About Maya Devi
Hospital
The Maya Devi Hospital in Sarurpur, Uttar Pradesh began as
the dream of one woman, Maya Devi, a resident of the village. Seeing the health
challenges many women faced – particularly in giving birth when complications
arose – she hoped that one day there would be a hospital in the community that
would save them the long, arduous and expensive trip to the city to give birth
safely.
Her children turned her dream into a reality. They set up
foundations in India (MOTHER Foundation) and in Canada (CHILD Foundation) to
raise money to build and operate the hospital. With the support of Rotary
International, plus corporate and private donors, these organizations
constructed a 20-bed charitable hospital on the grounds of what had been Maya
Devi’s family home.
Since its opening in October 2012, the Maya Devi Hospital
has transformed the community of Sarurpur and region – an area with a combined
population of more than 60,000. The hospital offers healthcare and health
education to women and children in the community. In fact, the reputation of
the hospital as an outstanding facility and a special place attracts patients
from communities quite a distance away. Although the hospital’s primary focus
is to care for women and children, it does not refuse assistance to anyone.
CHILD Foundation will host its third annual Maya’s Dream in
support of the hospital on Friday, October 2, 2015 at Magnolia Banquet Hall,
5075 Falconridge Blvd NE, Calgary. Like our two first events, this promises to
be a memorable and inspiring evening. There will be a reception and dinner, a
silent auction, and multi-cultural entertainment. Our main fundraiser, it funds
hospital operations.
The last 12 months have been a busy and exciting time at the
hospital. For example, a partnership with Rotary provided solar panels, which
allow reliable 24-hour electricity for the facility. The hospital initiated
health and awareness educational programs for the community which includes
culturally sensitive information sessions. These sessions included video
presentations on relevant health and social issues. They use accessible
booklets with graphics illustrating the topics covered in the presentations,
prepared by the United Nations in the local language. The booklets are to be
taken home and discussed within the family.
Over the next few years CHILD Foundation and MOTHER
Foundation, and a number of Rotary Clubs, (with financial assistance from the
Alberta Government’s Community Initiatives Program) are funding and
implementing a clean water and sanitation project in the community. This
project will be integral to the health of the people who live there. Once the
initial work is complete, CHILD Foundation and MOTHER Foundation will take
ownership of this project, for further development in the future.
Over the past four years, we have purchased most of the
equipment required to run the hospital. However, on the doctor’s wish list for
this year is an x-ray machine. This would enable the medical staff to carry out
and read x-rays on-site. At present, the distance to the nearest laboratory and
the cost of having the test carried out elsewhere make this simple procedure
prohibitive for many patients, who therefore choose not to have them done.
