Mata Jai Kaur Maternal and Child Health Centre

Our Executive Director, Aneel Brar, had a conversation with Angelika Love on the second season of her podcast. He discusses our maternal and mental health work and touches on other topics like Black Lives Matter and Social Integration. All the episodes this season are sure to be fantastic! Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/.../maternal.../id1510534072... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6dqvgsnacaS1mjY1acnpe3...... https://angelikalove.com/aneel-brar-2/ See more

Listen to our Co-Founder and Executive Director, Aneel Brar, in a wide-raging discussion with Angelika Love on the work we're doing in Rajasthan.

Our maternal health champion, Balwant Singh, in action registering patients for free prenatal care at our village-based clinic in #sriganganagar #rajasthan. Our work would not happen without him and the rest of our team. #matajaikaur #maternalmentalhealth #maternalhealth #globalhealth

A very happy birthday to our wonderful researcher, womens empowerment advocate, and chutney-maker extraordinaire, Soumya Singh! Thank you for all the hard work and for helping us understand the serious issues surrounding gender based violence in rural Rajasthan. We are grateful you celebrated with your adopted MJK family this year! @ 35BB

A very happy birthday to our maternal health champion Ella Cohen-Haddon! Very grateful for your commitment and solidarity over the years! Proud to call you our very own Ella didi! @ellacohenhaddon @ 35BB

Its with a heavy heart that we bid farewell (for now!) to two of our favourite visitors, Katie and Rachel. Katie and Rachel are maternity and mental health nurses, respectively, from Edmonton, Canada who have dedicated an enormous amount of time and energy to our perinatal mental health program, called the MJK Khushee Mamta (Happy Motherhood) program. The Khushee Mamta program is pilot implementation project funded by a proof-of-concept grant from Grand Challenges Canada. Wi...th the help of Katie and Rachel and our incredible team of local counsellors, weve been able to screen over 1000 women for pre- and postpartum depression, improve their mental health, and design protocols and tools to hopefully scale the project up across the district and eventually the state and beyond. Besides the work, Katie and Rachel have nestled themselves in the hearts of the residents of 35BB. Well miss their fun-loving nature, intense workouts, nutritious breakfasts, and colouring sessions. Thanks guys!..................................... @rdgreenley @katiekillingsworth @grandchallengescanada #mjk #35bb #rajasthan #india #maternalhealth #mentalhealth #globalhealth #matajaikaur @ 35BB See more

Happy Diwali from the entire Mata Jai Kaur family! These incredible people have dedicated so much of their time and energy helping MJK achieve our mission of providing quality care to the poorest and most vulnerable women in rural Rajasthan, India. Thank you for your hard work and thank you to all of our supporters across the world! ........................................................................................... #mjk #maternalhealth #globalhealth #mentalhealth @sangathgoa @harvardmed @grandchallengescanada #prominenthomescalgary #india #rajasthan

We are pleased to introduce Dr. Prerana Pandia who has joined MJK as a Research Fellow working on our Men Against Violence (MAV) project. Prerana brings a wealth of rural, community based work experience to MJK. She previously worked on quality improvement programs for maternal health care among tribal populations in rural Chhattisgarh, India. Before that, she worked on health programs, including a mental health program involving faith healers in the Nizammudin Basti, a low-income area in New Delhi. Now we are lucky to have her working with us on engaging local men to prevent gender based violence in our rural community. Thank you @sangathgoa and @harvardmed for supporting us on this very important work! @ 35BB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3DNgYbnepo&feature=youtu.be Important findings from the PRIME group that we are building on to develop our maternal mental health program in Rajasthan, India.

This week was a full house with our amazing mental health team, as we set in motion our first refresher training! The training not only helped our lay counsellors review and reinforce their skills but also provided them with considerable autonomy and confidence. Our counsellors were able to build on the lessons learned providing mental health counselling to vulnerable mothers in Mata Jai Kaurs catchment area. The training generated crucial discussions about how best to ident...ify and care for women suffering from pre- or postpartum depression. We couldnt be more proud of our ever so inquisitive lay counsellors! Were also immensely thankful to our trainers Urvita and Abhijit from Sangath for bringing in their expertise and love that is invaluable to MJK family! #mjk #matajaikaur #maternalhealth #mentalhealth #globalmentalhealth Sangath Goa See more

Exciting times at MJK! Wed like to introduce our newest research employee, Soumya Singh! Soumya has already made herself at home in village 35BB, becoming fast friends with all the kids (human and animal alike). Soumya is joining us as an Assistant Coordinator for our Men Against Violence (MAV) project, which is an innovative gender-based violence prevention project that focuses on local young men. Rajasthan has extremely high rates of domestic violence, and Soumya along wit...h the teams at MJK and Sangath, with support from Harvard Medical School, are going to explore the viability of this strategy. Soumya comes from Jaipur. She recently completed Masters in Health Psychology at the University of Hyderabad and has a deep interested in global health, mental health, and womens empowerment. Were happy to have her on board! Sangath Harvard Medical School @Soumya Singh #matajaikaur #globalhealth #mentalhealth #maternalhealth #genderbasedviolence @ 35BB See more

