Mr. Chandrakant Koticha
Founder & Executive Trustee of Project ‘Life’, Rajkot, Gujarat, India
Mr. Chandrakant Koticha is a renowned humanitarian and philanthropist. As the Founder and Executive Trustee, he envisaged Project ‘Life’ in 1978 comprising several diverse interventions that transformed the community and society in Gujarat and beyond over a period of 42 years. At the age of 74, working 18 hours a day, Mr. Chandrakant Koticha is the epitome of philanthropy and humanitarian intervention.
Since 1978, he has pioneered invaluable interventions which have served to alleviate poverty, facilitate quality blood banking facilities, bring about gender equality, rejuvenate educational infrastructure and learning ambience, powered health and wellness campaigns, prevent the genetic blood disorders such as Thalassemia through awareness programs and conserve the environment. Over the course of 41 years, he has touched and transformed more than 6 million lives.
Awards and honors have marked this journey from time to time. Shri Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister, conferred the “Sherdil Award” in 2011 for the blood donation movement in Gujarat. Likewise, the Government of Gujarat also felicitated him for his matchless contribution to women empowerment in 2011. He has been the recipient of countless awards and honors for his noble endeavors.
He championed the cause of women empowerment for below poverty line women and widows. His path-breaking work in the area of women empowerment has opened up new directions for social re-engineering in terms of gender equality. Through vocational training, he has facilitated the training of more than 8000 below poverty line women and widows under the Life Women Empowerment Centre.
All his life, he has been a torchbearer of Yoga and alternative therapy. Through his untiring efforts, more than 300 thousand people have benefitted including women, children, and even prisoners. Under the Universal Healing Project, hundreds of people have benefitted. He has also run a mission for environment conservation through Life Greenfield Centre. So far, he has ensured the distribution of 260 thousand grown-up trees for re-plantation has taken place under the banner of Life Greenfield Centre.
Recognizing his global outreach and international collaborations, the Government of Gujarat extended one of the six Non-Resident Gujaratis Centres to Project ‘Life’.
Desperate time calls for desperate measures. Considering the huge backlog of eye surgeries that had piled up over the years in absence of free quality services in this area, the couple decided to convert their private hospital into a Charitable one. On 1st April 2001, they donated their private hospital and equipment to a charitable hospital and they became paid servants of Ophthalmic Mission Trust. With this, they let go of their flourishing practice and private income while still in their 30’s!!!
Since then their services have expanded leaps and bounds and attracted support from numerous local, national, and international organizations. The journey however has been nothing less than a long battle against all odds. Working for around 14 to 15 hours a day for over 30 years the duo has achieved the impossible feat of performing more than 15,000 free surgeries every year at Drashti Netralaya and around 75,000 patients being examined for eye problems at the base hospital and during outreach, without compromise to quality.
In spite of being located in the backward area, all the records of all patients are computerized and the hospital is equipped with world-class instruments and technology, thanks to the Technology vision in the mind of the founders from day one.
Relentless and selfless work carried out by the duo has not gone unnoticed by various national and international organizations and their work has been recognized time and again.
Below are the feathers in their cap – the awards received along the way in addition to 1,50,000+ surgeries!