Dr. Jack Preger: Provider of Unwavering Commitment and Hope
Dr. Jack Preger provided free healthcare to more than half a million people on the streets of Kolkata for over 40 years. This British doctor’s mission is “to serve those most in need whatever their caste or religion,” according to Calcutta Rescue, the charity he established in Kolkata, India.
Dr Jack started Calcutta Rescue in 1980 to treat disadvantaged people. But without a license to practice medicine in India, he confronted corruption and hostile bureaucrats. Despite the odds, he provided medical care on a side street in the city center, where he built a functional clinic. The Dr. Jack Preger website describes it as follows:
“This was not, as one might imagine, a first aid post treating minor injuries. It was a fully fledged street side medical centre handling a full spectrum of illness and disease, including cancer, TB, malaria, cardiac conditions, HIV, and all else. Minor surgery was done on site, major surgery outsourced to hospitals, together with X-Rays, lab tests, physiotherapy, etc.”
His non-profit organization finally received official recognition in 1991, when he was able to establish Calcutta Rescue as a West Bengal-registered charity running street clinics and schools for the poor.
Here is his inspiring story:
Known today as the founder of street medicine, Dr. Jack finally retired in 2019 at the age of 88. He was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in 1993 for his “continued perseverance and incredible selflessness.”
Today, Calcutta Rescue calls itself “a pioneering Indian-registered charity with around 150 staff working to assist the poorest of the poor in and around Kolkata.” It continues to run medical, educational, and support services to disadvantaged people in West Bengal and provides vocational training to ex-patients and underprivileged people.
Donations to Calcutta Rescue can me made through its website, here.
