OUR JOURNEY SO FAR
From a plan on paper to camps in villages
In our first year, PRACHI Hope Foundation grew from an idea into awareness sessions, free screening camps, and a growing community of volunteers across Maharashtra and Goa.
170+
people screened for cancer across 3 camps
500+
people reached through awareness sessions
54
volunteers trained & certified by Tata Memorial Centre
₹10.69 l
raised from 42 supporters
18
partner & host Organizations
3
regions- Maharashtra, Goa, Delhi
Figures cover October 2024 to March 2026, drawn from our own camp registers and attendance records
PRACHI Hope Foundation is founded
PRACHI is incorporated as a not-for-profit Section 8 company, built on a simple belief: that knowledge and information help remove the fear surrounding cancer.
Our first public awareness programme
We began our community work with a health awareness programme at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, where Dr Manjusha Ghumare spoke on prevention and early detection to an audience of over seventy-five.
Our first screening camp, at Kunjirwadi
We brought free breast and cervical cancer screening to Kunjirwadi — the first of our camps to reach a rural community that screening rarely touches.
Screening camp at Kolhapur
A second camp within the same month, offering free clinical breast examinations, supported by the Rotary Clubs of Kolhapur and the Aastha Breast Cancer Support Group.
Cancer awareness, sung as kirtan
Surgeon Dr Shekhar Kulkarni turned a centuries-old devotional form into a cancer awareness session — in surgeon’s scrubs and a traditional pagadi, accompanied by harmonium and tabla. He held an over-capacity hall for two and a half hours, reaching people who would never attend an ordinary lecture.
PRACHI is launched to the public
Our website was inaugurated by Dr Anil D’Cruz, former Director of Tata Memorial Hospital, before an audience of oncologists, physicians and well-wishers. We released our Marathi guide to cancer and marked the day with a musical concert.
Awareness session at marathwada Mitra Mandal College of Engineering, Warje
Dr Ram Datar and Dr Anuradha Patankar spoke to teaching and non-teaching staff on early detection and the lifestyle changes that lower cancer risk.
54 volunteers trained by Tata Memorial Centre
Over two days, Tata Memorial Centre trained and certified fifty-four of our volunteers — covering breast, cervical and oral cancer, tobacco cessation counselling, and hands-on practice in clinical breast examination and cervical swab collection. All fifty-four received certificates from TMC.
Reaching young women at Mahila Seva Mandal
An awareness session for the girls and women of Shri Mahila Seva Mandal, an organisation devoted to the welfare of orphaned girls.
Volunteers sponsored for cervical cancer training
Ten of our volunteers were sponsored to attend a specialised workshop on cervical cancer screening and prevention at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital.
Our first corporate webinar with Persistent Systems, reaching across India
Dr Ram Datar and Dr Harimadhav Vishwanathan of Tata Memorial Centre led a two-hour webinar for Persistent Systems employees, focusing on prevention of Cancer.
Poladpur: our largest camp, and a first for men
With Tata Memorial Centre’s Centre for Cancer Epidemiology, we screened eighty-eight people for breast, cervical and oral cancer. Adding oral cancer screening meant our camp reached men for the first time. We also ran a tobacco awareness quiz for local middle-school students.
Our patient support group meets for the first time
Eight members came together to share their experiences of treatment, insurance and caregiving — and agreed to keep meeting every month.
Awareness session with Sneh Seva / Maitreya Trust
Dr Ram Datar led a session on the dos and don’ts of cancer prevention, closing with an open question-and-answer.
Our first newsletter, PRACHI Spandan
We published the first volume of PRACHI Spandan, sharing a full year of work with everyone who has walked this road with us.
This is where we begin
Everything here came from our first year — and from people who believe, as we do, that no one should have to face cancer alone or uninformed. The road ahead is longer. Walk it with us.
