During one of the visits to the Jawhar area in Palghar district in 2012, Dr. Bharat Kumar Mahalle (Gynaecologist in Sub-District Hospital of Jawhar) contacted Mr Purushottam Agrawal and highlighted the need of family planning activities in Jawhar. Dr Mahalle is one of the locals who returned to serve and make a difference in his community. The major findings from the team’s study were
- Undernourished women end up having up to 13 children in as many years ruining mothers’ health
- Major factors are lack of education, poor health awareness, superstition and conservative mind-set about modern birth control measures
- With the increased burden of dependent children, parents are unable to provide proper food & nutrition
- Working parents leave children under the care of young elder siblings leading to further neglect
- Many women become grand-mothers by the time they are 35
- The Foundation-initiated Family planning Service in the area in the year 2013 on a pilot scale.