Sulochana Pednekar is a Community Correspondent, a maternal health researcher and a ‎Ph.D Scholar from Siolim village of Goa.

Sulo, as we lovingly call her, has worked hard against poverty, inequality and has gained education by doing odd-jobs and getting scholarships. She continues to work hard even today, to balance community work and studies, “I mostly work on weekends as I travel to the North Goa to study on weekdays. Hence, it becomes difficult to give the community my time. Depending on the case, I try to have early morning meetings with the community.” Her inspiration is her mother, who brought up the family alone, and other women like her, that Sulochana wants to give a voice.

Sulochana is a passionate media and community health activist. She uses her role as a Community Correspondent to bridge the gap between the grassroots and civil society and spread awareness on key issues such as health, sanitation, government schemes for women and children etc.

Her major work has been on health and environment, especially women’s health and hygiene. She also is a vocal opposer against the menace of garbage in Goa. “The garbage problem in Goa is very complicated and I’ve covered it from lots of angles. For years I saw all the coverage of garbage in Goan papers is only negative, but nothing about the solutions.” She has filled this gap with her videos that not only highlighted the problem, but drove considerable impact through the promotion of sustainable solutions to the garbage problem which she exposed through documentation and interviews of those working with proven solution models. She also played an instrumental role in saving a community in Saligao from mobile tower radiation, running a citizen movement which led to the demolition of a mobile tower erected against the wishes of a community through her community video screening.

Sulo also empowers her community with video making skills so that important events can be captured even during her absence. “I keep one camera with the community for such situations,” Sulo says.

Previously, she worked with an NGO called ‘Sangath’ based in Goa. The NGO dealt with women’s issues, especially around mental health of rural women. Through her association with this NGO, Sulochana has travelled widely all around Goa conducting surveys on the mental health of rural women.