Supervasi
Formation | June 8, 2012 |
---|---|
Official language | English, Hindi, Marathi |
Website | supervasi.com |
Supervasi is a non-profit organisation and movement based in Maharashtra, India, formed for the purpose of using technology to improve e-governance, business and society.[2][3][4][5]
Supervasi is run by members from various fields. Volunteers come from various parts of India and Europe, and work on a non-salaried basis.[2][3][4][6] It has developed low-cost medical devices such as the Snakeathon Ambulance and Super Ventilator. It provides job opportunities and apprenticeship programs for the underprivileged indigenous tribals (Adivasis) and hearing disabled.[2][3][4] It also provides various educational, medical and legal services to the tribals of Yeoor, Maharashtra.[7][8][9][10]
Supervasi's funding comes from information technology projects undertaken by the organization, which funds their social projects.[2][3][5] Their services include development of enterprise resource planning systems, business software and websites.[2][3] Supporting services include business process outsourcing and data entry.[2][3]
The programs run by the organization target the
History
In 2003, a team of 10 volunteers assembled in
After nearly a decade of research, Supervasi was founded in June 2012 by Glenn Fernandes, a visionary technologist who worked in
Between 2009-2012, they toured the "Tribal Belt of India", to study and understand the problems of the impoverished tribals living in remote regions.[14][13][15] They decided to start with the development of the Yeoor-based tribal population.[13][15]
In 2012, they launched the SuperBusiness ERP cloud platform with the "Artificial Intelligence for Business" engine (5th Generation Language), in order to fund the rehabilitation and non-profit activities of the organization.
In 2015, Glenn Fernandes and Dr. Sarita Parikh designed an ultra low-cost
On March 8, 2015 (International Woman's Day), Ms. Apoorva Agwan, VP of Sustainable Development at Supervasi was awarded the Samarth Ti Puraskar Award 2015 from the Samarth Bharat Vyaspeeth institution, for her "outstanding contribution to the field of women empowerment, women education and snakebite management".[18]
In April 2015, Supervasi conducted a free Vaccination and Health Camp for over 350 tribal residents of Yeoor, in collaboration with
In August 2015, Supervasi conducted a Free Documents Registration Camp in Yeoor for over 500 tribal residents of Yeoor, to help them obtain vital legal identification such as
In September 2015, Supervasi and Rotary Club of Thane North jointly conducted a Lung Health Checkup Camp to identify and help treat Tuberculosis (TB) patients in Yeoor.[19] Over 200 people attended. Further lung camps were conducted the same year.[19]
In October 2016, Supervasi conducted an Eye and Blood Test Camp for over 350 tribal residents of Yeoor.[19] The event was sponsored by Rotary Club of Thane North and Rotary Club of Thane Premium.[19]
In 2016, they conducted child education and adult literacy courses for the tribal population of Yeoor as part of the Unmol Education program, using multimedia based education.[14][21]
On 8 April 2017, Ms. Apoorva Agwan of Supervasi won the Gaurav Stree Kartutvacha 2017 Award from Pudhari Thane, awarded for her outstanding contribution to the Adivasi community of Yeoor, Thane.[22]
Projects
Super Ventilator
Since 2015, Supervasi has been developing the Super Ventilator, which is an ultra low-cost
There is an acute shortage of mechanical ventilators in India; based on hospital-bed-to-ventilator statistics, India is short of one million mechanical ventilators.[25][26][27][28][29][30] Ventilators are required in seven major departments like medicine, pediatrics, pediatric surgery, surgery, orthopedics, chest medicine and TB, ENT and gynecology.[24]
Compared to conventional mechanical ventilators that cost around 2.5 Million Indian Rupees (upwards of $20,000),[25][24] the Super Ventilator costs just 25,000 Indian Rupees, making it affordable by all hospitals and villages.[24] Also, conventional ventilators are often too complex and fragile for use in harsh rural environments.[25] The goal of the device is "one ventilator per bed" in every hospital.[24]
PACT Program
Since 2014, Supervasi has been training tribal youth in advanced computer skills and foreign languages, in a residential program known as Pratigya Apprenticeship for Community Transformation (PACT).[2][3][5] In 2014, it started a pilot PACT center in Yeoor, Maharashtra.[2][3]
Apprentices are trained in
The trained apprentices are required to help the NGO in carrying out their snakebite project by distributing safety kits developed by it.[33]
Snakeathon Project
In 2014, Supervasi developed innovative relief measures for victims of snakebite.[2][3] The primary relief measure is a "mono-wheel ambulance" for areas that lack roads and vehicles, areas that are completely disconnected from the road network.[23]
The mono-wheel ambulance is a
The mono-wheel ambulance is suited for rough and rocky terrain, and the portable low/no power ventilator can be used in villages with no electricity.[5][35]
50% of snakebite cases in the world take place in India.[33] In Thane district alone, snakebites claim up to 10 people a day, and in the monsoon season, the toll rises to 20.[33] A close study of the deaths has shown that it was mostly the male members of the family who had died, bringing hardships to the family. Moreover, three of the four victims had died only because they were unable to reach a hospital in time due to lack of roads in rural areas.[33]
Public Interest Litigation
In 2014, Dr. Sarita Parikh and Apoorva Agwan of Supervasi filed a
In response, the High Court stated that it was "quite impressed by the research which has been done by Supervasi", and acknowledged that they had provided "statistical data about snakebites in Maharashtra and the other States in India" and that they gave "a definite proposal how this problem can be resolved".[36] There has been resistance to their NGO work from Anantashram Trust and some adivasis, including an ex-sarpanch and a social worker.[33][36][37][38][39] The High Court directed the police in Thane, Maharashtra to ensure that members and apprentices of Supervasi are not obstructed by anyone in carrying out their work.[33][36]
Following the PIL filed by Dr. Sarita Parikh, on the increasing number of deaths due to snake bites in rural Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court ordered the state government to consider framing an Emergency Medical Services Act along the lines of the one in Gujarat, that will make emergency medical aid as good as a fundamental right.[36][40]
References
- ^ a b c d Company Profile, Supervasi
- ^ Times of India, Thane, Mar 21, 2014
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Yeoor girls speak German!, Thane Vaibhav, Know Your Town, 21.3.2014
- ^ a b c Gunde, Anupama (2014-03-11). "आदिवासी तरुणी होताहेत सक्षम (Young Tribal Women Get Empowered)". Maharashtra Times. Archived from the original on 2014-03-11. Alt URL
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Don’t Give Me Charity, Give Me a Chance, says Crisys, Moneylife Magazine
- ^ Gunde, Anupama (2016-03-08). "बार्बरा बिंदर इज नाऊ ठाणेकर (Barbara Binder is now a "Thanekar" (Woman's Day Special)" (PDF). Maharashtra Times.
