www.prasad.org

PRASAD is an international not-for-profit organization committed to improving the quality of life of economically disadvantaged people around the world. PRASAD's intention is to help people become self-reliant and live a life of dignity.

The PRASAD Project, whose offices are located in upstate New York, USA, operates health, education, disaster relief and sustainable development programs in India, Mexico, and the United States.  It was initiated in 1992 and is a philanthropic expression of the SYDA Foundation - the central organization of the Siddha Yoga path.

PRASAD’s humanitarian work is based on the core values of the Siddha Yoga mission - selfless service, enduring commitment, and respect for all people, regardless of their race or belief.

PRASAD assists communities around the world through a wide range of programs in health, education, sustainable development and disaster relief. Every year, more than 75,000 people around the world directly benefit from PRASAD’s humanitarian work.

PRASAD’s programs include provision of general health care services, dental care, community health and HIV/AIDS programmes in Tansa.

The Tansa Valley in Maharashtra is about 100 miles from Mumbai. Despite its proximity to India’s financial capital, quality health care was virtually non-existent in the region until about two decades ago.

Most of the people in this predominantly tribal area led hand-to-mouth lives (on an average per capita income of less than $50 per month), working as labourers in farms and brick kilns or doing odd jobs. Children were malnourished; adults battled tuberculosis and heart disease without access to medicines and care; and many endured a life of blindness caused by cataracts.

To bridge the widening gap between the demand and supply of health care, PRASAD started offering medical services in the area through a mobile hospital in 1978. Over the years, the Tansa Valley population has grown to its current size of about 250,000 people, and PRASAD health care facilities have expanded as well. Today, its doctors and volunteers run a full-fledged hospital and diagnostic centre, a modern eye-care clinic, a dental care clinic, TB programs and a number of community health programs.