Growing up, Ajitha Sugnanam mostly focussed on her studies and went on to complete her Bachelor of Oral Health, Graduate Diploma of Dentistry and then Master’s of Clinical Dentistry (Oral Surgery) from Griffith University, Queensland. She dabbled very little in sports and other extra-curricular activities—not an unusual narrative for children belonging to most Indian families, where the emphasis is generally on studies.
Having missed out on all the extra curriculars, the military held an immediate appeal for Sugnanam. She looked at it as some sort of an adventure where she could break the mould, become more independent, gain life skills, and do something out of the ordinary. “Because, literally, up until that stage I just had done exactly what I was told,” she says.
When Sugnanam told her father about joining the military, he gave her the go-ahead but when her final letter of acceptance came, he was against it. “I said it was too late as I had already signed the papers,” she says. Sugnanam joined the Royal Australian Air Force as an undergraduate dentist in 2010 and has been in service for 12 years now.
She adds, “The shock and apprehension with my parents lasted only a year. They have flipped 180 degrees since then, and they are now very proud.”
As cliché as it sounds, Sugnanam says one of the other reasons for joining the military was to be part of something bigger. “I wanted to influence and do good in the world and I thought perhaps joining an organisation would allow me to use my skills to do that rather than private practice as a dentist.”
And far from fashionable, even as a student, Sugnanam was drawn to voluntary work. Joining the military gave her the wherewithal to move forward. She set up Esesson Foundation and around 2012, with the help of her father registered the charity in India and started work mainly focussing on healthcare and education.
By leaning on family and political connections in India and with support from medical equipment suppliers, colleagues and friends, the Esesson Foundation has run dental and women’s health clinics across the sub-continent. She has also led teams of volunteers to Vietnam, Cambodia, Mexico and Uganda.
In India, the Foundation has done work in West Bengal, Delhi and Maharashtra. Among its projects include self-defence classes for those affected by domestic violence in a Delhi slum. “Otherwise, we generally stick to colleges where girls have some sort of education because the people that I am taking from here (Australia) obviously don’t know Hindi, so the girls at least need to understand a level of English,” says Sugnanam.
The healthcare projects overseas are usually based on local contacts, and the type of clinical work is done based on availability of volunteers, surgeons, nurses and their specialities. “The hardest thing I found in the last 10 years is finding reliable volunteers. A lot of people want to take part but when it comes to putting money where the mouth is, very few people come through. When I find the reliable persons, I fit the project to their skill sets. It’s allowed me to achieve so much more,” she says.
In 2018, Sugnanam started a program in rural India imparting skill sets. Coming from a conservative family herself and “being a headstrong woman”, she has a soft spot for women who want to do something with their lives, “have the motivation but lack the mentors to back them”.
In this project, her team spent time teaching women about nutrition and fitness so they incorporate the health and well-being psychology, develop leadership and public speaking skills. Self-defence and forms of security like cyber security were added later. “Once I started the program, I found lot of them were abused online,” she says, adding, “We have added components to the course as we go.”
Over time, the more projects she did, the more Sugnanam was able to see what she thought people would actually value as opposed to where she thought they would value. “Our programs have morphed like that,” reflects Sugnanam.
Sugnanam’s work has stayed remarkably consistent for the past 10 years. She admits to having spent about 100,000 AUD of her own money—bringing health care and life skills to people in need in three continents. Her Foundation has treated more than ten thousand people since she started and put together groups of clinical staff who all donate their time and expertise and fund their travel to the locations they provide care.
With COVID-10, the past two years have been an impossible time for projects overseas, but the Foundation continued to mentor the girls that it has previously been in touch online. She also decided to direct her energies on the home front. For that, she got the Foundation its ACNC registration in Australia and started oral health program for children in the longest wait list in Brisbane.
“Australia is a well-off country, there is accessible care if you choose to access it. But the issue with Australia is there is very long waiting list,” says Sugnanam. “I personally believe if a child needs to wait for two years for dental treatment, they might end up losing their adult teeth before they are even adults.”
She started from the backend of that waiting list and treated children the whole of last year. “We will work with anyone who is among the most needy—whether or not they are migrants or refugees. What matters to me is there is a group of people who need the kind of help we can provide, their background isn’t what’s important,” she says.
Esesson Foundation is now working with ACCESS Community Services to provide dental care to children at the Milpera State High School.
Sugnanam is zealous about her philanthropic work. Although promoted to a Wing Commander now, she says she would love to give up her job and devote full time to volunteering. “What I have realised over the years is one healthcare camp is a good initiative for a one-off, but it doesn’t cause any long- term change.” That having said, she continues with the short-term camps because she believes it causes “a ripple effect in the community—to want to give”.
From her own experience, she talks about the amount of people she has taken overseas for her projects and they have found it to be “the most fulfilling thing they have ever done in their lives”.
It is hard for Sugnanam to put a concise label on what she wants to achieve ultimately, but she does know that she wants to take care of an entire population either through healthcare or education. “That’s why I have taken over the children refugees in Brisbane because in my next ten years I will be able to see what I have done for them and be able to sustain care.”
At her best, Sugnanam is a workaholic, but there are anxieties embedded too as funding is now an issue. “I can sustain what I am doing but I cannot do beyond what I am doing, I don’t what to stop something I started because I could not fund it, I know my limit now and without the support of people like me or people that want to give back in Australia, I won’t be able to continue.”
The thing is, Sugnanam has a drive. She won’t let few negative experiences affect her. She fundamentally believes even if one person is benefited from what she is doing, she has to keep going.
“In an early age, I found out that this is what really makes me happy. I found a lot of fulfilment in being around people, it’s being surrounded by love all the time,” she reflects.
Cearly, Sugnanam operates out of love and nothing is going to stop her. For a young Indian woman like her, what of marriage? “I have been hearing it for the last 10 years,” she says, with a laugh.
(The Esesson Foundation is a registered charity in Australia and India and donations are welcome via https://esesson.org/donate-now)
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The military held an immediate appeal for Ajitha Sugnanam. She looked at it as some sort of an adventure where she could break the mould, become more independent, gain life skills, and do something out of the ordinary. #TheIndianSun @indira_laisram https://t.co/boSjQ03uaB
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