Annika Dhariwal is 17 years old and currently a student of grade 11 at Cheltenham Ladies College, UK.
When she was 9 years old, she was diagnosed with celiac disease thanks to a home test, similar to those at https://rxhometest.com/product/celiac-genetic-test. In 2018, she started Gluten Free Jio, a social enterprise that aims to increase awareness, and access to information on celiac disease and gluten-free diets in India.
Consequently, she created a resource website (http://www.glutenfreejio.com/) to share tips and tricks for navigating all aspects of life, when suffering from gluten intolerance or celiac disease.
Motivated to enable change beyond just herself, she started various conversations with local leaders and communities, in partnership with government schools and community organizations across the State of Punjab and the Chandigarh Tricity area.
Conducting interactive and educational sessions in government schools in Chandigarh and Punjab, with over 1000 TTG tests to determine the presence of celiac disease was the starting point of her campaign.
She has also authored a children’s book on gluten intolerance and distributed it in various government schools. This effort was supplemented digitally through social media, in Hindi, Punjabi, and English, dedicated to the cause.
Although due to Covid-19, she was unable to continue the in-person sessions in school, she commenced an online webinar series in which various authorities in the celiac community and beyond discussed prominent issues related to living as a celiac in India.
Further, she launched an app – GlutenFreeJio, available on both AppStore and Google PlayStore that allows users to identify gluten-free restaurants near them and grocery stores that stock gluten-free brands. In the future, she is planning to build a digital marketplace for gluten-free products. She desires to monetize the platform and donate the majority of the profits to organizations such as Beyond Celiac, which is conducting major research on a cure or vaccine for celiac disease.
Through sustained efforts over time, she has been able to establish a strong social media presence on Facebook and Instagram.
Her work has been applauded by the Governor of Punjab and the Mayor of Chandigarh on various occasions.
It is a matter of honor and pride to be appointed as the ambassador of Beyond Celiac, outside the United States of America. For more than 15 years, Beyond Celiac has been the leading patient advocacy and research-driven celiac disease organization working to drive diagnosis, advance research, and accelerate the discovery of new treatments and a cure.
They have also released a grant to help Annika with her cause and mission.
She initiated Gluten Free Jio to raise awareness, to improve the diagnosis rate, and create a community of support for celiac patients.