- ^ Gunde, Anupama (2015-02-11). "येऊरचा होतोय कायापालट (Transformation happening in Yeoor, Education program)" (PDF). Maharashtra Times.
- ^ Chavan, Pankaj (2016-09-28). "आदिवासी पाड्यांत सायकलची सैर (Cycle Library for children of Yeoor)" (PDF). Maharashtra Times.
- ^ "५० वर्षांनंतर येऊर पाड्यात स्वच्छतागृहे (50 years later, some cleanliness at Yeoor, Toilet project)" (PDF). Maharashtra Times. 2016-11-22.
- ^ Sheikh, Seema (2016-01-07). "आदिवासिंच्या विकासासाठी (Adivasi education & upliftment in Yeoor)" (PDF). Maharashtra Times.
- ^ Adivasis of India Archived 2014-03-11 at the Wayback Machine, "Current issues", Minority Rights
- ^ About Supervasi, Supervasi
- ^ a b c d Sathe, Suchitra (2015-01-22). "ठाणे तिथे : खरंच 'लय भारी' (Truly Awesome)". Loksatta. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Alt URL
- ^ a b c d Leadership, Supervasi
- ^ a b Truly “Awesome” (english translation), Loksatta, 2015-01-22, Suchitra Sathe
- ^ SuperBusiness Cloud ERP, Supervasi
- ^ Jungle BPO, Supervasi
- ^ Samarth Ti Puraskar Award 2015, Leadership at Supervasi
- ^ a b c d e Medical Aid, Supervasi
- ^ Legal Aid, Supervasi
- ^ Unmol Program, Supervasi
- ^ Thane, Pudhari (2017-04-07). "उद्या होणार पुढारी गौरव स्त्री कर्तृत्वाचा (Apoorva Agwan of Supervasi wins the Gaurav Stree Kartutvacha 2017 Award)" (PDF). Pudhari Thane.
- ^ Times of India, May 30, 2014
- ^ a b c d e f Super Ventilator, Supervasi
- ^ a b c Sharma, Kirti (2014-10-10). "OneBreath Is Low-Cost, Portable Mechanical Ventilator Designed For Developing Countries". Indian Web 2.
- Indian Express.
- ^ Yasmeen, Afshan (2015-10-14). "Govt. hospitals facing ventilator shortage". The Hindu.
- ^ Chakraborty, Rupsa (2016-08-09). "Mumbai: BMC hospitals turn away 3,000 patients every year for lack of ventilators". Mid-Day.
- ^ DW, DW (2017-08-12). "Indian clinic oxygen shortage blamed for infant deaths". Deutsche Welle.
- Indian Express.
- ^ आदिवासी मूली बोलणार परदेशी भाषा Archived 2014-03-25 at the Wayback Machine (Adivasi girls speak foreign languages), Pudhari Kolapur (पुढारी), 24 March 2014
- ^ DNA India, Monday, 16 June 2014
- ^ Gunde, Anupama (2014-06-02). "सर्पदंशावर मोनोव्हीलचा 'उतारा' (Snakebites to get the 'antidote' of a Monowheel)". Maharashtra Times. Archived from the original on 2014-06-05. Alt URL
- ^ Times of India, Jun 9, 2014
- ^ a b c d e Will there be a new Emergency Medical Services Act in Maharashtra?, Moneylife Magazine, 16/10/2014
- ^ "HC seeks to know govt's action plan to curb snakebite deaths". Business Standard. 2014-07-21.
- ^ "HC: Spell out plan to curb snakebite deaths". The Afternoon. 2014-07-22.
- ^ "सर्पदंश कीटच्या वितरणातील अडथळे दूर करा!". Maharashtra Times. 2014-07-09. Archived from the original on 2016-12-21. Alt URL
- ^ HC asks state to frame new law to deal with medical emergencies, Mumbai Mirror, Oct 17, 2014
External links
- supervasi.com, organisation's website