Samta Foundation Presents 'Hope Express' - The Gift of Good Health, to Uganda

MUMBAI, June 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Samta Foundation, the not-for-profit organisation instituted by Purushottam Agrawal and family in memory of his late wife Samta Agrawal, today presented to Uganda, the gift of good health and cancer awareness - the Hope Express, a mobile mammography unit to detect the early presence of breast and cervical cancer in women. This van, complete with state-of-the-art technology and outfitted entirely in association with the TATA Cancer Research Institute and TATA Trusts, was presented by the Chairman of Samta Foundation, Purushottam Agrawal, to the Hon. Consul of the Republic of Uganda, H.E Madhusudan Agrawal.

Hope Express, the mobile mammography unit, was built with an aim to boost breast and cervical cancer detection and awareness, particularly in the lesser accessible interiors and tribal areas of Uganda. The van will travel the length and breadth of the country and could save several thousand lives, since after all, awareness is the first step to detection and recovery. This noble effort by Samta Foundation is the first solid step towards, cancer care, after holding several camps for cataract screening and surgery across India and Uganda.

Speaking at the inaugural event, the Chief Guest, Dr. Kailash Sharma, Director - Academics at the TATA Memorial Centre and the Guest of Honour, prominent Bollywood celebrity Suniel Shetty both thoroughly appreciated the great philanthropic work being undertaken by Samta Foundation. Considering the cause of affordable health and cancer care is close to their hearts, both personalities promised their wholehearted support to the cause and to the foundation. The mobile unit was inaugurated and toured by the Ambassadors of four African countries - H.E Mossi Rosette - DRC Congo, H.E Maxwell Ranga - Zimbabwe, H.E Ernest Rwamucyo - Rwanda and H.E Baraka Luvanda - Tanzania, the Chairman of Samta Foundation, Purushottam Agrawal, Suniel Shetty and Dr. Kailash Sharma.

H.E Madhusudan Agrawal, the Hon. Consul, Republic of Uganda, said, "Hope Express is a dream that my older brother, Purushottam Agrawal, has harboured ever since the sad demise of his wife and our family matriarch, Mrs. Samta Agrawal. Cancer care is a cause very close to the Agrawal family, and considering Uganda has a huge incidence of cancer related cases but not enough awareness, we thought of bringing in the best of our technology and research to the lesser accessible areas of the nation. Next month, when our PM Modi is scheduled to visit Uganda for bilateral ties, I am a part of the delegation considering I am the Hon. Consul in Mumbai, we will be formally presenting the mobile unit to the President of Uganda, H.E Yoweri Museveni. But our cancer care work doesn't stay restricted to Uganda alone; we will be sending this unit across to the neoughbouring African countries as well. Moreover, we also have units being replicated for the work in India. Together, we wish to impact lives across the board in terms of basic healthcare and creating livelihoods for the lesser fortunate."

Samta Foundation was instituted by the illustrious Agrawal family that owns Ajanta Pharma, one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies. After she was diagnosed with blood cancer, Mrs. Samta Agrawal underwent several years of treatment, in isolation, in the USA. As she succumbed to the illness, her husband, Purushottam Agrawal decided to institute Samta Foundation in her memory, wanting to create ample opportunities for men and women to be able to afford basic healthcare and secure livelihoods. Working with the tribal communities of Maharashtra, and adopting several upliftment programs across Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Samta Foundation today supports over thousands of people in their daily work and healthcare. While Hope Express is being gifted to Uganda, three similar mobile units are being outfitted for India as well and will be operational soon.

About Samta Foundation: 

Samta Memorial Foundation focuses on bringing meaningful transformation in the life of those who lack resources or opportunities, the less privileged ones in the rural and tribal India. We ENABLE, EDUCATE & EMPOWER them through focused initiatives in health, education, women empowerment and rural infrastructure. Access to healthcare remains difficult for the rural and tribal people of India due to their remote location, lack of awareness, limitation of transportation, poor knowledge and poverty. We provide such needy patients best of health in the areas of cataract operations, family planning program and plastic surgery camps completely free of cost including their transport, food, medicines & spectacles. Our team visits inaccessible and most remote areas, educate them about the diseases, arrange diagnostic camps and enrol them for further treatment. Between 2010 & 2016, vision of over 200,000 people has been restored through cataract operations. More than 5,000 families were benefited through Family Planning Programs in mostly tribal area of Palghar district, Maharashtra and over 3,000 villagers got the benefit of Plastic Surgery treatment. Samta Foundation has also been associated with various schools in rural & tribal areas where it provides educational infrastructure in the form of renovating schools, building science laboratories, libraries, computer labs, etc. The emphasis is more on promoting girl child education and equal opportunities. The foundation also provides scholarships to deserving students for continuing their studies. To trained the youth in vocations beyond their formal school/college education, and to allow them to become financially independent, Samta Foundation provides vocational training to many girl students in the areas of sewing, embroidery, singing, computer, etc. Currently, about 5,000 girls avail the benefit of this facility in different schools in rural India. This makes them directly employable immediately after their formal education. There are many more smaller initiatives being taken up by the foundation like, building waiting areas or staying facilities for outstation patients near Government Hospitals, providing subsidized food for such patients and their relatives, etc. which directly benefits the poor and underprivileged people. For more information, visit: http://samtamemorial.org/ .

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