United Way of Chennai, a non-profit organization focuses on working towards addressing the issues pertaining to health, environment, education, livelihood and much more. Through the initiative, ‘Project Nalam’, we work towards enhancing community health and wellbeing by organizing medical camps, awareness programs and other significant interventions for women, children and the elderly.
The baseline assessment in Ennore revealed that the locality being an industrial area was prone to air pollution caused by toxic gases and the waters of Kosasthalaiyar are polluted with industrial effluents. The pollution in the air and waterbody leads to many health issues in the community such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Urinary Tract Infections, Tuberculosis, Cancer, Malnutrition, Anemia, Early menopause, and other diseases. The areas faced an array of problems ranging from unsatisfactory health habits and malnutrition to poor menstrual habits. Pregnant women, lactating mothers and children were all afflicted with malnutrition. The medical infrastructure was unsatisfactory and unqualified to help the people in a good capacity.
To address these issues and other prevalent unhealthy habits, United Way of Chennai (UWC) with the support of Coromandel International Limited and the Government Health Functionaries came together to implement significant interventions among the community to improve their health status. As part of the initiative, we organized multiple medical camps with a focus on various medical fields including dental, orthopedic, cancer and multispecialty.
We organized awareness programs on maternal and child health with a special focus on Government Schemes in Anganwadis and the necessity for nutritious food intake. Lactating mothers, pregnant women and children facing malnutrition and were supported with nutritious kits. A special awareness program was conducted to empower women and girls by enhancing their knowledge on menstrual hygiene and health. Food exhibitions were organized to bring out an understanding of healthy nutritious food.
Project Nalam has immensely enhanced the health and well-being of children, women, elderly, and all community members. The adults pledged to provide their children with millet food at least once a week. United Way of Chennai is committed to providing medical support, nutrition, and awareness to the people living in vulnerable communities.
