Mission

Hope’s Mission is to serve the needy and working poor of two small villages in Southern India in the form of medical, psychosocial and financial assistance with emphasis on community health, and women and children’s welfare and empowerment.

History

01/1999-09/2001: Dr. Daisy Kuchinad, and her husband Chet Kuchinad, provided the initial resources necessary to buy land and build a private residence and clinic building to house Hope Clinic in Kurumbanadom.

09/2001: Hope Charities, Inc, is established as a 501c3 charitable organization in Portland, Oregon to fund Hope Clinic and its’ operations in India.

09/2002: Hope Medical Clinic opens it’s doors for service.

06/2005: A second building for Hope Clinic is completed. The Hope Clinic Woman’s Empowerment center (named Vatsala Shenoy Woman’s Vocational Center) was founded with the help of a generous grant from Sadhana and Sunil Shenoy. This center now provides vocational services for the women in the community.

11/2006: ESL library and tutoring center set up.

	Complete out-patient health care, including free of charge clinic visits including medicines and diagnostic tests.
	Community outreach and education classes on such topics as substance abuse, TB awareness, mosquito borne and communicable diseases, basic hygiene and nutrition, domestic violence.
	ocational center providing skills for women targeted toward income-generation.
	K-12 education scholarships.
	SL library and tutoring.

Staff

Dr. Raghavan Sasidharan – Dr. Sasidharan, hired in 2002, is Hope Clinic’s strongest asset.  Dr. Sasidharan had been practicing in the community (about three kilometers from Hope Clinic) for 20 years, often providing free care to those most in need. At that time he also served as a part time faculty member at Kottayam Medical School. We were introduced to him by a local paraplegic man whose family whom he repeatedly treated free of charge.  In addition to an MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) degree he also has a PhD in Behavioral Medicine and Rehabilitation Psychology making him an ideal candidate for Hope Clinic’s needs.

Dr. Sashi (as he is known) resigned his job with the Medical School and took charge of Hope Clinic in September of 2002. He spends 4-6 hours per day 5 days a week seeing between 40-50 patients per day at Hope Clinic. He also conducts the half day Community Education Classes on one Saturday a month. Dr. Sashis’s humility, compassion and wisdom have made him a beloved physician in the community. His dedication, commitment and social networking with local medical institutions and government agencies has facilitated the smooth and efficient functioning of Hope Clinic enabling us to expand our services and add additional functions