Pusuguppa sits on the border between Chhattisgarh and Telangana, inside forest terrain with no nearby hospital, no private clinic, and no diagnostic center. The entire population is tribal. When someone falls sick, the options are to travel long distances through the forest, or to rely on whatever is available close by.
The Pusuguppa Medical Unit, at the Chhattisgarh–Telangana border
For the past year, what has been available is a small medical unit run by Samaritans for the Nation, staffed by one ANM and one lab technician. They provide outpatient consultations, maternal and child health care, essential medicines, basic lab work, and emergency ambulance referrals. For many of these families, it is the only formal healthcare facility they have ever had access to.
What a year of support looked like
Samaritans for the Nation shared a full update on what the past year of operations achieved across their mobile medical programs, of which the Pusuguppa unit is a central part.
The team also supported 56 antenatal and postnatal cases and arranged emergency referrals for critically ill patients, high-risk pregnancies, and severely malnourished children who needed care beyond what the unit could provide on-site.
Through timely identification, referral, and follow-up support, several critically ill patients, high-risk pregnant women, severely malnourished children, and emergency cases received appropriate treatment at higher healthcare facilities.
P. Ram Kumar, Founder, Samaritans for the NationThese are not abstract statistics. Each one is a person who would otherwise have had to get through a medical emergency with no infrastructure to fall back on.
The unit's ANM conducting a consultation. Monthly patient load: 250 to 300.
Project Annapurna's role in this
Project Annapurna is Udayaa's longest-running program, focused on nutrition, healthcare, and community support in tribal regions of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Our connection with Samaritans for the Nation came through this work.
Over the past year, Udayaa provided essential medicines through Project Annapurna that SFN needed to keep the unit running. Ram Kumar acknowledged this in his update:
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Project Annapurna, Udayaa NGO for their valuable support in providing essential medicines.
P. Ram Kumar, Founder, Samaritans for the NationThat support allowed the team to run camps without interruption rather than rationing care around supply gaps.
SFN has now received permission from the District Medical and Health Officer of Bhadradri Kothagudem District to continue the Pusuguppa Medical Unit for another year, from June 2026 to June 2027. That renewal confirms the program works. It is not a guarantee the funding will be there to sustain it.
Tribal communities in and around Pusuguppa, Chhattisgarh–Telangana border
A different kind of campaign
Something Udayaa has been building over the past few months sits between what we do as a nonprofit and what we do as a platform.
We work with nonprofits like Samaritans for the Nation whose on-the-ground programs we know and trust. We also work with students who feel genuinely pulled toward a specific issue, not because it looks good on an application, but because they have a real connection to it.
When there is a match, we connect the student to the nonprofit, give them the infrastructure and mentorship, and let them go deep on the problem before they start fundraising. Some visit the field. All of them do the research. And then they build a campaign that reflects that knowledge.
It is not a placement program. It is what happens when a student who cares meets a cause that needs them.
We have been doing this with Samaritans for the Nation over the past several months. We are not scaling it quickly. We would rather get the quality right first.
What comes next
The Pusuguppa Medical Unit needs approximately 25,000 rupees a month to keep running through June 2027, covering staff salaries, medicines, diagnostics, and operations. Student campaigns are coming from young changemakers who care about access to healthcare and tribal and marginalized communities.
Udayaa will, in turn, post monthly impact reports detailing exactly how each rupee was used, and every donor will receive a tax refund for their contribution.
If you donated to a Pusuguppa campaign before, you are part of the reason this unit is still open. We are coming back to you with this update because we want you to know what happened with your support before we ask for anything else.
Your support has been instrumental in bringing healthcare, hope, and dignity to communities living in some of the most challenging and inaccessible regions.
P. Ram Kumar, Founder, Samaritans for the NationWe will send campaign details when the student is ready. Monthly impact reports. Tax refunds for every donor. If you have questions about the program or this update, reply directly. We read every one.
