Introduction to Dr. Shivanand and the Champions Program

Dr. Shivanand Kembhavi is an Assistant Professor at S.S. Ayurvedic Medical College in Haveri town.  He has presented scientific papers at several international and national seminars, and received the award for Best Scientific Paper at a national-level seminar at Banaras Hindu University.  In addition to his academic work, Dr. Shivanand runs an ayurvedic  practice at Amar Krupa Hospital in Haveri.  He has participated in delivering numerous free rural heath check-up camps in the Sandbox, and continues to perform pro-bono surgeries for poor and disadvantaged patients. 

In January 2010, Dr. Shivanand joined Deshpande Foundation’s Champions Program.  This program regards young professionals as a critical component of the entrepreneurial ecosystem that Deshpande Foundation has cultivated in the Sandbox, and uses a variety of methods to transform these professionals into action-oriented leaders and agents of change.  These methods include directly exposing Champions to grassroots activity in the health, agriculture, education, livelihoods, and social entrepreneurship sectors; fostering interaction and networking opportunities among dynamic, socially-minded young professionals; and enabling personal and professional development through field visits, classroom learning, leadership activities and access to renowned guest speakers.

Prior to joining the Champions Program, Dr. Shivanand was well aware of the scope of the health challenges in his local community.  His academic and professional background had provided him with in-depth exposure to these challenges, particularly the dearth of knowledge regarding preventive health measures and the prevalence of inappropriate and mismanaged medical care.  In December 2007, Dr. Shivanand attended a Continuing Medical Education program at the Karnataka Institute of Medical 

  Ayurveda is a form of traditional medicine native to India that is now practiced around the world.  It is grounded in metaphysics, and places primacy on ensuring balanced, healthy living throughout all phases of life.  Ayurveda incorporates certain surgeries and exercises, as well as yoga, meditation and massage, and promotes addressing mind, body and spirit/consciousness both individually and in unison in order for good health to ensue.

  Pranayama is a technical term used in yoga that refers to breath regulation and control.

Sciences (KIMS), during which practitioners of various types of medicine – allopathy, homeopathy, ayurveda, and so on – discussed the limitations of their medical fields.  While Dr. Shivanand appreciated the openness and honesty practiced at this doctors-only event, he knew that in practice these doctors and others would continue to inaccurately promote their field of medicine as superior to all others and as capable of curing all ailments.  Furthermore, he knew that these doctors would continue to prescribe inappropriate remedies to patients rather than direct them to a more suitable doctor working in a different area of medicine.  This would result in a general public increasingly misinformed about proper healthcare practices, as well as a high amount of medical maltreatment.  

Dr. Shivanand had long desired to launch an educational health awareness campaign to help mitigate these circumstances, but felt uncertain about how to transform his idea into a successful reality.  Even more, he lacked the confidence to take action.  In search of guidance, he applied to become a member of the second cohort of the Champions Program.  Despite the three-hour weekly commute participating in this program would require of Dr. Shivanand, he viewed it as an invaluable opportunity to learn and collaborate with all types of professionals and leaders working in the Sandbox.  He explains, “I didn’t want to take any chances.  I had an idea in my mind, and it was big.  If I’m going to do something big, I want to do it right, in a proper way.  I thought the Champions Program would help guide me in the right direction.”

Dr. Shivanand emphasizes three key events that emboldened him to take action and launch his health awareness campaign.  The first was an informal discussion he had with Dr. Gururaj Deshpande during the graduation of the first cohort of the Champions Program.  Dr. Shivanand lamented the growing popularity of television personalities who falsely claim that yoga and pranayama  can completely cure ailments such as malignant cancer and advanced diabetes, and in doing so essentially lead a worrying misinformation campaign.  Dr. Shivanand recalls that Dr. Deshpande quickly agreed that this was a serious problem, and asked Dr. Shivanand what his plans were to address it.  Dr. Deshpande’s immediate interest in the issue motivated Dr. Shivanand, he says, “not just to take action, but to get results, so that later I would have something concrete to update him [Dr. Deshpande] about.”  

