Deepam Educational Society For Health (Desh)

Deepam Educational Society for Health (DESH), is a well-known Non-Governmental Organization, registered in 1991, covered under section 12A and 80G of Income Tax Act and FCRA. DESH’s Founder and Chairperson, Dr. Saraswathi Sankaran, a Sociologist specialized in lifestyle analysis, was motivated to initiate prevention work in HIV/AIDS, based on what she had seen and experienced during her stay in Tanzania, Africa, during the mid-eighties, and was convinced about the potential threat this epidemic held for India. This was at a time when India believed that this epidemic would not affect this country. She has worked for over two decades as a counsellor in areas of "Level of Living", "Welfare", "Alcoholism" and "Drug Abuse". DESH's main objective is to promote health and well-being by imparting Social Health Education (SHE), emphasizing the enhancement of social skills and life skills. DESH empowers individuals to develop “Mental Arsenal” by using Mental Vaccination and Thinking Tool to counter unhealthy peer pressure. DESH uses innovative concepts, interactive training modules and educational materials, effectively establishing health movements to facilitate the journey of thousands of individuals towards safer and healthier lifestyle. Over the last 27 years DESH has built infrastructure with offices Pan India and a training centre impacting millions of individuals. DESH uses transformational learning approaches to effect lasting attitudinal and behavioral change.