Canadian Health, Immunization and Learning Development Foundation

CHILD FOUNDATION is a CRA-registered charity located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada that built and operates a 20-bed charitable hospital in a remote village in northern India in cooperation with MOTHER Foundation in India. The foundation’s decisions are made by a volunteer Board of Directors. Our mission is “to reduce the mortality rate among underprivileged women and children in rural India by providing basic health care and health education in a professional, effective and culturally-sensitive way.” Through an annual fundraiser – Maya’s Dream – we raise the necessary funds to operate the hospital.
OUR HISTORY:
Mrs. Maya Devi brought up her family in the village of Sarurpur Kalan, Uttar Pradesh – 50 km north of New Delhi. Sarurpur is a village of about 27,000. There are no other health care facilities within a three-hour drive.
Seeing the health challenges many women faced – particularly during pregnancy – Maya Devi often spoke about the day when there would be a hospital in the community. She wanted to save women the long, arduous and expensive trip to the city to seek health care. The Maya Devi hospital is the realization of her dream. Before the hospital opened in 2011, women in the community were forty times more likely to die in childbirth than they are in Canada. One child in eleven died before the age of five.
After Maya Devi’s passing, her children turned her dream into reality, setting up foundations in India (MOTHER Foundation) and Canada (CHILD Foundation) to fund and operate the hospital. With the support of Calgary-area Rotary clubs and Rotary International, plus corporate and private donors, we had a 20-bed charity hospital constructed on the grounds of what had once been Maya Devi’s family home. The hospital operates on a shoe-string budget of about $70,000 per year.
Maya Devi Hospital was made possible because of hard work by many inspired volunteers. We raised money from Rotary clubs and through Rotary International. We received grants funded by the Government of Alberta and held fund-raisers led by board volunteers. Private donors and corporations have also been generous.
OUR ACHIEVEMENTS:
Since opening in October 2011, our hospital has transformed the community of Sarurpur and the lives of many of the 50,000 people living in the larger region. The hospital now has a reputation for outstanding service and attracts patients from communities quite a distance away. Although care for women and children is the hospital’s primary focus, we don't turn away anyone who requires medical service if we have the expertise and medical supplies to be of assistance. We deliver the best care practicable on a shoestring budget.
Our staff consists of nine medical professionals. There are four part-time doctors, three full-time nurses, a lab technician and a pharmacist. The hospital serves approximately 2,000 patients on an out-patient basis monthly.
Early on, we identified certain things that were barriers to achieving improved health in the community – reliable electricity; clean drinking water; a sanitary napkin program; and health education and awareness program. Thanks to our funders and friends of CHILD, as of year-end 2018, we have accomplished our goals as follows:
• We have installed solar panels to provide reliable electricity to the hospital.
• We partnered with Johnson and Johnson to provide the women and girls with sanitary napkins.
• In a region where water-borne diseases can become pandemic, working closely with Rotary and MOTHER Foundation, we spearheaded a bio-sand water purification system for the village, providing clean drinking water to some 3,000 people. This service was first installed in the homes of the poorest families. Villagers who could afford to do so paid a small fee for water filters. These filters have greatly reduced water-borne illnesses, thereby contributing to a healthier community.
• We developed a health and awareness education program. This program includes a variety of topics including pre and post-natal care, personal hygiene, child care and immunization, the importance of girls' education, marital relationships and marital maturity for girls. The program is regularly delivered by the medical staff to the women in the community.
• We have purchased an x-ray system, which became operational at year-end 2018.
FUTURE PLANS:
We are very excited about our future of embracing new technologies to deliver healthcare to a broader community in a cost-effective way. The Maya Devi Hospital will continue to serve as the hub for this expanded service. Please click on childfoundation.ca for more information.
MOTHER FOUNDATION:
Located in Delhi, MOTHER Foundation is a sister-organization of CHILD Foundation. Through contractual agreements with CHILD Foundation, MOTHER Foundation provides regular local oversight, guidance and services for the hospital. It also shares some of the operating expenses with CHILD Foundation.