and did not let her son face any hardships. Her son grew up and got married and migrated to the city in search for a better livelihood. They left Savitri alone and when she fell sick she had no one to look after her and the doctor was miles away.

When the Smile on wheels started services in the area Savitri found much needed relief. She was visited by the doctors at home and necessary medicines were prescribed. The community volunteers keep a check on her health regularly and the regular visit of the Smile on Wheels mobile hospital has ensured that Savitri remains healthy. She still misses her son but is now healthy and happy.

“My wife and I have kept each other company in all the difficult times. Lately, both of us have been suffering from back and knee problems. We knew that we needed more care but during the lockdown, who would help us? It was getting tough for us to do our daily tasks now. Soon, the Smile on Wheels (SoW) medical services van started visiting us again after the country-wide lockdown started losing its steam.

These doctors are very caring towards all concerns of our old age. They made us aware about several precautionary measures to safeguard ourselves from falling ill. Their care and attention have helped us keep a better health and I bless them for being so considerate during difficult times.”

Radhakant (70 years) receives free healthcare services through Smile Foundation’s initiative Smile On Wheels, Lalbagh, New Delhi.