ANKUR – A Case in Collective Social Compassion – SMILE’s New Partner

ANKUR (A Social Charitable Organization) has joined hands with Smile Foundation under Smile on Wheels programmme. As per the partnership ANKUR has contributed a sum of Rs. 6, 00,000 [6 Lakh INR] towards the capital cost of a Smile on Wheels van to be meant for providing health care to the needy people in identified pockets of Delhi.

ANKUR, the Delhi-based organization, is formed and supported by around a hundred women hailing from well-off backgrounds. Their objectives are to financially support disadvantaged children and young widows, providing medical aid to the poor, develop rehabilitation centres for juvenile delinquents, and impart educational and skilled training programs for school dropouts.

Smile Foundation in its unique endeavour named “Smile on Wheels” strives to become a pioneer in giving the best and the most affordable health care services to the poor and the needy people of the country. In the first phase five Smile on Wheels projects across as many states are providing the necessary services such as OPD, Ante-natal, post-natal services, identification of difficult pregnancy and referral for institutional care, Immunization - Mother & children, Minor surgery, BP examination, X-ray, ECG, First Aid, Distribution of Iron Folic tablets, Vit-A Prophylaxis, Treatment of mal-nutrient cases, etc.

So far in the first year of launching Smile on Wheels, Smile Foundation has been working with five credible NGOs from health sectors, namely Sevadham Trust (Pune, Maharashtra), Berojgar Mahila Sewa Samiti (Bhilai, Chhattisgarh), Orissa Institute of Medical Research and Health Services (Cuttack, Orissa), Ambuja Cement Foundation (Roorkee, Uttarakhand), and Suraj Hospital (Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh). These projects have been reaching out to deserving villages in the outreach where no alternative health services exist and provide the essential health care services under expert medical practitioners. The mobile medical vans run by SMILE have been covering a diameter of 20-50 kms from its centre/base and visit 2-3 villages a day on a regular basis.

With a prime concern to cater to the health care need of Women and Children, the programme in its first phase has been catering to about 4 lakhs people in around 150 identified villages across five Indian states.

Having come so far and on receiving good response from the five states where Smile on Wheels is operating, the foundation wishes to partner with more organizations to realize the aim of running 30 such vans across the country. This financial year alone, Smile Foundation has projected to add another 5 ‘Smile on Wheels’ across India.

We appreciate the social commitment of ANKUR and the exemplary initiative by the group of spirited women behind the same.