Healing touch

He began his career in 1981 at a few hospitals, including the Assembly of God Church, and later at a Central government agency in Karimpur, West Bengal. At that time he only had a degree of graduation from Medical College in 1979.

But Rajat Das today is a wiser man. He feels that he has accomplished the most important study in his career between 1984-85 on public health from the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health (AIIHPH) which guided him to the creative and progressive work he achieved later.

On completion of his study, Das joined the Lutheran World Service India (LWSI) in 1986. It is here that he worked for the next 10 years. In between he also worked as a consultant with the state government on maternal health and then had a half-year stint with the polio programme in Bihar.

Still the doctor in him wasn’t satisfied. The key reason was the lack of passion, creativity and innovation in his assignments with the LWSI.

Das started the Association for Social & Health Advancement (ASHA) in 1999. ASHA began its work with a domestic child labour programme alongwith a band of professionals. But unlike other established organisations in the city, nay the country, tireless efforts by Das finally earned him a rare distinction of introducing the concept called tri-party projects where any constructive social developmental project will involve the local administration, the respective voluntary organisation and the respective corporate body.

Earlier, the organisations themselves used to initiate any developmental programme. And the first tri-party programme conducted by ASHA in 1999 was Sarshtali Coal mining programme where Das, with a few other professionals in their respective fields, took over permanent solution programme on education and health of the tribals and residents of the coal mining area.

Das said: “We were able to involve more than 500 people in the coal mine area and began to provide education and health programme to them. The Sarshtali project finally earned him international acclaim. Today this project is referred to as a case study in the training courses offered by various international institutes whenever the private-public partnership act is studied. The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) had also cited this case as an example at a seminar a couple of years ago.

ASHA’s effort, boosted by the Sarshtali Coal mining project, went a step ahead catering to more remote and underdeveloped areas of the district.

Das’s next destination was Mukutmanipur in Bankura district where he wanted to give its natural beauty the status of tourism. Das informed the United Nations which, having gone through his project, came forward with financial assistance.

Das said: “This programme has been included in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). We have been able to involve around 1,200 villagers from five hamlets. The lake in Mukutmanipur is going to be redesigned for water sport. Apart from that a nature park will come up. We are also going to start rock climbing there. Several cottages are going to be built for tourists. But, most important, the whole programme will permanently be run by the locals. Likely to be launched in September-October this year, it will have an educated band of tribals, to be trained by ASHA, who will run the show in future.”