Project Karuna

Project Karuna is an OCIP focused on improving the health of Soliga tribal communities in Biligiriranga (BR) Hills, India. Mentored by LKCMedicine’s renal module lead, Professor Manohar Bairy, our core vision revolves around two main goals – health education and health screenings – while learning more about the unique rural healthcare demographic and systems of BR Hills.

We are partners with Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra (VGKK), a NGO dedicated to holistic and sustainable development of the tribal communities in the states of Karnataka and Arunachal Pradesh. We aim to increase health literacy in underserved communities in BR Hills via health education efforts to empower key figures in each tribal hamlet to improve their community’s health. Additionally, we conduct health screenings supported by healthcare workers from VGKK to identify health issues faced by tribal communities, referring them to proper medical treatment. Combined, our main objective is to improve the overall wellbeing of these underserved populations by enabling them to make better health decisions.

Locally, we partner with Saint Andrew’s Migrant Worker Medical Centre (SAMWMC), a medical centre set up by Saint Andrew’s Mission Hospital to provide primary care for our migrant worker communities. Here, Project Karuna conducts health education lessons and engagement sessions modelled after what we do for the Soliga, but more targeted towards workplace safety and emergency first aid.