“Abel, I need your help with the work I lead.” That was the call from my friend and classmate, Dr Daleep Mukarji. He knew that over the seven years since graduation from Christian Medical College, Vellore (CMC), I had gained valuable clinical experience in patient care.
He wanted me to take over the health work even as he moved full stream into development work to reduce poverty. God, in His mysterious ways, took me to the Rural Unit for Health and Social Affairs, popularly known by its acronym RUHSA of Christian Medical College, Vellore, India, founded by Dr Daleep Mukarji. I was to remain here for the next twenty-seven years.
As Daleep expected, I could put my clinical experience in patient care to develop a very good primary and secondary health care programme. Unlike Daleep and many of my classmates, I had not completed postgraduate studies, even after seven years of experience.
As Daleep was satisfied with the leadership he expected, he ensured that I could complete my Master of Public Health course from the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA.
While I enjoyed the challenges of health work, my leadership position within RUHSA, from time to time, forced me to get involved with the development side of the work. I liked both areas. I was cautious in jumping into development work.
So, I kept this a point of prayer, asking God for guidance in the decision I was being forced to make. Sure enough, God gave me His answer. It was on July 31, 1982, around 9 am, that God answered my prayer during my prayer time in the guest room at 11 Hailey Road, New Delhi, India.
It was my call from God for my lifework, which I did not know then. “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.” Simply put, it was “Speak for the Poor.” In that phase of my work, I literally had to speak for the poor, recommending charitable concessions for my poor patients from the big Christian Medical College Hospital. Invariably, my recommendations were honoured.
One of the unique experiences of speaking for the poor at this stage was referring poor patients to the main tertiary care hospital. Very often, when I recommended a concession for the poor, it would be accepted without any question. Once a mother had a bill of Rs. 60,000. I recommended that this patient pay only Rs. 1,000. That is what she paid.
After eight years of leadership, Daleep left RUHSA, and the institution handed over to me the leadership of RUHSA, including both health and development, which involved reducing poverty. Fortunately, Daleep had laid a very good foundation for the development work; my role was primarily in managing them to a sustainable level.
Towards my retirement, when RUHSA celebrated its silver jubilee, God gave me the privilege of describing what we did to help the poor in reducing poverty. I wrote a book, “Sustainable Health and Development: RUHSA’s Experiences.”
In 2005, I retired from RUHSA. I was constantly thinking of the work I had left behind. God gave me the wisdom and grace to write my next book on the impact of reducing poverty in the whole K V Kuppam block as well as in the lives of very specific poor individuals. It was entitled “Businessmen for the Poor.” It had the subtitle: “How to reduce poverty by creating small businessmen and businesswomen.”
My life of speaking for the poor is not over yet. Now, God is helping write the next stage of the impact of poverty reduction. I am learning about the changes made in the living standards of the poor as a result of reducing poverty.
I feel impressed to bring in my experiences in reducing poverty so that many others who are working on reducing poverty could apply some of the lessons we learnt in RUHSA so that they do not have to make mistakes in poverty reduction. This leads me to enter the policy level of reducing poverty. It is an entirely new area for me as I am dragged into the field of economics.
Please feel free to pick my brains and get into a process of dialogue so that whatever I present will be critically analysed and made available for wider dissemination. I desire that people involved in economics and development respond not just to this blog, but also to those that would follow this.
This has become a somewhat long blog. In my next blog, I will state how you can respond to carrying forward this thought of reducing poverty.
To those who have not heard about my last book mentioned above, I provide the link to the book. Please feel free to share with those who might benefit from this.
‘Businessmen for the Poor’
The paperback Indian version
https://notionpress.com/read/businessmen-for-the-poor-1330766
The global paperback version –
The e-book version
Thanks
Rajaratnam Abel
Rajaratnam Abel 