Watershed Development: An Increase In Community Collaboration

In Maharashtra, droughts have historically affected agriculture, often leading farmers to plant “cash crops,” that can grow easily during a drought. While cash crops may provide temporary benefit to farmers attempting to earn money for a year’s harvest, it is at the cost of reducing soil nutrient quality for future, more profitable crops. Additionally, if...

Staff Profile: The Story of Sultana Shaikh

Sultana spent her childhood in Kharda, one hour from CRHP. She comes from a large family, 6 sisters and 5 brothers. However, because her family did not have access to proper medicine or health facilities, many of her siblings died, with only five surviving into adulthood. When she was 7 years old her mother passed...

Jabar’s Work With Artificial Limbs: Empowerment One Step at a Time

Even before Jabar became CRHP staff, he grew up with CRHP: “CRHP has been a part of my life since my childhood.” Jabar was one of five children, and he lived across the street from CRHP. Both his mother and his sister worked on staff, with his older sister working in the Julia Hospital as...

The Prospect of Solar Stoves at CRHP

In CRHP’s pursuit of using appropriate technology in the Project Villages, we have begun investigating the practicality of solar stoves as an alternative to stovetops for the villages. Typically, solar stoves are an expensive and an unaffordable investment for people in rural areas, but 100 Suns is an organization that works to disseminate a simple...

VHW Profile: The Story of Arti Pawar

Arti was one of five children growing up. As a female in what she called a “really backward district,” receiving an education was a contested issue. Like many female children in India, Arti was considered a social and economic liability, so neighbors warned Arti’s father against sending her to school.  They told him that if...

Community Leader Profile: The Story of Madhukar Sastre

                           When CRHP began its work in the 1970s, one of the major barriers it needed to overcome was casteism within the villages. In Dr. Raj’s words, “different caste groups did not freely socialise, [so] we devised some excuses to bring them together.”...

Diabetes Progress in CRHP’s Project Villages

In 2016, CRHP was awarded a grant from the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF) to further our work on a disorder affecting the lives of many in India: diabetes. A common misconception is that diabetes only affects individuals in affluent countries when in fact, it is becoming a global disorder that affects poor and rural communities...

VHW Profile: The Story of Babai Haribhau Sathe

Babai Sathey grew up in Village Jawalka and was one of nine siblings. Babai and her family’s identities and opportunities were dictated by their Untouchable caste. This brand precluded Babai’s family from land ownership. With so many children and a hindered ability to generate income, her parents needed her to take care of her younger...

A Village Visit to Pimperkhed

Written by SJ Renfroe It is still my first week being at CRHP, and already I have learned so much about community-oriented health which is sustainable and based on pursuing human dignity and equality. In order to better understand CRHP’s programs in action, I went with a group of students to Pimperkhed, one of CRHP’s...

VHW Profile: The Story of Yamunabai

Yamunabai is a 60-year-old Village Health Worker (VHW) in the Project Village of Ghodegaon, where she lives together with her husband. She has three daughters and one son. She has been to school only up to third grade. We interviewed Yamunabai to find out more her experience as a VHW and, more specifically, about how...