Dr Roshni Jhan Ganguly - Project SETU Foundation Trust

Dr Roshni Jhan Ganguly, a family doctor and founder of Project SETU Foundation Trust. Dr Roshni identified that there was a gap between urban and rural healthcare. About 70% of India's population lives in villages where access to primary health care services may not be easily accessible. Project SETU was created to be the bridge that connects urban physicians with rural health care.  Today we will talk to her about Project Setu and its mission. Episode summary: 01.30 Dr Roshni tells us more about her professional background and interest in rural health 03.30  What is project SETU and why was it started? 10.30  What is the rural context like where she works? 15.45  What challenges are communities facing when needing to access healthcare services? 19.30  What kind of services does project SETU provide and what is the impact of those activities? 25.45  What challenges has she faced while doing this work? 29.00  What are some key lessons when engaging with communities?  35.00  How important is trust in the work that they do? 38.30  What are her hopes for Project SETU going forward? Key Messages:  Family medicine is not confined to the four walls of a clinic.  She thought why not really serve the people who really need it.   Project SETu Foundation Trust was born from the question - how do we build bridges rather than provide temporary solutions?.  The vision is to bridge the gap between healthcare and hope, the urban expertise and rural needs, and between illness and wellness.   Project SETU evolved into a holistic community development organization where healthcare became the entry point but it was not the destination. Villages in India are different, generally the population comprises of the state population and indigenous population.  India has many different languages, cuisines and cultures.  A typical village will have thatched houses, mud houses or brick houses.  The cooking medium may be a stove which is fueled by cow dung.  Women take care of the household and can be farmers. Male population is mostly farmers.  There is also a migrating population which may be travelling to the cities for work.  The population of the village can be about 50000 people.  ASHA workers (Accredited Social Health Activists) go door to door and check on people.  They are community health workers funded by the government.  They find out about the needs of the population and collaborate with local healthcare workers. Community development is not easy and requires consistency, consistency requires resources. Building trust takes time, deep rooted beliefs and behavior can not be changed overnight.   Project SETU initially does a needs assessment survey and get the community together to talke about health awareness and the community share their challenges.  This is how they begin to build trust.  Then they organize some health  screening camps. Project SETU collaborates with other organizations so that they can provide other training that the community needs such as training for farmers on organic farming. Project SETU also finds out about the activities and products being produced in the community and helps to promote these more widely.  In this way they support local economies.  During this process they build a local team with the village they are serving which then keep the services going and continue to connect the village to project SETU.  It was a challenge to get everyone together at the same time and in the same place.   Different political influences have been a challenge they have faced.   By engaging the community and supporting their livelihoods the community feels like they can trust what is being done. It is important to understand the local language, customs and culture.   Sports, art, dance and music can be great enablers and a way to support young people develop and achieve their dreams.     Email: [email protected]   Thank you for listening to the Rural Road to Health! Rural Health Compass