Melinda Gates visits Uttar Pradesh village

LUCKNOW - A tiny remote village of Uttar Pradesh Wednesday had a surprise guest — none other than Melinda Gates, wife of billionaire Bill Gates.

Melinda, who flew down from the US only to visit Bhuli-Ghara-Rampur village in Shivgarh block of Rae Bareli district, about 120 km from here, spent nearly half a day interacting and mingling freely with the locals.

She is the co-chairperson of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, that is among the world’s largest charitable trusts with assets to the tune of $35 billion.

She spent hours talking to young mothers and families involved in an anti-infant mortality programme run by NGO Saksham under sponsorship of the John Hopkins University.

Displaying humility, she did not hesitate to go from house to house, talking to both pregnant women and new mothers with their new-born infants, unmindful of their ramshackle dwellings or the poverty-ridden surroundings.

Melinda even enjoyed participating in the traditional chhathi ceremony of a new-born, when the infant and the mother get their first bath and are allowed to step out of their confinement, on the sixth day of birth.

I am amazed at the keen interest she has shown in the project and I was also impressed by the loads of queries which she had in mind about infant mortality in India, Saksham head Vishwajit told IANS here.

He said: The Gates Foundation learnt about our project through an article published on it in ‘Lancet’ - the internationally acclaimed leading medical journal.

Melinda Gates also met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, on whom she called on for a 30-minute informal chat.

The foundation is known for rendering philanthropic service in the field of health and poverty in more than 100 countries across the globe.

In developing countries, the foundation had focused its energies towards improving health and for combating hunger.

She, however, chose to keep away from the media.