Odisha: Matilda Kullu’s name was mentioned in the Forbes Women Power list 2021, along with Sanya Malhotra and Arundhati Bhattacharya. Odisha’s Chief Minister Naveen Parnaik congratulated Matilda for her accomplishments. 

Who is Matilda Kullu?

Matilda Kullu is a resident of Bara village of Sundergarh district of Odisha. She had to discontinue her studies after completing class 10th. For the past 17 years, she has been working as an Asha worker in Gargadbahl village. Her husband is a farmer and earns a low salary. With that salary, meals can be afforded, but sending the kids to school is impossible. Matilda did not want to deprive her children of good education, so she started working as an Asha worker. 

In the year 2005, the government was appointing Asha workers in rural areas. Matilda immediately filled the forms as soon as she learned about this opportunity.

Challenges ahead

Most people in rural areas still follow superstitions. Matilda noticed that most people visited local pandits for getting their injuries and diseases cured. When they could not find solutions with their medications, they would go as far as performing exorcisms. The statistics suggest that most women die in their pregnancies due to these impulsive and reckless methods. 

Every time Matilda would make an effort of educating people about proper medical care, they would mock her calling her names. This did not affect Matilda and she continued with her noble work of making people aware about the importance of medical treatment. 

Gaining confidence

Matilda shares that she started working as an Asha worker for earning money. Her purpose was to send her children to schools and provide them with all the essential resources. But now, the job has become more than just work for her. She considers it her duty to enlighten people about better healthcare. This is a form of worshipping for her. 

Matilda contemplated to leave her job once because the unwillingness of people to become socially aware was disheartening for her. Then, she looked at the number of people that were dying due to occult practices and witchcraft. These numbers made her determined to make her society better. 

She informed the local people about the government health schemes and provided medicines to pregnant women. Gradually, she could bring in a small change as people started making efforts in learning about these topics.

More than just a government worker

To expand her knowledge, Matilda started attending training programmes. In the last 18 years, she has helped with 250 deliveries while ensuring the health of mothers. The outcome of her efforts is that now every woman in the village wants to deliver their babies safely in the hospitals. 

During the pandemic, Matilda used to visit 50-60 homes on a regular basis for performing Covid tests. Through sheer hard work, she has managed to gain confidence among the villagers.

Improved hospital conditions

The population of the village is 964. Her day begins at 5 in the morning. She does all the household work, feeds the animals, sends her kids to school and then departs for work on her bicycle. In the village, most people belong to tribal communities. 

Matilda has been able to improve the condition of the hospitals over the years. She writes to officers on district level for the hospital equipment and other items. There is never any shortage of medicines. If a person falls ill and reaches out to her in the dead of night, she goes out of her way to help that person out. 

Union President

At present, Matilda is the Union President of Asha workers. She is also an active member in the National Federation of Asha workers. She frequently attends national seminars and has been honoured with the ‘Best Asha Worker’ of the country award. At night, Matilda also works as tailor with hopes of giving her children a better and comfortable life.