On October 12, 1999, SACHET launched its Community Development Program (CDP) with the establishment of a free clinic in Shahdra, a quaint village located 15 kilometers east of Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad. A bumpy road links the village to the capital.

The clinic was established in an abandoned Basic Health Unit (BHU), which was without any doctor and paramedical staff for many years. SACHET adopted the BHU, got the dilapidated building completely renovated and instantly embarked upon its mission of improving the health status of the village population through provision of free health services.

Spread over 2,006 acres, Shahdra has a population of about 25,000, with eight villages surrounding it within a radius of five kilometers. People benefitting from services being provided by the clinic aside from the population of eight villages in the catchment area, the clinic is also visited by the inhabitants of Phareela and Neelam Bhotto in NWFP. Since Shahdra borders the Haripur District, these two villages are also included in our catchment area. Patients from these villages visit the clinic in Shahdra after traversing a two-hour journey by foot through a mountainous terrain.