Healthcare access
6,253 people at medical camps in 2004–05 and 1,786 in 2020–21 — check-ups, free medicines and referral in villages where the nearest hospital is a journey away.
Community health services
Medical camps in the watershed villages, an emergency ambulance and mortuary service, and a COVID care centre — healthcare where the nearest hospital is far away.
6,253
At medical camps, 2004–05
1,786
Treated at camps, 2020–21
67
Watersheds with a health campaign
282
Ambulance & mortuary users
Understanding
What community health services mean
What are community health services?
Community health services deliver essential healthcare directly to communities — particularly in underserved and remote areas where access to healthcare facilities is limited — bringing medical care closer to the people who need it most.
The core of the work is the general rural health camp: a team of doctors and medical personnel taken into the watershed villages, a general check-up for everyone who comes, free medicines, and referral of chronic or serious cases to the nearest health centre or the Government District Headquarters Hospital. In 2004–05, camps across 32 watersheds in three districts benefited 6,253 people. In 2015–16 one medical health campaign was organised for each of 67 watersheds with the Rotary Club and Lions Club of Dindigul and Tirunelveli. In 2020–21 two camps at Mylampatty, on 28 September 2020 and 18 January 2021, treated 1,786 people free of charge with a team covering general medicine, physiotherapy and eye care.
The trust also works as a referral arm of the public health system, assisting the health department and district health administrations with the Blindness Control Programme, the Polio Eradication Programme, the TB (DOTS) Programme and STI, HIV and AIDS programmes by referring people to government camps, district hospitals and block-level dispensaries. Alongside that we run ambulatory and mortuary services — emergency transport and the dignified handling of the deceased — which the 2023–24 and 2024–25 reports both record as benefiting 282 people in the past year.
- Mobile health camps
- Emergency services
- Specialised care centres
- Preventive healthcare
- Community outreach
Why this work matters
The challenge on the ground — and our answer
The challenge
Clinics out of reach
In remote and underserved villages, the nearest healthcare facility is often too far — so check-ups are skipped and illness goes untreated.
Our response
Take the doctor to the village
Camps with qualified doctors and medical teams across 32 watersheds benefited 6,253 people in 2004–05; one campaign per watershed reached 67 watersheds in 2015–16; two camps treated 1,786 people in 2020–21.
The challenge
Essential services the poor cannot afford
Private mortuary transport is beyond the reach of rural families, and an emergency with no vehicle is an emergency with no hospital.
Our response
Affordable emergency support
A mortuary van service run for the Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project at the Dindigul District Headquarters Hospital charged ₹5 a kilometre one way, and nothing at all for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe families. The trust’s own ambulatory and mortuary service now runs 24/7.
The challenge
A pandemic with nowhere to isolate
When COVID-19 struck, rural families had little access to isolation facilities, critical care or reliable information.
Our response
A dedicated COVID response
A COVID Care Centre in Tirunelveli with isolation wards, essential medical equipment and trained staff, and 7,500 family essential kits distributed in Chennai with funding from Citi Bank and United Way Mumbai as CSR partner.
The challenge
Illness caught too late
Without preventive care and health education, conditions go undetected until they become emergencies.
Our response
Prevention before cure
Camps carry awareness on preventive healthcare — sanitation, nutrition and hygiene — and on family planning and immunisation, so that households can act before illness becomes an emergency.
At a glance
The essentials
- Active since
- 2003General rural health camps are first recorded in the 2003–04 annual report
- Largest recorded camp reach
- 6,253 peopleMedical camps across 32 watersheds in three districts, 2004–05, under the IWDP and DPAP projects
- Government programme
- Tamil Nadu Health Systems ProjectThe mortuary van service at the Dindigul District Headquarters Hospital, awarded by the Health Department, Government of Tamil Nadu
- Project portfolio
- 5 programmes, 2003–2025Health camps, emergency transport and pandemic response
- Currently delivering
- Ambulatory & mortuary services24/7 emergency transport and dignified mortuary support; 282 beneficiaries in the past year
- Named partners
- Rotary Club, Lions Club, ATC TiresRotary and Lions of Dindigul and Tirunelveli for the 2015–16 watershed campaigns; ATC Tires for the 2023–24 Karur health camps
Track record
Project portfolio
| Programme | Period | Type | Highlights | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General rural health camps | 2003–2024 | Key activity | 6,253 people across 32 watersheds (2004–05); one campaign per watershed for 67 watersheds with Rotary and Lions clubs (2015–16); 1,786 treated at Mylampatty (2020–21); camps in Karur with ATC Tires (2023–24) | Recurring |
| Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project — mortuary van service | 2006–2010 | State programme | Run at the Dindigul District Headquarters Hospital; more than 300 people served in 2007–08 and more than 523 in 2009–10, the year the report says the service was wound up | Completed |
| Ambulatory & mortuary services | 2015–2025 | Key activity | 24/7 emergency transport and dignified mortuary support; 282 beneficiaries in the past year, as reported in both 2023–24 and 2024–25 | Ongoing |
| COVID Care Centre, Tirunelveli | 2021–2022 | Key activity | Isolation wards, essential medical equipment, hygiene protocols and trained healthcare staff for COVID-19 patients | Completed |
| COVID-19 relief works | 2020–2021 | Key activity | 7,500 family essential kits for nominees under the “You Nominate We Donate” programme, funded by Citi Bank with United Way Mumbai as CSR partner | Completed |
Impact
What community health services change
Emergency services
Ambulatory and mortuary services running 24/7 for medical, accident and childbirth emergencies — 282 people in the past year, and a predecessor mortuary van service at the Dindigul District Headquarters Hospital that was free for SC and ST families.
Pandemic response
A COVID Care Centre in Tirunelveli with isolation wards, essential equipment and trained staff, easing pressure on local hospitals during the crisis.
Rural coverage
A medical health campaign organised for each of 67 watersheds in 2015–16 with the Rotary Club and Lions Club of Dindigul and Tirunelveli districts.
Get involved
Support community healthcare
Help us take more health camps into the villages and keep the ambulance running. Your support pays for doctors, medicines and emergency transport for the communities furthest from a hospital.