Dr. Ganla is a practicing paediatrician, Dr. Rupa Saiyed is a family physician and Dr. P.K. Sharma is a clinical pathologist and an active Trustee. Dr. Nirmala Ganla, Gynaecologist and Obstetrician. Dr. Jayantilal Talesara, Orthopaedician. Dr. Chandrasshekhar Desai, ENT Specialist. Dr. C.M. Dambre, Dermatologist. Dr. Subir Roy, Ophthalmologist. And Drs. Malhar and Dr. Kanchan Ganla are Dental Surgeons. All of them provide their services free to Maher.

In addition, all the local hospitals and doctors help Maher in an emergency. Dr. Sonawane at Koregaon Bhima has never charged any patient from Maher. The K.E.M. Hospital’s rural unit – Shirdi Saibaba Memorial Rural Hospital at Vadhu can handle many emergencies. For Maher’s Anand Balsadan (Children’s Home) at Kendur, it is Dr. Thite, a local physician who provides his services free of charge.

Only obvious cases and high-risk women are sent for an initial medical examination. Many of them usually suffer from anaemia and malnutrition. Some may have skin lesions due to lack of hygiene. Such women receive treatment from the concerned experts. There are two “live-in” nurses at Maher who take care of all minor ailments and injuries. They also maintain the medical records of the children and women, escort them to the hospitals for check-ups, investigations or treatment, and ensure proper follow-up at Maher.

As soon as they come in, children are checked for any communicable diseases, both for their own sake and to protect other children from contracting disease from them. Very young children go through the standard immunisation programme; all the immunisations recommended by the government health authorities plus a few more, such as Hepatitis B and Typhoid, are administered. As a routine, all children receive a medical check-up once in three months. Occasionally, a woman or a child may require hospitalisation, which is done either at the government-run Sassoon General Hospital or at the Military Hospital in Pune. Many of the doctor friends provide medicines that they have received as samples, to Maher.

There is a “sick bay” at Maher but it is to its credit that most of the time, the six beds within are empty. The children are also taught simple meditation techniques both for mental health and improving their concentration and poise. At Maher, health is a positive sense of well being, not just the lack of disease.