Prize for fruition of a dream

The Statesman, May 30, 2007

Statesman News Service
BHUBANESWAR, May 29: “Service to mankind is service to God” has been her motto. She is Subasini Jena (38), a female health worker in the remote Kodomeri sub-centre of the backward Nuapada district.
This simple, humble and down-to-earth health worker has turned out to be perhaps the first ever from the state to bag the prestigious Florence Nightangle National Award-2007” on the eve of International Nurse Day on 12 May. In a proud moment of her life, she received the award from the President, APJ Abdul Kalam, for her outstanding performance in Immunisation and Family Welfare Service. She was one of the 17 awardees from 16 states. Her dream had been to serve the poor and downtrodden strata of the society and this dream could materialise after completing the Auxiliary Nursing Midwife (ANM) course at Baripada.
Talking to The Statesman, she recalled her initial days as the health worker, when there was no proper transportation or communication and she had to walk miles to cover 40 villages assigned to her.
All her 17 years of service has been in undivided Kalahandi district, one of the most backward and undeveloped districts of western Orissa, where she had served in Beltukuri sub-centre, Nuapada (14 years), Lanjigada sub-centre, Kalahandi (three years).
Most importantly, her proud husband, Mr Gobardhan Joshi, is also in the same profession and is working, along with her as a male health worker in the same Kodomeri sub-centre. And this couple is entrusted with the task of looking after the health needs of more than 8,000 people of eight villages under the sub-centre.
They mainly deal with pulse polio campaign Filaria eradication and TB control programme. They also attend home calls in delivery cases. When asked about her inspiration, she names Mother Tersa and Florence Nightangle and she attributes her success to her husband and her two children, Suranjika and Samresh. She also acknowledges the contributions of Dr SP Satpathy, the present medical officer and Dr BB Jagat, the former medical officer and the present CDMO, Nuapada, for encouraging her.
Today, the health minister and senior officers organised a function here to felicitate Subasini Jena.