Monalisa works as a Clinical Education Consultant for Pfizer, Inc.  In her current role, Monalisa is responsible for the strategy, implementation, and analysis of data associated with clinical and quality outcomes.  Monalisa has worked directly with leaders in managed care organizations, health care institutions, long-term care, and large employer groups.  

She has devoted her volunteer efforts as the founder of a non-profit humanitarian organization-To Help Rural Indian Villages Emerge- THRIVE in the pursuit of providing access to education, health-care, and sustainable economic development to impoverished women and children living in rural India. She is on her way to create her second non-profit organization SACHI whose mission is to provide awareness, education, advocacy and outreach of primary and preventive health information for the South Asian American community. 

For her efforts she was awarded the Upjohn Humanitarian Award for exemplary community service.

Monalisa received her pharmacy degree from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and is currently pursuing a Health Policy MBA at the Heller Institute - Brandeis University.

Patnaik talked to Lokvani about her career and philanthropic work. She also shared her experiences of growing up as an Indian American in the Deep South.

You started THRIVE  when you were only twenty-six. What motivated you, an Indian American, to start a philanthropic organization to help people in India at such a young age?

As an Indian American growing up in the America I visited India almost every year. The poverty I saw in some areas tugged at my heart strings and was paralyzing. When I was very young I promised myself that I would do something to help those people when I grew up…and one day, I found myself grown up! 

Soon after I started working and my husband and I bought our first home and luxury car, I realized that  I didn’t want to spend a lifetime pursuing endless materialistic desires- the next bigger and better. If it happened, great but that is not how I wanted to identify my purpose in life. I decided to start saving some money to be true to what I had promised myself earlier.  My husband and I put in about $27,000 as seed money to build the infrastructure for THRIVE- To Help Rural Indian Villages Emerge. This was the beginning of a life long commitment.

What is THRIVE’s mission and what has THRIVE accomplished to date?

THRIVE's (THRIVE - To Help Rural Indian Villages Emerge) current focus is Orissa; one of the most underdeveloped and impoverished states within India. Its rural communities have little or no chance of economic proliferation. Necessities such as clean water, food, and basic medical services (including pre and post natal care, immunization, and services for physical checkups) are inaccessible to rural communities. Additionally, villagers lack educational resources that would enable them to secure and mobilize basic needs. We are currently active in 18 tribal villages that are located 9 kilometers from Khandapara, Nayagargh Orissa:

We have established two schools staffed with three teachers and an assistant. The THRIVE Tribal Schools offer mid-day meals to all children who attend. THRIVE partners with local organizations to provide access to immunization programs and malaria prevention. Initially villagers have experienced a  reduction in the rate of malaria cases since 2000 but without adequate supplies and leadership in the health care sector we are fighting to regain ground in this area. We coordinated the construction of a access road leading to the village for vehicle access. Focused coordination and education by THRIVE staffers resulted in the creation and oversight of 13 Women's Self Help Groups to date. Addition of a tube well helped ease the water problem for the area in which the children attend school.

Your company honored you for the work you have done with THRIVE. Could you tell us about the award that you won at Pfizer?

Yes, it was a very pleasant surprise and confirmed that I work for a company that values human life… here and globally.  It was the Upjohn Humanitarian Award for exemplary community service.  Not necessary but was very nice to have some publicity for THRIVE among my colleagues.  It did result in a few additional donations and was validating for those who already contributed.

You have created yet another non-profit, SACHI. Could you describe that organization?

Unlike other minority communities, South Asians do not have an advocate for what we can do for our health in a visible and unified manner. The SA community has been shown to have higher prevalence rates such as CHD, diabetes, depression, lack of breast cancer and prostate screening. Providing the validated and necessary resources of relevant health education and awareness programs will translate to improving the health and well being of South Asian Americans now and in the long term.

SACHI’s mission is to provide awareness, education, advocacy and outreach of primary and preventive health information for the South Asian American community. SACHI’s goal is to serve as a central source of health education through structured and targeted community outreach programs delivered by health care professionals such as physicians, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and certified disease state educators.

Often the government clubs us together under the Asian umbrella. Take for example the diets of the Chinese compared to South Asians, it is very different.  We may or may not have very different health issues as a result. Research in the South Asian diet, genetics, lifestyle and cultural impact on health is grossly lacking in the US.  Targeted and relevant materials in the appropriate language are a must in order to resonate with our community.    So we feel there is a real need for the service concept that SACHI provides.

Your parents were one of the early immigrants to the US and you lost your father in a tragic accident when you were only nine. What was it like growing up as an Indian American in Alabama with a single parent? Was it a struggle?

Losing my father was a great tragedy. We moved to Alabama because my mother found a job at a college as a librarian in Alabama.

After the car accident that killed my father, my mother could never really drive. I got a license when I was 14. In Alabama you could a license at a very young age. While life was a struggle, I must say that struggle itself is not a bad thing.  It strengthens you and you come out of it as strong as a rock and with the ability to appreciate the depth of everything and everyone around you- each day. It helps you meet life with a purpose. 

Did you encounter any racism? How did you counter it?

There of course was racism in Alabama.  I was neither white nor black. I was brown and there were not too many of those in Alabama.  There was also the discrimination that my mother as a single woman in the seventies, faced in the Indian American community.

I learnt that the best way to deal with racism is to clearly understand my identity. We are not black nor are we white, we are Indian and we should learn to feel comfortable with that identity and what it means in terms of material and non-material culture. I learnt that you should neither isolate yourself from the mainstream nor try to force assimilation. One must observe oneself and take time to reflect on one’s identity and this for me led to a comfort level when I began to realize my inner self.

Racism sometimes is subtle and is a gray area just like sexual and gender discrimination. Today we are over sensitized to this issue.   If we follow the “observe and reflect” process carefully and are not afraid to stand up for our rights I think we can effectively counter racism where appropriate... then again many of these things are relative and perceived in a sense even with legislation defining what it is.

Any thoughts for the younger generation?

I hope everyone takes a little time out to give back and be compassionate to human need.  We will be known by whom we have impacted sometimes unknown and unseen during our lives rather than by how much we have acquired in terms of material growth.  The wealth comes to us by sheer hard work and a little luck.  With the way we’ve been raised and our drive for excellence we have no choice but to be successful!  At the same time, keep in mind success comes in many forms and the former will lead to a form of spiritual growth that is much more rewarding. 

Thankyou for your time

Thankyou.

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