Partnership with a difference: how Priyanka Raina and cricketer-husband Suresh Raina are batting for every mother and girl with the Gracia Raina Foundation

Who doesn’t know of Suresh Raina and his prowess on the cricketing field as an aggressive middle-order batsman? But did you know that off the field, he has entered into a partnership with this wife, Priyanka Raina, to start the Gracia Raina Foundation that aims to empower adolescent girls and children in India with various initiatives?

As Suresh is busy with his cricket commitments, Priyanka is the “active” face of the foundation to further the cause of women’s health, from pre-pregnancy to delivery, the postnatal phase, childhood, and adolescence.

In just two years, Priyanka has endeavoured to raise awareness on these subjects, taking them to diverse audiences, and even to prisons. Recently, the foundation initiated a reproductive health and mental well-being workshop for incarcerated women at Karnal Jail in Harayana as part of its #EveryMother programme.

The story of how Priyanka left a promising corporate career to give her life a fresh, difference purpose stems largely from her experience as a mother. The 32-year-old is a software engineer by education and last worked with one of the top Dutch banks in Amsterdam.

Motherhood changed many things for Priyanka.

“It made me sensitive towards women and newborns’ health needs. When I returned to India, I realised many women don’t have access to basic healthcare, let alone availing specialised care,” she reveals.

Towards better health

On their daughter's first birthday, in 2017, Priyanka and Suresh announced the Gracia Raina Foundation (GRF) to work closely with women and adolescent girls to empower them with knowledge about reproductive and sexual health so they are able to make better health decisions.

Priyanka’s research showed her that it was tough for a woman to be empowered when she was stopped from exercising her rights and making choices. By default, she is then pushed into an early marriage that may result in an unplanned pregnancy. She finds herself burdened with familial responsibilities and, later, handed the role of primary caregiver to a newborn. Education automatically goes out of the window, leading to early school dropouts and translating into poor maternal, new born, and adolescent health. 

The larger picture

How does the Gracia Raina Foundation work? Priyanka says its aim is to look at the larger picture.

This means following the lifecyle approach that helps look at a woman’s health holistically – from pre-pregnancy to delivery, postnatal phase, childhood, and adolescence. Extensive research gave birth to specific programme modules that include:

# RightAGE programme to raise awareness on menstrual hygiene and cycle, nutrition, contraception, hormonal changes, sexually transmitted diseases, teenage pregnancies, emotional stress, anxiety, and body image issues. So far, GRF has held workshops impacting over 3,000 school and college students from across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab.

#EveryMother programme is targeted at mothers, across the board. It focuses on educating expectant mothers about their pre and postnatal stages, and more. It concentrates on labour, postpartum recovery, lactation awareness, and family planning.

The gender sensitisation programme equips men and women with knowledge and awareness, enabling them to be more sensitive and rational when making decisions about their partner’s mental and physical well being.

The OPD on Wheels programme offers women and newborns with medical assistance.

Changing mindsets and breaking taboos

“It’s heartening when a woman told us that she conceived shortly after she attended one of our workshops under the #EveryMother programme. It ensured that she was aware of nutrition during the pregnancy, the importance of scans and medicines, and therefore had no trouble giving birth to the baby as she was confident throughout,” Priyanka says. 

So far, GRF has conducted a series of programmes across schools and colleges, and occasionally at slums and government hospitals.

Educating women on “taboo” topics and busting age-old myths is not easy, she agrees. 

“Most women don’t want to open up about these issues even if they are suffering. There are many who don’t trust your words because they have been conditioned to believe in certain things. Also, plenty of women we have met who are eager to learn but aren’t allowed to. They have families that push them towards bringing in a male child, which leads to multiple pregnancies at times.”

“However, we are a persistent bunch. We counsel them as much as we can to help them shape a better, healthy future for themselves,” Priyanka adds. 

Unlimited partnership and support

Despite his hectic schedule, Suresh finds time to be involved in many of GRF’s social initiatives. Ultimately, it’s all about working out that balance, says Priyanka.

“We balance our responsibilities and that’s one of the major reasons why our partnership works really well. We are always there to back each other up. What’s really amazing is that despite his schedule, Suresh is actively involved in GRF’s work. He’s always bouncing off new ideas, discussing our programmes, and how to better them. His support makes a huge difference!” 

Priyanka hopes that GRF’s initiatives reach more women and girls across the country in the future.

“A healthy woman equals a happy nation – we are working towards this! Having said that , the focus is more on providing adolescent girls and mothers with knowledge on sexual and reproductive health so that they are in complete control of their bodies and are able to take better care of themselves,” Priyanka says.

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