A Legacy That Continues to Heal

Some continue to live through the people they touch. The life of Dr. Vasantbhai Parikh is one such. Long before conversations around inclusive healthcare, social entrepreneurship or sustainable development became common, he quietly dedicated himself to a simple belief: no one should be denied healthcare or education because of financial hardship.

Together with his wife, Late Smt. Ratnaprabhaben Parikh, he established Karuna Setu Trust in 1984—a bridge of compassion built to restore dignity, hope and opportunity.

After Dr. Parikh’s passing in 2007, Mrs. Amita Thakkar and Mr. Sanjay Thakkar carried this vision forward with unwavering commitment. Today, Karuna Setu Trust has grown into one of  most respected charitable institutions, yet its purpose remains unchanged: to serve humanity before everything else.

Every initiative begins with a simple question—how can another life become easier?

That philosophy is reflected in the Trust’s healthcare institutions. Vasant Prabha Multi-Speciality & Super-Speciality Hospital brings most affordable and advanced diagnostics, critical care, districts’s first robotic surgery and specialist services to rural communities that once travelled great distances for treatment. Alongside it stands the NABH-accredited Vasant Prabha Ayurvedic Hospital, where consultations, medicines, Panchakarma therapies, admission and accommodation are provided completely free of cost. Here, compassion with effective quality is the model of care.
Every day, nearly 800 patients receive treatment across the Trust’s healthcare institutions, while dozens of major surgeries and countless life-saving procedures are performed with the same commitment that inspired the organisation’s founding.

Education forms the second pillar of this mission. Through its Dr. Vasant Parikkh Ayurvedic Medical College, DNB programmes, Ratna Prabha Nursing Schools & Nursing College and ITI, the Trust nurtures future healthcare professionals and skilled youth. Scholarships, free hostel facilities, books, meals, transport and clinical exposure ensure that deserving students are never limited by their circumstances. Many become the first graduates in their families and return to serve their own communities.

Beyond hospitals and classrooms, the Trust works for women empowerment, elderly care, nutrition, higher education, environmental conservation and rural welfare and development. Herbal gardens, renewable energy, water conservation and a Gir Gaushala reflect its belief that healthy communities and a healthy environment grow together.

Today, the legacy is being strengthened by Dr. Kishti Thakkar, Managing Director, practising Critical Care Specialist, holding MBA from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, and a law graduate, helping build future-ready institutions without compromising their founding values. Alongside her, Dr. Dhaval Mandlik, Medical Superintendent and orthopaedic, joint replacement, spine and robotic surgery specialist, has dedicated his expertise to ensuring that world-class healthcare reaches rural Gujarat.

The real success of Karuna Setu Trust, lives in every patient who returned home with recovery and hope, every student who found a future through education and every family whose dignity was preserved without financial burden and fear, during difficult times.

More than four decades later, the vision of Dr. Vasantbhai Parikh continues to remind us that compassion is humanity’s greatest legacy. When kindness becomes an institution, it does not end with one generation,it continues healing many more.