Regi M. George and Lalitha Regi started a small outpatient unit in a thatched hut in Sittilingi village of Dharmapuri district in 1992 to help tribals who, otherwise, would have to travel 48 km to a hospital.
Now, the two doctors run a full-fledged 24 bed primary care hospital through the Tribal Health Initiative with outreach clinics in 21 villages covering 80,000 tribals.
For the past 40 years, M.C. Bhandari and Prasanna Bandari's Destitute Children's Home in Gordhanpura, Rajasthan, has educated children who have gone on to become doctors, engineers, chartered accountants and other professionals.
Through the Sri Karni Nagar Vikas Samiti, the couple also run a family counselling centre, old age home, day care centre for elderly persons and a limb/calliper fitting centre with services available in five states.
The Swami Vivekananda Integrated Rural Health Centre of Pavagada in Karnataka runs various health projects for leprosy eradication, TB control, HIV projects, paediatric ophthalmic projects in 1,000 villages for the past two decades. Apart from performing reconstructive surgery for leprosy patients, the centre provides medicines at the patients' door steps.
These three service organisations working for the poor were honoured with the 13th Mahaveer Award for Excellence in Human Endeavour in the spheres of education & medicine and community & social service on Friday by the Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation.
Presenting the awards at a function in Raj Bhavan, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation chairman, M.S. Swaminathan, said the country needed more people in the service of the poor. At a time when intolerance was growing, it was extremely important to propagate the message of non-violence, compassion and harmony.
Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation managing trustee N. Sugalchand Jain said the three awards carried a cash component of Rs.5 lakh each and a citation.
The foundation has made 35 awards till now.
From next year, it will give four awards and the cash component will be increased to Rs.10 lakh, he said.
