Kishor D. Jobalia
District Governor, District 3140 has to say - Sept.2003

I have the great pleasure in introducing Dr. Gopa Kothari whom I have known since 1960.

I have nothing but great admiration for the way she has shaped her life and career devoting to serving the community for worthwhile causes. She has worked in her personal capacity as well as through various organizations, one of them being Rotary International. For many years she has done commendable work, particularly in the field of Polio Plus Program of Rotary International. Total eradication of polio from the face of the earth by the year 2005 is the goal of this program. She has been very actively involved in this program for last many years. For her efforts and contribution she has been invited as "Honorary" Rotarian of Rotary Club of Mumbai Hill South. Honorary Membership is conferred only in exceptional cases to recognize an individual for unusual service and outstanding contribution to Rotary and Society.

have personally seen her working on various projects -- in slums of Mumbai, amongst children of so many schools in Mumbai, in rural and tribal areas of Dang District (Gujarat) and many other slum areas in and around Mumbai. I have always found her highly motivated and dedicated, hard working, full of sincerity and perseverance. But above all what I value is that she is very kind, loving and a fine human being. It is rare for a doctor coming from an effluent family devoting her time, energy and expertise to work in slums and in remote tribal areas without any financial remuneration. I wish we had many more Gopa Kotharis in our country. I wish her more success and happiness in life.

‘Mamta Kit’ In Tribal Villages Of Dang:
Tender Care With Mamta Kits – Dr Nita Mukherjee
Page 66, Beyond Money, Monet Life, Personal Finance Magazine 19 July 2007

The villages of Dang district in Gujarat had a very high infant mortality rate and it was found that the children and mothers frequently died of Tetanus arising from unhygienic childbirth practices. The government had a program for training of ‘dais’ and midwives but for a variety of reasons these health workers did not have even the basic sterilised equipment for conducting deliveries.

We therefore created the Mamta Kit, comprising of a sterilised piece of gauze, catgut, a small bottle of iodine, a blade and a small plastic sheet. The kits used to cost around Rs. 5 in 1991-92 and now cost Rs. 20 INR. Every pregnant woman was advised and encouraged to have a kit ready with her, thus shifting the importance of clean delivery from the dai to the mother to be.

This innovative intervention was highly successful in bringing down the mortality rate in Dang villages and these kits are now being procured by the Gujarat government for village health centers.

The views of Mrs. Lalita Bhattacharjee
PhD Nutritionist, NFPCSP, FAO

I have been associated with the Child Eye - Care Charitable 'Trust (CECT), that has been closely working on health and developmental related issues and upliftment of tribal’s in Dang district tor the past Canada.
As part of selected international case studies on documenting traditional food systems of indigenous peoples in Asia, I had the opportunity to collaborate with Dr. Gopa Kothari and the CECT in 2001 — 2003 to study the food systems of the Bhil tribes from Gujarat in Western India through a project supported by FAO Bangkok and FAO HQ Rome and the Centre for Indigenous Peoples Nutrition and Environment, McGill University Canada.
We were able to study the community food systems, nutritional status of the Bhil community, analyze and validate nutrient content of selected indigenous foods from a total community list of  97 foods. Co-ordination with local health authorities was an important feature of the implementation of the Bhil project activities and this has been crucial to improve the utilization of the existing health infrastructure and increase coverage of services. In order to create sustainability and self reliance, the formation of community based activities through the tribal groups, including women and youth was indeed noteworthy and worth emulating.
As part of the packaged programme of activities of CECT that aimed to improve health and development of the tribal population in Dang district, the activities included among others, health and nutrition education targeting children below 5 years and pregnant mothers. Social mobilization of the community for health promotion at individual, family and community levels was central to the strategic approach being adopted and this was well demonstrated in the CECT programme outcomes.
Within the existing framework of the health and related service delivery structures of CECT, I have noted that there exists a major potential to promote the traditional food systems of the tribal’s and improve their food security, nutrition and health. The effectiveness of using community based strategies and local level interventions to strengthen indigenous nutrition and health knowledge and overcome malnutrition/micronutrient malnutrition needs to be widely scaled up and I am confident that CECT cars address this challenge.

Prof. Harriet V. Kuhnlein
PhD, Founding Director, CINE McGill University, express

In 2001, Child Eye Care Charitable Trust (CECCT) initiated its 'Dang Tribal Program' in the Dang district of Gujarat, a western state of India. The organization is primarily involved in implementing comprehensive eye care services to vulnerable populations, especially children to control avoidable blindness. During this period visited the Dang District and several Bhil tribal villages, and was impressed with the interventions that I was able to witness first hand.

They initiated their program in Dang because of the high prevalence of avoidable blindness as well as high rates of infant and maternal morbidity and mortality in these communities. It soon became clear that there was a need in this region to have a permanent source of water supply throughout the year. Even though this region receives adequate rainfall, the hilly terrain and lack of cachment caused a complete loss of the rain water. CCECT realized the communities of Dang were heavily dependent on agriculture and the rain water to support it, and therefore acted to implement various water harvesting, and simultaneously. Waste water management techniques in Dang.
The water harvesting techniques such as building of check dams and deep wells was done with the assistance of existing government schemes, and the concept of kitchen gardens was introduced to manage waste water from hand pumps and kitchens.

In the past 6-7 years CECCT has noted that these basic techniques have not only improved the agricultural yield of the region, but have also impacted the society as a whole. Adequacy and regular supply of water has brought down various water borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid. The hygienic practices of the people with regards to personal hygiene and environmental sanitation have improved. The nutrition of the children and mothers also improved leading to decrease in morbidity and mortality.

Importantly, the overall development has drastically reduced the rural-to-urban migration due to availability of work opportunities within the region, therefore maintaining many of the traditions and customs of these people. The intervention of the water shed program has had an impact on almost all aspects of life and brought about holistic community development.

In my opinion, CECCT has utilised ingenious techniques to harvest and use water which fulfilled the needs of the community and impacted on the health care and eye care of the community.