'Don't want him to leave'; Moved, Kerala doc opens clinic for tribal community post retirement

For the past 22 years, a familiar scene unfolded every week in the remote hills of Gavi in Pathanamthitta, Kerala. Residents—mainly tribals, including children—would wait eagerly by the roadside as the distant rumble of a vehicle echoed through the forest. When it came to a halt, a man in casuals—cargo pants, a T-shirt, and an over-shirt with a stethoscope, Dr Vincent Xavier, would step out.

Now retired from government service, Dr Xavier remains a constant presence in the lives of the people he served for over two decades. The former medical officer at the Seethathode Primary Health Centre has no plans to leave the region or its people. Instead, he has set up a clinic—Amma Emergency Care—adjacent to his rented home in Seethathode, to continue offering medical care, especially after government health centres close for the day. He operates the clinic from his rented residence.

During his weekly visits to tribal hamlets, Dr Xavier would check blood pressure, sugar levels, weight, temperature, and administer TT injections and wound care—all on the spot, on the road. But what truly set him apart was his gesture of humanity: alongside medicines, he brought groceries, stationery, nutritional supplements, and chocolates for the children.

Ironically, two decades ago, the same people would scramble in fear at the sound of the approaching vehicle. Suspicious of outsiders and skeptical of modern medicine, they would retreat deep into the forest. Today, they gather around him, often smiling and waving as he arrives.

Seethathode is a remote panchayat of 13 wards, comprising hilly terrain, dense forest, and isolated tribal settlements. Even today, some areas remain inaccessible by road. During his tenure, Dr Xavier ensured that each ward received weekly visits, referring critical cases to the district hospital in Pathanamthitta.

Among all his routes, Gavi—now known as an eco-tourism hotspot—was the most challenging. Every Friday, after completing his morning consultations, Dr Xavier would set out for Gavi, over 65 km away through thick forest. On the way, elephants and other animals would cross the road.

“I’ve encountered elephants and bisons many times,” he recalls. “We just waited. They never harmed us—poor chaps came for water at the dams. Sometimes we waited for over an hour, or had to stay overnight in Gavi if herds blocked our way back.”

Initially, he made the trip with just a driver; later, a nursing assistant joined him. Reaching Gavi used to take nearly five hours due to the rough roads and weather conditions, with frequent landslides and tree falls. “There were no buses, no proper roads. It was tough. Most doctors who got posted here would seek a transfer quickly,” he says. “But I stayed, and over time, they started trusting me.”

Dr Xavier, a native of Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu, completed his MBBS from Tirunelveli Medical College. He worked at a mission hospital in Nagercoil for 10 years before marrying Mini, a Malayali, and moving to Kerala. The couple settled in Vellarada, Thiruvananthapuram, and have a daughter, Ashkana, currently pursuing her LLB. Though trained in general medicine, his years at the mission hospital gave him practical exposure in cardiology, paediatrics, and minor surgeries.

He joined the Seethathode health centre in February 2003 after securing his license to practice in Kerala and began what would become a lifelong mission to serve some of the state’s most remote communities.

“When I first came here, there were barely any tarred roads. We had no official vehicle or ambulance,” he remembers. “I used to hire jeeps using my own money.” Only after five years was a jeep provided by the panchayat. The health centre received its first ambulance in 2020.

Dr Xavier would travel to Gavi via Moozhiyar, stopping on the way to treat tribals there as well. He recounts a case from 19 years ago when a tribal woman named Anandavalli from the Vettiyar settlement in Moozhiyar was seriously ill with leptospirosis (rat fever). “She was too weak to be shifted to a hospital, so I treated her at home and stayed until she recovered. Today, she’s 102.”

Besides medicines, he always carried essential items—vegetables, fruits, oil, bread, iron tonics, clothes, and sweets. “Whatever I buy for my daughter, I try to buy the same for the children here,” he says.

His selfless service earned him not only respect but deep emotional bonds with the communities he served. “We don’t want him to leave. He has stood by us in every crisis,” says Gangamma, the ward member from Gavi. “Even during the monsoons when roads are blocked, trees fall, or vehicles break down—he still comes. He brings everything we need,” she added.