We were very lucky to host Janani Sundaresan this summer! Janani is a Rotary Global Grant Scholar at LSE where shes completing her Masters in Health and International Development. She conducted her thesis research at MJK on our Khushee Mamta (Happy Motherhood) program taking a look at how were adapting the WHOs Thinking Health Programme (a pre- and postpartum depression intervention) to our setting in rural India. Janani, a native Texan, will be completing medical school training at the University of Texas Medical Branch this coming year. Shes going to become a pediatrician and will hopefully come back soon! @who @matajaikaur35bb @londonschoolofeconomics @rotaryinternational #matajaikaur #globalhealth #mentalheath @ 35BB Janani Sundaresan

We had an amazing womens mental health team retreat in the beautiful hills of Dagshai, Himachal Pradesh. It was a great time to step back from our work over the past year to reflect and share lessons on providing mental health care to pregnant women and new moms suffering from depression and other mental illnesses. We couldnt be more proud of this wonderful group of lay counsellors! We are especially grateful to Veenu Massi and Honey Masserji for hosting us and letting us play with your dogs! Thank you also to the great staff at Villa Mountain Crest

Resident of village 35BB the home of @matajaikaur35bb

A great interview on global health with one of our inspirations Dr. Joia Mukherjee

Happy Mothers Day! MJK wishes Mothers around the world a happy and healthy Mothers Day! Every day, women around the world sacrifice big and small in many different ways to ensure their children can have a chance to live life of choice, health and love. Please consider supporting MJK this Mothers Day as a gift for your own mom or simply to support the moms that receive care through MJK. Healthy and happy moms = healthy and happy children. #mjk #matajaikaur #maternalhealth #mentalhealthawareness @ 35bb

Happy IWD! * We celebrate the power of women today and all days - MJK understands the value of all women and works every single day to act as an ally to the females who make this world a much better, beautiful and kinder place to live. *. We celebrate the power of our female patients who ov...ercome stigma and barriers to fight for their right to healthy lives. *. We celebrate the power of MJKs female workforce (tipping the scale at 70% female staff) who themselves overcome stigma, criticism and doubt in order to provide life changing physical and mental health services to other women. *. And MJK celebrates the generations before us who paved the way and made it possible for MJK do the work we do - providing maternal health to the most vulnerable families. #MJK #prominenthomes #maternalhealth #mentalhealth See more

This holiday season, we ask that you consider donating to MJK and help us support families in being happy and healthy. Please donate or learn more about our work at: www.matajaikaur.org Do you know that you can sign up for monthly donations, do a one time donation or host an event and ask attendees to donate to MJK? All through our new website! #empowerwomenwithhealth #MJK #prominenthomes #matajaikaur #35bb #globalmentalhealth

Do you know that you can sign up for monthly donations, do a one time donation or host an event and ask attendees to donate to MJK? All through our new website! This holiday season, we ask that you consider donating to MJK and help us support families in being happy and healthy. Please donate or learn more about our work at: www.matajaikaur.org #empowerwomenwithhealth #MJK #prominenthomes #matajaikaur #35bb #globalmentalhealth

Sunday is clinic Day! Do you know that you can sign up for monthly donations, do a one time donation or host an event and ask attendees to donate to MJK? All through our new website! To donate or learn more about our work at: www.matajaikaur.org #empowerwomenwithhealth #MJK #prominenthomes #matajaikaur #35bb #globalmentalhealth

Sunday is MJK Clinic Day! Empowering women and their children with health is one of the most important things we can do to ensure a happy and healthy community. Please consider donating to MJK this holiday season! To donate or learn more about our work at: www.matajaikaur.org #empowerwomenwithhealth #MJK #prominenthomes #matajaikaur #35bb #globalmentalhealth

Introducing MJK Counsellor, Manpreet! Manpreet is one of our youngest counsellor, but she doesnt let this stop her from making valuable contributions to counsellor training. Manpreet is enthusiastic about starting her working life as a counsellor at MJK and supporting women in the community. To do this she offers a young perspective on family life and mental health, while also drawing on the experience of her older colleagues. Learn more about our work at: www.matajaikaur.org #empowerwomenwithhealth #MJK

Introducing MJK Counsellor, Gunpreet! Gunpreet has thrown herself into counselling with great enthusiasm, and this enthusiasm is obviously infectious, as her family are also excited about the positive impact the Khushee Mamta Program will have on the community. Boosted by her own confidence and her familys confidence in her, Gunpreet approaches the challenges of counselling not only eagerly, but with an excellent sense of humour. Learn more about our work at: www.matajaikaur....org #empowerwomenwithhealth #MJK

