Story of a struggle between life and the distance
Champawat region in the state of Uttarakhand is one of most difficult topographies in India. In many villages, communities have to walk/ tread through the mountainous routes to reach the paved roads. This creates immense challenges especially during health emergencies. During the COVID lockdown, Ganga Devi underwent delivery at the community health center and returned to her home at Pipal Khan village. After a while, she started to have pains in her abdomen. Parvati Devi, the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) immediately found that placenta had not been removed properly. She insisted her to be taken to health center. This required moving Ganga over a mountainous stretch of over 5 kilometers to reach the nearest motorable road. Parvati contacted the village health committee and mobilized 5 youth to carry Ganga to the health center in a sling bag (palki). She reached the hospital and nurse removed the placenta. She returned home the next day. This would have been fatal had Parvati and health committee not intervened so promptly. This is a true example of the dedication and hard work by ASHAs who are saving thousands of lives.