Kozhikode: Matria Hospital, an exclusive hospital for women and children, is celebrating its 10th anniversary along with its practice called ‘One baby one tree’. More than 15,000 plants have been given so far. Some of the celebrities who have received saplings include Asif Ali, Sayanora, Anjali Menon and Harish Kanaran.
Matria Hospital was founded by the late Dr VK Kutty in 2010. They had to cut a few trees to build the hospital. Dr VK Kutty’s mother Kadeeja Nediyil asked her son to plant trees to replace the ones which had been cut. But Dr VK Kutty went one step further. Whenever a baby is born in the hospital, a mango sapling is given as a gift. The parents are urged to plant it.
“A good environment is a must for good health,” said Dr Mohamed Kasim, Executive Director of the hospital. “That’s why we have taken up this initiative. We want a child to grow up in a healthy and clean environment. The idea is also to encourage families to nurture trees in the same way they nurture their children. Planting saplings is not enough. People have to take care of it until it becomes a tree.”
