AIF’s New England Chapter celebrated yet another successful annual gala at the elegant Renaissance Waterfront Hotel in Boston raising more than $1million for its Maternal and New Born Survival Initiative (MANSI) in India.

Dr. Brian Pereira, Honoree of the evening described how his own education shaped his philanthropic journey. “I can speak for myself that the total amount my parents spent over 6 years of medical school including tuition, board, lodging and entertainment was less than $1000. In no way, could this have covered the true cost of our education. The reality is that the nation and its 1.3 billion population paid for it. We have an obligation to “pay-it-forward” and unlock the potential of the vast reservoir of human capital in India. That my friends is the purpose of this evening”.

Dr. Nicolaos Madias, Maurice Segal Chair of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, presented the award to Dr. Pereira and spoke eloquently about his accomplishments both in his field as well as in his philanthropic pursuits.

The gala, celebrating ten years of the MANSI program, drew 450 supporters for an evening of giving, fine dining and entertainment, in strong support for AIF’s mission of catalyzing social and economic change in India. Gala Chairs Preetha and Mammen Chally and Nalini and Raj Sharma spearheaded this year’s gala.

Nalini Sharma who recently visited the MANSI program in Paderu, Andhra Pradesh felt that mothers and infants in these remote areas very much needed the resources that MANSI provides and she personally saw the impact it makes in their lives.

Nishant Pandey, CEO, AIF shared his vision and the scope for MANSI in the next five years.

The highlight of the evening was Savitri Devi, an ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist, a community health worker) who shared her story of the transformation that MANSI brought in her life. Married at the age of ten, and a mother of three by age 22, she said becoming an ASHA was the best thing that happened to her. After being trained in this program, she has managed to save more than 19 lives in her village in Uttarakhand, where the terrain is hilly and hospitals and clinics are not very close.

Sorboni Banerjee, the Emmy Award winning television news reporter and anchor, and author of Hide With Me, was the emcee for the evening. She kept the audience enthralled with the story of an improvised incubator box, an innovation of the MANSI program that saved the life of Baby Bindiya.  Sorboni and Raj Sharma conducted a very successful pledge drive and applauded the donors for their generosity and their deep commitment to India.

The gala, catered by Masala Art, featured a fabulous line up of entertainment, including the music group Natraj, the Berklee Indian Ensemble, the dance ensemble Shahi Taj Bhangra and DJ Neel.

MANSI has won the Best Public Health Initiative Award at the India Health & Wellness Summit (IHWS) 2018. The award is in recognition of MANSI’s excellence in providing preventive and curative care for mothers and newborns in remote rural and tribal areas of India. MANSI currently serves over two million people in 3,400 villages, in four Indian states.

MANSI equips villages with a trained community health worker to provide home-based care, strengthening individual and family knowledge to promote positive health behaviors while building capacity for whole communities. Timely referrals and emergency care during pregnancy ensure that mothers get qualified care when they most need it. AIF is instituting a system for sustainability at all levels for the community and local Health Ministry to uphold over the long term. Learn more about AIF https://aif.org/.

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