The journey of 'Mother Teresa' of MP who dedicated her life in service of tribal women

For her selfless service to humanity, Dr Leela Joshi is also known as Mother Teresa of Madhya Pradesh. For the past 22 years, she has been campaigning against anaemia. She was recently conferred with the fourth highest civilian award, Padma Shri on Republic Day.

Ratlam: Through her selfless services in the field of medicine, Dr Leela Joshi not only earned the moniker of 'Mother Teresa of MP' but also was recently conferred with the fourth highest civilian award, Padma Shri on Republic Day, 2020.

Dr Leela Joshi, an Indian gynaecologist and social worker, is known for her work with tribal women and young girls suffering from anaemia in Ratlam district.

In 1997, Dr Joshi had a chance to meet Mother Teresa after which she started treating anaemic tribal women free of cost, which as she recalls, started her philanthropic journey.

For the last 22 years, she has been campaigning against this malaise and actively spreading awareness among residents of the tribal region.

In an exclusive conversation with ETV Bharat, Joshi said, "Women often ignore their own health while they take care of their families. They should prioritise their health and should consume nutritious and healthy food."

"We expanded the ambit of our work to include young women along with the pregnant women, as healthy mothers can help in creating a healthy nation," explained Joshi.

Talking about her struggles, she commented that if one has strong determination no problem can let down a strong spirit.

Dr Leela Joshi also remarked on government schemes and said, "Government keeps introducing new schemes without ensuring if the previous schemes were implemented properly or not."

She suggested that schemes should be result-oriented and holistic for it to become successful.

In her concluding message, Joshi emphasized on the importance of women’s health and urged the women population to take care of their health.