Sri Ramakrishna Math, with assistance from Direct-Relief International and GlaxoSmithKline runs a One Year Nurse Assistant Training programme. The programme was started in the year 2004 following the Indian Ocean Tsunami. In the immediate aftermath of the tsunami, Sri Ramakrishna Math distributed medicines, food, and clothing to the affected population and supported construction of houses and community centers to replace those that had been destroyed. The coastal towns throughout Tamil Nadu sustained significant damage during the 2004 tsunami with an estimated 900,000 people affected.

     A need was felt to empower the local young women of the Tsunami affected districts. The training of local young women into nursing assistants provides a meaningful opportunity for them to contribute to their communities and improve their livelihoods. The girls chosen to take the course are selected from very poor agricultural and fishing villages. Most of the girls have already completed their higher secondary education, but due to family financial restrictions have been unable to continue their education further. The course gives the girls an opportunity to receive higher education, the first generation in many families to receive such a gift, and qualifies them for employment outside the traditional industries of fishing and agriculture.    

So far, 1200 nurses have graduated in the last four years and currently 300 girl students are undergoing training in various Nursing Training Institutions in Chennai. The graduates have a 100 percent employment rate. The success of this training program can be clearly seen through the high demand for those who have completed the course. Over 20 local hospitals have employed the nurse assistants immediately upon graduation,allowing the girls to earn a good wage, improve their economic status, and take part in the delivery of good quality healthcare services.

Year of start of the project: 2002

Duration of the course: one year

Total number of nursing assistants trained till 2010: 1320

Job placement rate: 100%

Expenditure incurred to train one batch of 30 nurse assistants and arrange for employment: Rs. 3.00 lakh

For Donation towards Nurse Assistant Training Programme Please click here