Free Medical & Blood Screening Camp at ZP High School, Gangapatnam, Nellore
On July 8, 2026, I had the opportunity to lead Preserving Students Health Foundation’s sixth medical camp in Gangapatnam, Indukurpet Mandal, SPS Nellore District, Andhra Pradesh, India. The camp was held at Zilla Parishad High School and served students in grades 6 through 10. The event was attended by Mr. Nava Koteswara Rao, Headmaster and Secretary of the United Teachers Federation; Mr. Chalapathi Rao, Former Headmaster and District President of Jana Vignana Vedika, Nellore; Mr. Satish Kumar, President of the United Medical & Employees Union, Nellore District; and Mr. Sarath Sudarsi, Founder of the Prerana Foundation, along with school teachers, physicians, government officials, and volunteers.
The program began with remarks from local leaders emphasizing the importance of health, education, and preventive care. I then delivered a presentation on preventive healthcare, proper hygiene, and the value of laboratory testing in identifying health conditions at an early stage. To help reduce anxiety among the students, I shared photos and experiences from previous Preserving Students Health Foundation medical camps, reassuring them about the blood collection process and helping build trust before testing began.
Despite the school’s limited access to healthcare resources, our team successfully conducted blood tests for more than 150 students. These screenings provided valuable health information for children who otherwise have limited access to routine medical care outside of state-supported services.
Beyond the clinical work, this experience was deeply meaningful. Speaking with the students gave me a greater appreciation for the unique challenges they face each day and highlighted the significant differences in healthcare access between rural communities in India and my own experiences in the United States. It also provided an opportunity to learn more about the culture, resilience, and aspirations of the students and their community.
The data collected during this camp will be combined with findings from previous Preserving Students Health Foundation medical camps to support ongoing research into pediatric health trends. By analyzing these data across multiple communities, we hope to identify patterns and generate hypotheses regarding healthcare disparities, nutritional deficiencies, and access to medical resources in underserved regions of India, while drawing comparisons with pediatric populations in the United States.
Overall, this medical camp reinforced my commitment to improving access to preventive healthcare and demonstrated how community-based initiatives can make a meaningful difference in the lives of underserved children. It also strengthened my passion for combining service, research, and education to address health inequities and improve long-term health outcomes.
