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   Every month, fifteen-year-old Kuheli Bhattacharya spends a long day at an immunization clinic in the Indian city of Pune. Though tired, she comes out of there feeling very fulfilled because it is a clinic that she and her friends, all aspiring medical students, have started for impoverished children. "We realize that we can 'be the change'," she says, echoing the name of the NetAid project that made their endeavour possible.NetAid, funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Cisco systems, is a website through which Internet users can contribute on-line to various projects aimed at ending poverty in the developing world. Kuheli's initiative is one of many supported through NetAid's "Be the Change" programme for youth-led community projects. This program was inspired by a saying of Mahatma Gandhi: "Be the change you want to see in the world." Teenagers identify a problem within their community and propose a solution to address it. They submit their proposals to be evaluated by Peace-Child International, NetAid's British-based partner organization. Once approved, these projects, which range from under $500 to about $6000 in cost, are posted on-line to be funded by individual contributions or 'adopted' by individuals, groups and organizations. Through "Be the Change," Kuheli and her friends were able to raise $720 to set up a clinic at Pune's Kartik Hospital for Paediatrics. There, on the third Sunday of every month, babies from poor families are vaccinated against diseases such as hepatitis B, diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus that are not covered by government medical programmes. Kuheli's mother, Barnali Bhattacharya, a doctor at this hospital, gives vaccinations and writes prescriptions along with some of her colleagues. Kuheli and her friends register the patients, weigh the babies, keep records, dispense de-worming medicines and iron and calcium tablets to children who are malnourished, and offer basic health information to parents. David Morrison, President of NetAid, calls Kuheli "a remarkable young person." He adds, "She started out with funding of just $720, but the value of what she has been able to do so far to help safeguard the lives of these children simply cannot be measured." Kuheli regularly reports the progress of her clinic on the NetAid website. In recent letters, she has written, "All of us on the project are very excited and look forward to enhancing the quality of life of poor children," and thanked NetAid for facilitating her dream, "since these days very few people take us kids seriously. FIND OUT MORE about the UN's work to create healthy communities by clicking on the links next to Kuheli. ADDITIONAL HEALTH STORIES: Ainura gets a second opinion Luis could be the last | Genet gets treatment Photo credit: UN |
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