Once Dr. Shivanand became a member of the Champions Program, the NGO site visits he participated in built upon this initial source of inspiration and encouragement.  At the Family Planning Association of India (FPAI), he observed the methods the organization used to popularize modern family planning methods in the local community.  At Samarthanam, he witnessed the effectiveness of their paper bags project, which aims to reduce the local community’s use of plastic.  All across different sectors, Dr. Shivanand realized, people were working to create awareness and effect change.  As he describes, “This impacted me.  I realized I could do something similar in my own field of expertise.  If others are doing this kind of action, why can’t I?”

Most inspirational to Dr. Shivanand was an anti-tobacco campaign held in May 2010, during which some Champions, as well as Dr. Deshpande, local officials and Deshpande Foundation Fellows rallied in the streets to create awareness about the ill effects of tobacco use.  Before this event, Dr. Shivanand recalls, “I had an inferiority complex that was keeping me from launching my health awareness campaign.  Would people listen to me?  Would they accept what I was saying?  Lack of confidence was definitely there.  But these people in the [anti-tobacco] rally were not afraid – they were on the roads, in front of everyone!  They were trying to catch the attention of so many people.  And I thought, if they can do this 

on the roads of Hubli, then definitely I can be confident launching my health campaign in Haveri classrooms.”

Dr. Shivanand is a member of the Haveri branch of Junior Chamber International, a federation of leaders and entrepreneurs that aims to provide opportunities to young citizens and enable them to create positive change.  Dr. Shivanand publicized his idea for a health awareness campaign among his Junior Chamber peers, and one of them, a teacher at a local government high school, invited him to launch the program at his school.  

Since that inaugural event in September 2010, Dr. Shivanand has conducted seven more health awareness sessions in high schools and colleges in Haveri district.  Many of Dr. Shivanand’s patients are teachers, and through word-of-mouth he has been able to build up a strong network of contacts that support and help facilitate his campaign.  Dr. Shivanand’s decision to launch his campaign in a classroom setting is highly intentional, as he is aware that, particularly in rural areas, teachers serve as key points of guidance.  “If I can educate the teachers well,” he explains, “I can create a high level of change.”  

On average, Dr. Shivanand speaks to 100-150 students and 20-25 teachers at each event.  At these events, he emphasizes key preventive health measures to adhere to and bad health habits to avoid.  Additionally, at every session Dr. Shivanand clears doubts and addresses myths about what type of medicine to use depending on the ailment or disease in question.  Dr. Shivanand integrates a host of examples from his own professional experience to get his points across, describing patients who spend inordinate amounts of time and money getting advice from negligent doctors working in a field ill-equipped to address the patient’s condition – a habit that leads to unsafe and at times unnecessarily fatal results.  Dr. Shivanand also educates session participants in the importance of adhering to proper drug dosages, rather than self-medicating, under-dosing or over-dosing.

In every aspect of his health awareness campaign Dr. Shivanand strives to bring a new approach to an old problem.  Indeed, this is one of the reasons he chose to take his advice out of the hospital and into the classroom: “If I say the same things in my clinic people will think I’m just a doctor being selfish and trying to prescribe them so many things.  In a classroom setting, speaking to many people, welcoming people to freely ask questions – and they ask many! – the attitude is different and people are more receptive,” Dr. Shivanand explains.  His approach also stands out due to his willingness to openly critique the field of ayurveda and acknowledge its limitations – a characteristic Dr. Shivanand notes is highly uncommon in his field.  Rather than promote himself, his branch of medicine or his hospital, Dr. Shivanand utilizes a more humble and egalitarian method, discussing all fields of medicine using objectivity and fact.  This approach has earned him respect and credibility, and has helped to quickly publicize his health awareness campaign across Haveri district.

In the immediate future, Dr. Shivanand wants to scale up the number of health awareness events he conducts, and to tailor them for specific groups.  Based on the recommendation of one teacher, for example, he plans to starting holding sessions for female students only.  He has also held initial conversations with members of local clubs and groups including the Merchants Association, Rotary, and LIONS, all who have expressed interest in hosting Dr. Shivanand for a health awareness event.  Private sector organizations such as Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) have also expressed interest in hosting Dr. Shivanand for lunchtime sessions.  It is Dr. Shivanand’s hope that as his campaign expands an informed.

citizenry will lead to the eradication of flawed healthcare practices in the Sandbox, creating a healthier and better educated society for all.