What is CORDUSA?

CORDUSA Raleigh is a chapter of Chinmaya Organization for Rehabilitation and Development (CORD) USA; a non-profit organization that aims to help communities create a sustainable program to aid in their holistic welfare for the past 30 years.

CORD initially began as a healthcare center in Himachal Pradesh. But as the voices of the villagers were heard and their challenges extended beyond healthcare, CORD expanded its programs to focus on improving health, education, support for the disabled, social justice, local self-governance, decreasing poverty, environmental issues, and much more. CORD’s strength and success is a result of empowering the local community, who are direct beneficiaries of its services. Villagers are taught modern techniques of agriculture and crop intensification, sanitation and hygiene, rainwater harvesting, micro-credit and income generation activities, financial literacy as well as health improvement and awareness.

CORD now extends beyond Himachal Pradesh and now exists in Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Sri Lanka. CORD’s programs and services have impacted over 700 villages in four provinces of India and it has touched the lives of over 550,000 beneficiaries through this integrated transformation. CORD has also become an inspirational training center for individuals and institutions across India and from other parts of the world to train and successfully guide their programs. Its micro financing programs within the villages of rural India have been nationally recognized and become a successful model for urban banks to train their employees in these villages.

CORDUSA Raleigh

CORDUSA Raleigh is local chapter for CORD USA  and it was formed in 2013. Our group consists of Young professional adults, college and high school students who want to help the global community who are less fortunate than us.

This is a non-profit organization with 0% overhead, and our organization has been rated with 4 stars by GreatNonProfit 5 years in a row!

Our Visionaries

Our leaders are dedicated, compassionate individuals who bring their expertise, vision, and selfless commitment to driving meaningful change and making a positive impact in the lives of those in need.

  • Dr. Metre, a pediatrician by profession, left a flourishing  practice in New Delhi to work as a doctor in rural primary healthcare services after being inspired by world renowned Sw. Chinmayananda. Her development work began in 1985 in Sidbhari, Himachal Pradesh with mother and child health services. Soon with input and feedback from the community, forward and backward linkages were built based on their needs. As a result, an integrated rural development model emerged which was successful and could be replicated with local modifications. Most important, this participatory development model empowered the community to be self respecting and self reliant. In all of Dr Metre’s work emphasis is placed on issues such as gender discrimination, HIV/AIDS and alcohol abuse awareness and treatment of alcoholics.

    Dr. Metre has won several awards and recognitions for her work. Here are the key highlights:

    • Won the 2012 Guardian International Development Achievement Award (UK’s highest development award).

    • Padma Shri Award given by the President of India in 2008 for Social Services.

    • Nina Sibal Award in 2006 for inclusion of persons with different abilities.

    • Nominated as a member of the 11th Planning Commission (Primary Health Care), Govt. of India, for the period 2007 to 2012.

    • Sadguru Ganananda Award in 2005 for excellence in Social Service

    • Featured in “Prophets of India” in 2004

    • National Women Commission Award for Women Empowerment in 2002

    • Nominated for “Women of the Year” by Week Magazine in 1993

  • Mrs. Subha Pathial holds a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin. With extensive experience in the software industry, she held various roles at Intel, gaining valuable expertise. Although always interested in humanitarian work, her career required her to be onsite. In 2009, she decided to take some time off, visiting CORD sites, which inspired her to pursue this work full-time. Currently, as the Chief Technology and Operations Officer at a medical clinic, she is able to balance her professional role with her passion for humanitarian efforts, contributing significantly to CORD's mission.