Who we are & what we do:

With 18 fatalities every hour, India has the highest number of road accident deaths in the world. Of all injured in accidents almost 80% do not achieve access to any care within the Golden Hour, which is the most crucial time after an accident, and 60% of them consequently die. Of these, over 50% can be saved if even basic emergency care can be made available in this time. The main reason why most victims are unable to access care is the missing emergency medical services (EMS) system in most parts of India. Ambulances, where available, lack capacity, are ill-equipped and used only for patient transportation rather than decisive medical intervention. The Police which is often the first agency to respond is untrained and unexpected to help. General public is not only untrained but also afraid to help victims for fear of getting involved in a legal hassle.

Yet we cannot ignore the vital role that Police and general public could play to support accident victims. With proper linkages in place, they can fill the severe gap in Indias Emergency Response systems.

With this in mind, SaveLIFE Foundation (SLF) was established in year 2008 to create a unique, community-driven chain of survival, in the absence of a state-driven medical response system. SLF's model of emergency medical response combines community volunteerism with healthcare, technology and law enforcement to create a network of medical first-responders that attends to injured victims with great alacrity and skill. Even in a scenario where the country does get an EMS system some day, SLFs model will hold great relevance as growing traffic congestion and poor road conditions will delay EMS response and it would be SLF first responders who will reach the victim first and stabilize them till the arrival or paramedics in ambulances. In year 2010, SaveLIFE Foundation was awarded the Rolex Award for Enterprise for breakthrough innovation to save lives of road accident victims. 

The Project 

Having trained and connected over 3000 police personnel and thousands of community volunteers in the capital city of Delhi, SLF has decided to focus on a rural area given weak healthcare infrastructure and greater socio-economic costs. Thane is the most populous district of India with over 11 million inhabitants. Within this district, the Rural Thane division has a population of over 3.5 million people and lies on National Highway 8.Every year, over 600 people lose their life in road accidents in this area. Given the weak economic background of most families in the area, road accident deaths push hundreds of families towards poverty every year by taking their bread-winners away. One of the main reasons for the high number of road deaths in  the area is lack of post-crash trauma care. Since the seriously injured victims have to be taken to Mumbai for treatment, which is a 3 hour journey, most victims are unable to survive the journey in poorly equipped ambulances or private vehicles, with no continuing care such as CPR on way to the hospital.

It is an established fact that c-spine immobilization, bleeding control and CPR can significantly enhance the chances of survival of an injured victim. By training and linking together health workers, citizen volunteers, local police and small clinics, SaveLIFE Foundation will ensure a better chance of survival for accident victims. 

And this is where we need your help!

    map showing National Highway 8, where our pilot programme will be carried out

What we need & what you get:

We are accepting international donations through the PayPal account of our US partner Asia Initiatives, NY, which is a 501(c)3 organisation. While making your contribution here, please mention "SaveLIFE Foundation" under comments or remarks.

The cost of training, equipping and mobilizing one volunteer is $20 giving us a funding goal of $8000 to create 400 medical first-responders in the area.

Of course we're also offering some great perks to contributors. Filmmakers Jessica Lance and Roma Sur are currently producing "The Golden Hour", a documentary about SLF (watch the trailer here!), and are offering copies of their film on DVD. Contributors donating $500 or more are also invited as VIPs to the US premiere! Other perks include exclusive T-shirts, basic trauma kits and even an invitation to dinner with SLF founder and 2010 Rolex Young Laureate, Piyush Tewari.

How else can you help?

If you're not able to contribute (or even if you already have), please help us reach our goal by spreading the word. Use the buttons on this page, or this link - http://www.indiegogo.com/savelifefoundation - to share our campaign on Facebook and Twitter, send emails, and tell your friends and family about us and our cause. We really appreciate it! Thank you!