In 1975, medical practioner Dr. Neela Onawale and her husband Rev. Bhaskar Onawale started a one-room clinic to treat the residents of Pune’s marginalised community. With the help of likeminded friends, Deep Griha Society began operations in July that year, and within a further two years, was serving more than 100 people a day.
From treating patients, Dr. Onwale quickly realised that many of the medical conditions affecting the slum community were caused by malnutrition and lack of education. As a result, she began programmes to support community members, as well as to educate them on how to maintain good health. Since 1975, Deep Griha has constantly expanded and adapted its services to empower the disadvantaged community through support and education, giving people the skills and confidence and they need to improve their lives
Over these 40 years, Deep Griha has developed a strong rapport with the community by ensuring that community members have a platform to participate in the initiation and development of programmes. This ensures that programmes are relevant and valued by the community. Deep Griha’s field workers are present in community every day to follow up with participants and ensure their opinions and experiences are fed back to the Deep Griha’s decision makers.
One of our aims is to always ensure that our funds are spent where they are most needed. With this in mind we have been responsive to the changing needs of the community, and to the work other organisations so we can avoid duplicating services.
Our Programmes
Our projects are split into several main programmes:
- Childcare
- Child Development
- Aadhar Kendra
- City of Child
- Youth Empowerment
- Women’s Empowerment
- Medical & Healthcare
- DISHA (HIV and AIDS)
- Vidyanagari