Gates tours rural Bihar with healthcare projects

May 13, 2010 - Anand S.T Das |

Patna

He sat in a boat to cross a river in central Bihar and, on reaching the poverty-stricken village, he sat on a humble string cot surrounded by half-clad men and shy women as he chatted with the formerly rat-eating Musahar villagers about the health services available to them.

For Microsoft’s co-founding chairman and super-rich philanthropist Bill Gates, a tour into the heart of Bihar under a scorching sun was both a joy and a revelation on Wednesday. The village, Gularia Musahri in Khagaria district, not far from the site of the massacre of 16 people in October last year, is where his charity organisation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), is already working.
Mr Gates also visited Tertariya village in neighbouring Banka district, where BMGF is going to start work on health-related projects. Villagers at both the villages were too glad to have the famous American and hear about his plans for improving health services in Bihar. Khagaria district is home to the highest number of Musahars, the poorest among Bihar’s poor, many of who still eat rats as main food.
Back in Patna, Mr Gates held a meeting with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and discussed his government’s recent initiatives to improve healthcare.

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