A Wave of Health in Isha Vidhya
A majority of India’s rural population lacks sufficient awareness about general health, diseases, treatment and symptoms. This absence of knowledge has caused a great deal of suffering and has drastically curtailed the quality of life for most rural
A majority of India’s rural population lacks sufficient awareness about general health, diseases, treatment and symptoms. This absence of knowledge has caused a great deal of suffering and has drastically curtailed the quality of life for most rural people. To alleviate this situation, Isha Foundation’s Action for Rural Rejuvenation conducts Arokiya Alai (Wave of Health) camps in Tamil Nadu to create awareness and to educate rural people about sustainable health, hygiene and nutrition.
ARR conducted a multi-specialty ‘Arokiya Alai’ or ‘Wave of Health’ camp at Isha Vidhya Matriculation School, Perumapalayam, Erode on 25th September 2011. The camp was inaugurated by Mr. Anandkittuswamy, MLA, Modakkuruchi. Mr. Shanmugan, Lions Club district governor, Erode was also present as Guest of Honor.
The camp consisted of both one-to-one and group awareness programs with short films shown on health, hygiene, nutrition, and the importance of a balanced diet. General check-ups and treatment for common ailments were also conducted free of cost. Banners on health awareness were displayed. Handbills, brochures, and pamphlets were distributed as well. Over a 1000 people, 500 of whom were students, benefited from this camp.
The simple but powerful yogic Isha Kriya practice was also taught to people at the camp. Daily practice of Isha Kriya brings health, dynamism, peace and wellbeing, and offers powerful tools to cope with the hectic pace of modern life.
Since June, over 1 lakh people have benefited from the Arokiya Alai health camps conducted across Tamil Nadu. The Arokiya Alai project also provides cost-free, simple, healthy dietary solutions to help eradicate malnutrition in villagers. By providing knowledge on diseases and their symptoms, Arokiya Alai hopes that villagers will be able to detect diseases early through the taught symptoms and thus help to take the necessary action.
Isha Outreach is the social development branch of the Isha Foundation. Registered as an independent trust in the state of Tamil Nadu, Isha Outreach enhances the impact of Isha’s ongoing activities for human and community revitalization. Central to the initiative is a growing corps of thousands of volunteers, inspired to rouse the underserved sections of urban and rural India toward improved health, education and environmental wellbeing.
Isha Outreach’s three principal development initiatives are:
Isha Vidhya:
provides highly creative English and computer education to rural children.
Action for Rural Rejuvenation:
offers health care and wellbeing in village communities.
Project GreenHands:
stimulates ecological renewal and protection through large-scale tree planting and agro-forestry.
In the last five years, Isha’s programmes reached more than 4,600 villages and 7 million people in 33 districts of Tamil Nadu and parts of Karnataka, Pondicherry and Kerala. Action for Rural Rejuvenation treated over 1.5 million patients and conducted yoga programs for 1,51,500 villagers; Project GreenHands raised more than 8 million tree saplings for plantation and nearly 2,000 poor children are enrolled in 6 Isha Vidhya schools.
Isha extends assistance to all, regardless of ethnic or religious origins, with focus on India’s marginalized tribal populations.
