Dr. Banoo Coyaji (1917 – 2004)
In 1940 an amazing career began. Banoo Coyaji (then Kapadia) graduated from the Grant Medical College and married Jehangir Coyaji, an electrical engineer. Following a 1-½ year residency in Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Banoobai (that’s how she was known) settled in Pune and assisted her brother-in-law, the famous Dr. Edulji Coyaji, in his general practice. In April 1944, Sardar Moodliar approached Dr. Edulji for a locum doctor for the 40-bedded maternity hospital, the KEM Hospital. Dr. Edulji sent his 27-year-old sister-in-law. Six months later it became a permanent job and Banoobai moved into the KEM with her husband and son, as Chief Medical Officer. Thus began a 55-year long career that transformed both the young doctor and the small hospital. In 1945 Banoobai completed her MD in Obstetrics & Gynaecology.
Under her stewardship the hospital grew from 40 beds in 1944 to 550 beds in 1999. When any new project was presented to Banoobai she always had a positive approach, a “Can do”, “Lets try it” attitude. For 55 years she remained at the helm, watching her beloved KEM grow, working always to collect funds. Over the years the KEM and Banoobai became inseparable in people’s minds.
Dr. Suhaschandra Mapuskar (1935 – 2015)
Dr. Mapuskar is a true sanitation pioneer. He worked actively on native technology and community-based solutions to lead the country towards a clean revolution. After college, Dr. Mapuskar approached the Directorate of Health Services for a job. There was only one vacancy in Dehu village. He readily took the job and moved there. Once, when the villagers told him that the hospital was haunted, the young doctor slept in the hospital verandah. He slept well, but the next morning he discovered that there were no toilets in the hospital.
To relieve himself, he went through the village into the forest. He found a lot of villagers there who he had met the previous evening. He felt ashamed and made a decision to never defecate in the open. He excavated a simple trench toilet for himself and used medicine cartons to form a wall around the bathroom. His next goal was to start a revolution.
Awards
Two Best Poster Awards presented at annual conference of IPHA, Maharashtra.