Purulia (West Bengal): 27 Nov - 30 Nov 2025
Bhachau (Gujarat): 04 Dec - 07 Dec 2025
Gadalur (Tamil Nadu) Feasibility Visit : 10 Dec - 11 Dec 2025
Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) Feasibility Visit : 12 Dec - 14 Dec 2025
Jalgaon (Maharashtra) : 11 Dec - 14 Dec 2025
Silchar (Assam) : 18 Dec - 21 Dec 2025
Kankavli (Maharashtra) : 19 Dec - 21 Dec 2025
14.09.2025
Book Launch Of -
Gadchiroli Chronicles
In the heart of rural Maharashtra, Gadchiroli is known for its forests, rivers, and hard-working farming communities. Yet, behind this resilience lay a silent epidemic – pain in the back and extremities (PBE). For an agrarian population, such pain meant lost livelihoods, debt, and despair.
It was here, in 2003, that Dr. Shekhar Bhojraj and a team of spine specialists from Mumbai first arrived. Accustomed to the comfort of urban hospitals, the doctors had to adapt- relying not on machines but on their clinical skills and simple, cost-effective interventions. What began as a camp soon grew into a movement.
By 2004, periodic spine clinics had begun, followed by surgery camps, pain block camps, physiotherapy initiatives, and, eventually, the Spine and Joint Health Care Centre. Over the years, TSF’s work expanded with teleconsultations, mobile physiotherapy units, training local youth, yoga programs, and neuro-rehabilitation services. Gadchiroli served as a testing ground for the transformation of ideas into action.
Today, with more than 500 surgeries and over 30,000 patients treated, Gadchiroli remains the heart of The Spine Foundation. The experiences here shaped every centre that TSF later established across India.
The launch of The Gadchiroli Chronicles marked a milestone in this remarkable journey. The event brought together doctors, researchers, community health workers, and local partners who have been part of this transformation. The book captures two decades of trials, triumphs, and innovations; from the first tribal health assembly in 1999 to the establishment of India’s first rural Aqua Therapy Centre in 2024.
gadchiroli, Maharashtra
More than just a compilation of facts, the book is a tribute to the spirit of Gadchiroli’s people and the collaborative model that has become TSF’s signature. It reminds us that healthcare, when rooted in community, can break barriers and create lasting change.
As Dr. Bhojraj reflects:
“Without Gadchiroli, the reach, depth, and expertise that define TSF’s work today would simply not have been possible.”
The Gadchiroli Chronicles is both a celebration and a call to action—to continue building healthcare that is truly for all.
Download your digital copy with one tap.
Gadchiroli is the heart and soul of The Spine Foundation. It is here that we were able to put our principles into practice. For over 22 years Gadchiroli has been the wellspring of inspiration and hands-on experience that shaped every other centre we have established since. Without Gadchiroli, the reach, depth and expertise that define TSF’s work today would simply not have been possible.
Dr Shekhar Bhojraj, Founder, The Spine Foundation.
DREAM BIG
Dr Shekhar Bhojraj, Founder of The Spine Foundation
It was a fine Sunday morning not long ago when I was cycling along with my fellow trustee Dr Premik Nagad when he casually told me that The Spine Foundation was flush with more funds than we could spend. The fact hit me like a sledgehammer. We had spent our days, weekends and months for the past 25 years treating and operating on poor spine patients without once stopping to think about funds! While some would regard it as good news, it was a worrying sign to me. Donor’s money lying unused in the corpus was not a comfortable thought, and in my opinion, it reflected a degree of inefficiency and inadequacy on our part.
A social service organisation must maintain a critical balance between income and expenditure. It is a sign of complacency if you haven’t. It was a wake-up call for me. If we have to make our dreams come true, we must step back, introspect and analyse, and course correct if necessary.
AN ORGANIC GROWTH
The Spine Foundation started in 1998 to deliver quality spineÂ
care to people caught in the web of poverty. Just a small team of people determined to make a difference.As time passed, we could serve more patients, across more places, with more people joining the team. We got more support from our donors and well-wishers, who saw consistent results over a quarter of a century and extended their support. Our growth had been organic without the need for any publicity or marketing. Seeing our work, the Government of Maharashtra approached us in 2018 to replicate our model across the state through the Government Medical Colleges in interior Maharashtra. We responded, and The Spine Foundation is reaching out to many more people today through the GMCs at Akola, Ambajogai, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dhule.
That brings us to how we managed to have surplus funds despite scaling up our operations over the years. There are two reasons for this. First, we have directly linked our donors to Gadchirolli, Ambajogai, Kolhapur, Nandurbar and VN Desai projects. It covers all operational costs like investigations, medications, surgeries, implants, and… Click the Button below to download the Digital Copy Of the Book.