Introducing MJK Counsellor, Rajvinder Rajwinder has brought her great sense of humour and her willingness to learn to MJK, and she applies these strengths to even the greatest challenges of counselling. Drawing on her experience of family life in a new professional setting, Rajwinder is eager to take a greater role in supporting women in her community. #MJK #matajaikaur #prominenthomes #globalmentalhealth #womenempowerment

Introduing MJK Counsellor, Suman! Suman is one of our two MJK Khushee Mamta Program Managers, and she has risen to this challenge superbly, gaining in confidence every week. Able to draw on her own experiences of work, family life and mental health, Suman is exceptionally well suited to being a counsellor.... From the earliest stages of training Suman demonstrated her willingness to learn and her natural talents for counselling. Arriving every week looking chic enough for the Paris runways, Suman is also an MJK style icon! #MJK #matajaikaur #prominenthomes #globalmentalhealth #womenempowerment

Sunday is MJK Clinic Day! By empowering a woman, we empower a child. By educating a girl child, we make it possible for her to grow up to become an empowered woman. -Winnie Byanyima #empowerwomenwithhealth #globalhealth #MJK www.matajaikaur.org

Introducing MJK Counsellor: Raj Raj has been an MJK volunteer for years, giving up her own Sundays to register women that attend the MJK Sunday Clinic. When the opportunity came to train as a counsellor, she bravely put herself forward. Despite her reputation as a superb cook, its really Rajs ready smile and empathy that make everyone around her feel safe and comfortable. These strengths, combined with the experience of raising her son, make Raj a natural counsellor. We feel lucky to have Raj be a part of our team!! #MJK #matajaikaur #prominenthomes #globalmentalhealth #womenempowerment

In the summer of 2018, MJK launched its mental health program titled The Khushee Mamta Program (Happy Mother Program). It is a program to support families experiencing depression, anxiety or tensions before, during and after pregnancy. The program has trained lay counsellors to provide support to women and families within their communities who are experiencing this stress and tension following a World Health Organization Program titled Thinking Healthy Programme Over the ...next few days, MJK will be proudly telling you more about this program and the extraordinary women who make up the lay counsellor work force. I urge you to read, learn and invite others to follow. Learn more about our work at: www.matajaikaur.org #MJK #matajaikaur #prominenthomes #womenempowerment #globalmentalhealth

Introducing MJK Counsellor, Sandeep! Sandeep is a bright spot in everyones day. She is always smiling, positive and puts 100% into her work. With no formal education since being in high school, Sandeep was nervous about starting the training to be an MJK Lay Counsellor. However, she is smart, warm and empathetic - skills that make a wonderful counsellor. Sandeep is looking forward to balancing her home life, with two small children, with her professional life as a counsello...r. With her own experience of raising a family, shes well equipped to understand the difficulties involved, and her biggest strength is that shes not afraid to show her own vulnerabilities in her quest to support others. #mjk #matajaikaur #globalmentalhealth #prominenthomes #womenempowerment

We went to the government hospital first but the refused to handle my case. They said that my pregnancy had complications and that I was too far along for them to help me. They told me I would to go to a private clinic instead. -Paramjeet Government hospitals are often unable to provide quality care for low-income women with complicated pregnancies. This leaves families facing potential financial ruin by attending a private hospital. MJK provides care for low-income women with complicated pregnancies who would not be able to afford the care they need. For more information visit us at: www.matajaikaur.org #empowerwomenwithhealth #matajaikaur #rajasthan

Deliveries in hospitals among low-income women are increasing due to more accessible health care. The continuous increase in women delivering in hospitals has significantly reduced maternal mortality rates globally. Nevertheless, mortality rates still remain high and we need more focus on providing safe and accessible care to vulnerable and marginalized women who continue to fall through the cracks of the health care system. To learn more about how we are contributing to this effort see: www.matajaikaur.org and find us on facebook at: MataJaiKaur #MJK #maternalhealth #globalhealth.

Our incredible research team! #matajaikaur www.matajaikaur.org

Our goal is to identify vulnerable women, and through respectful interaction, come to understand their challenges and try to provide them with the care they need. For more information on our work visit us at: matajaikaur.org #matajaikaur # mentalhealth #maternalhealth

In order to improve our services and understand the experiences women in our area, we went on village visits to both inform them of the importance of comprehensive maternal health, and to learn from their first-hand experiences of accessing such care. We believe that the best way to improve our programs for vulnerable women is to ask them directly what their biggest challenges and concerns are. We conducted a womens meeting to listen to the concerns of local women in order to evaluate and improve our services so that they better fit the needs of the women we serve. www.matajaikaur.org #MJK #maternalhealth #empowerwomenwithhealth #35bb #globalhealth #matajaikaur #rajasthan #sriganganagar