A Women’s Clinic for Women

It was 2017 when the Javeri family wrote an email to SlumAid to share an idea. They wanted to develop a project that could honour the memory of a member of their family, Maleka Javeri.

This idea became a reality in 2018, when a Bus Clinic was inaugurated. Thanks to Jon Blackwell – a former SlumAid volunteer who fundraised for the project and thanks to Dr. Meenal Rokade, the clinic was opened to the public on June 1, 2018.

The Bus Clinic – operated by Lok Seva Sangam, one of our partners in Mumbai – provides free treatments for children and mothers living in the most deprived areas of Mumbai.
Although our initial aim was to treat children only, the doctor and the staff of Lok Seva Sangam realised immediately that the mothers who came with them also required help.
From the feedback received, women were unable to address their health issues as lady doctors are very hard to find in Mumbai informal settlements. After 2 years, the Bus Clinic has become an important space for the women living in the areas where the Bus Clinic operates. This is one of the few spaces in those neighbourhoods where women can freely talk about their medical issues and find solutions. They share concerns and receive support. Thanks to the Bus Clinic, women are becoming more aware of their rights and of their role in keeping all their families healthy.
This project showed us that health and women empowerment are two sides of the same coin and we hope that the project can continue to bring positive changes into the lives’ of its patients.