The Tansa Valley in Maharashtra, India is about 100 miles from Mumbai. Despite proximity to India’s financial capital, most of the 200,000 people in this predominantly tribal area have lived hand-to-mouth for generations. They work as farm laborers, in brick factories, and doing odd jobs, earning about $50 or less per month.

Before PRASAD Chikitsa began offering programs in the Tansa Valley, most children in the area were malnourished; adults battled untreated tuberculosis and heart disease, and many endured lives of blindness caused by cataracts. The government-run Primary Health Care Centers and the few private clinics in the valley could not meet the needs of so many people.