The Silicon Review ^Asia

In the state of Chattisgarh of India lies a small village which like many others have not received proper healthcare and medication due to location as well as strong maoist implication. A woman Ganga Shandilya, who came to the village in the 1980s and then later became a resident of the area, is the sole hope for primary healthcare in the region. She came to the village in a turbulent time and has stuck on due to love she received from its resident who refer to her fondly as Dr. Mausi.

“I arrived in this village by bullock cart. At that time there was nothing in the village. The health care centre was started in the hut. In 2007, Naxalites had demolished the building of the sub-health centre. My family has many times asked me to return home. But I did not agree. I receive love from the villagers and want to serve them. There are various challenges one has to face in these areas. The challenges include- IEDs, the danger of spike holes, to cross the forest, drain, and mountain and reach people by walking to far off villages,” says Ganga in reference to her story of how she came to be Dr. Mausi.

One of the main reasons why she has decided to be a saving grace to the village in the fact that she herself was once afflicted with polio due to unavailability of vaccines in her childhood.