CHICAGO: Much before Swatchha India Campaign on a national scale was launched by Indian PM last October; a front ranking NRI community activist from Florida, Dr Kiran Patel thought of it and began implementing it in his home town Mota Falia in Gujarat.
Dr Kiran is a big time philanthropist making hefty donations to a number of educational institutions here and back home in Mota Falia. He was moved to the core when he saw that many a household there lacked toilet facility and residents were relieving in the open. Women and seniors were decidedly in more disadvantageous position and nothing was being done to address the problem.
He called a meeting of villages – many were Adivasis (aborigines) -and offered financial help if they would put in labor. Common and individual closed door toilets – 300 plus in a village with 4000 population – were set up with waste disposal facilities to the delight of residents. Not only that, Dr Kiran also saw to it that scores of garbage bins were placed on both sides of the road and encouraged the locals to dump their garbage in the bins and not litter on the roads.
Another community oriented project that was taken up at the instance of Dr Kiran concerned improving the water supply. Mota Falia like many villages in India, had a huge Talao (reservoir- pond) but over the years it became filled with dirt, garbage and neem tree leaves. Much of it was also used as an open toilet. The Talao that used to have plentiful water turned almost non existent and vanished impacting the water levels in the wells around the area also.
Dr Kiran had tripartite meetings with the government agencies and locals and induced collective efforts with the villagers pulling in their carts and clearing the Talao of debris, waste and tree waste while the government helped to build the side wall.
Dr Kiran through his charitable organization Shakit Krupa Charitable Trust provided equipment and lent logistic as well as financial support. A few rainfalls later the Talao filled with water and now presents an awesome sight.
Interestingly, the overflowing water reservoir not only helped better supply of water but also gave a fillip to the economic well being as fishing activity got a boost.
Dr Kiran Patel is a former head of prestigious AAPI (Association of American Physicians of Indian Origin) and a face lift of the village that he hailed from would not have been complete if he did not do something to help their physical well being. He helped set up a Medical Clinic which after a few years blossomed into a full fledged hospital called Chhotubhai A. Patel Hospital and Samuhik Arogya Kendra. It looks after health care needs of the village and surrounding areas. It has fully equipped maternity, children (ICU, NCIU and Modular Operation Theatre), dental and eye care facilities. The 20,000 sq. ft built area hospital has well managed OP department and also treats Malaria and TB patients.
Dr Koran and his physician wife Dr Palaver Patel are equally wedded to promoting education and have made hefty donations for promoting it. The Mota Falia village can boast of primary, middle and high school Chhotubhai A Patel Learning Institute that stands out in imparting education to children in Mota Falia and surrounding villages, unmatched by any similar education facility in Gujarat State.
It is not only the CA Learning institute that has benefited by the generosity and foresightedness of the Patels but even the nearby public schools also. A public school in Mota Falia was in dilapidated condition and Dr Kiran helped repair and got it fitted with necessary equipment to bring it back to excellent working condition. The then Gujarat Chief Minister Narenda Mod paid a visit to the school and welcomed the initiative of Patels,
Drs Kiran C. and Pallavi Patel have donated $12 million to the University of South Florida in a new endowment aimed at creating the Patel College of Global Sustainability, expanding on nearly a decade of world-leading applied research to advance sustainability around the globe and improve the lives of the world’s most vulnerable people.
In a talk to this paper, Dr Kiran said that India in general and villages in particular face immense problems and he welcomed the initiative of newly elect government headed by Narendra Modi in resolving them in a practical manner. “Most problems can be solved with an ideal partnership between the government and private sector supplemented with active participation from the people. “We have in our modest way tried to translate this partnership concept in practice at Mota Falia and we have seen the results too,” he said.
Ramesh Soparawala
India Post News Service
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