Streearogya Rural Foundation (SARF) is a small rural non-profit organization nestled among agricultural fields in rural Belati, North Solapur, Maharashtra. It was founded by Dr. Priya Ajay Chauhan, an obstetrician-gynaecologist with a deep commitment to rural women’s health.
Supported by her family, she envisioned a non-profit center to address the health needs of women in underserved communities. In October 2022, a chance meeting between Dr. Priya and I, a public health physician, on a train journey to Solapur marked the beginning of a collaborative partnership.
In the 8 years after completing my MD in Community Medicine from Christian Medical College Vellore, I dabbled with multiple roles in research and academia. Still, my heart yearned for a connection with the ‘community.’ To my surprise, I got this opportunity to work with SARF, and I am extremely grateful for it.
Over the next two years, we worked closely to shape the centre’s mission, vision, and values, engaging local women and stakeholders through participatory approaches. People deterred us, and do so even now.
The villages we serve are about 20 to 25 km from the city of Solapur, a medical hub for this region. We were told that women would not come to us and that we may not add much value to the local healthcare system. However, here we are one year later, standing strong and happy to be of help to the women, hoping to continue working with and for them for many more years to come.
Our goal has been to ensure women remain central to all planning and care efforts. Dr. Priya’s family offered space in their farmhouse, which was renovated by May 2024 to house the center. SARF runs an ‘Arogya Kendra’ at the farmhouse where primary healthcare is provided to the rural women and their families. The core areas of our work include preventive healthcare, a minimally invasive approach to curative care, and research with and for the community.
Team SARF with some of the women in the area
Most women here seek healthcare in private clinics and nursing homes in the city. Their healthcare seeking is delayed, fragmented, expensive, and often does not address their concerns adequately. The women often work throughout the day, shouldering household as well as agricultural and livestock responsibilities. They have long days, full of hard work, and they prefer not to seek healthcare until it hinders their work.
Preventive healthcare is an alien concept here. SARF offers them care that focuses on their overall well-being, much closer to home. SARF uses media and communication to engage with women on issues like irrational hysterectomies, preventive screenings for cancers, bone health, relief from chronic pain, improving nutrition, mental health, and non-communicable diseases.
Women gathered at the Arogya Kendra to watch a Marathi movie on hysterectomy called “Garbhasatya”
Restoring agency in healthcare, one conversation at a time
Over the past year, our interventions have led to a noticeable shift: more women are now willing to seek preventive healthcare. Eight women, after consultations with us, avoided unnecessary hysterectomies and are now being managed conservatively.
Just three years ago, in 2022, fewer than ten women attended a cancer screening camp in the village. Today, thanks to empathetic communication and trust-building, more than 100 women have come forward to be screened by the SARF team. Among them, two were diagnosed with early-stage cancers—one cervical and one breast cancer—and are now being supported through their treatment journeys.
One of our guiding principles is to never push any treatment. Instead, we facilitate group discussions and empower women to make informed choices. This approach has also helped over 100 people find relief from chronic pain through community discussions, exercise demonstrations, and physiotherapy camps. In these sessions, we raise awareness about the long-term harms of ‘quick fixes’ like steroid injections and self-medication.
At our center, everyone has the opportunity to reflect on their nutrition habits with our nurse. For women, this often includes personalized guidance on self-breast examination and, if menstruating, a hands-on demonstration of a menstrual cup. Curiosity is welcome, and conversations are always non-judgmental.
Together, these small but meaningful efforts are shaping a more informed, respectful, and inclusive model of rural women’s healthcare.
The picture shows one of our patients, who was curious about how the stethoscope works and wanted to try it out on our nurse, Ms. Poonam, who is from Belati.
Treating the person, not just the pain
Ms. Rashmi (name changed), 35 years old, came to me with severe pain in her right hand. She told me she had gone to several doctors, but her pain had not subsided. As is routine, at SARF, we focus on the person, not just on the disease or the condition the person is suffering from.
She told me she is a tailor and runs a successful small business in her village, stitching blouses for women. As our conversation continued, she mentioned that she is left-handed and that her pain worsens when she uses her scissors. That detail stood out. I realized that the real cause of her discomfort wasn’t a medical condition but the daily strain of using scissors designed for right-handed people.
Instead of simply prescribing painkillers, which would only mask the problem while she continued using the same tool, I focused on addressing the actual cause. I asked if she knew how to order a pair of left-handed scissors online. She didn’t. So I ordered one for her myself. A few days later, our nurse, who is from the same village, delivered it to her.
A few weeks later, she called saying her pain is relieved now, and she is grateful for our gesture.
Preventing not just surgery but poverty
I met Ms. Radha (name changed), 43 years old, in a community meeting. Our team has been attending these meetings every month to understand the women better and deliver short health messaging.
Ms. Radha had made up her mind that she wanted to get her uterus removed. She had been suffering for months due to her heavy periods. “They last for days and days. I am sick and tired of washing my period cloth for days on end.” If our paths had not crossed, she would most likely have taken out a loan and gotten her uterus removed by now. This is very common in the region.
We asked her not to rush into surgery and asked her to visit our clinic. Our Founding Director, Dr. Priya, had invested in an ultrasound machine during the early days of the organization (despite many people asking her to wait it out). The scan showed no abnormality in the uterus. She received a thorough gynaecological evaluation and was advised to take oral medications.
Most women experience menstrual disturbances around menopause, and her issue was likely due to this reason. “The medicine worked like magic”, she said. She is now on follow-up with us for 10 months, happy that she did not rush into surgery.
Empathy as intervention: Reimagining rural women’s care
These may seem like tiny stories to the world, but they make a world of difference to the women at the heart of them. Too often, women’s pain is minimized, dismissed, or quietly endured and treated as something they must simply live with.
In rural India, where access to timely, affordable, respectful, and informed healthcare is limited, this dismissal is compounded by systemic barriers. Long distances, high costs, poor infrastructure, and a lack of trained, empathetic providers further marginalize women's health concerns, pushing them to the fringes of the healthcare system.
But when someone finally pauses to listen, with patience, empathy, and no agenda other than to truly understand, it creates space for healing. It allows women to make sense of their bodies, their symptoms, and their choices. Amidst the data dashboards and monitoring indicators that dominate public health narratives, stories like these may not count as measurable outcomes. But they are powerful reminders of what matters. They show us that listening is not a luxury; it is often the first and most important form of care.
These small stories are not just anecdotes; they are reminders of what’s possible. They show us that real change doesn’t always require big systems or complex solutions. Sometimes, all it takes is someone willing to pause, listen with care, and walk alongside a woman in her journey to better health. It’s simple, it’s powerful, and it’s something we can all choose to do.
Edited by Parth Sharma
Image by Janvi Bokoliya
