Civil Hospital Patients!

Our favorite visitors from Madhya Pradesh came this week. Sonu, the clubbed foot case, and Preeti, the spina bifida case, both came to get admitted, since the doctors said there were vacations going on before, so to come back in 10-15 days to get admitted. Of course they came this week, and the doctors said they still have vacations going on, so no elective surgeries will be done. These surgeries need to be done, but there is no urgency in doing them. Thus, we were out of luck. The Indian system is very frustrating that way - if they would have said things will be like this until July, we wouldn't have wasted a trip up here! So they all went back empty handed.

Basanti, our favorite terror, was brought as well, to get her eye looked at. She has intermittent ptosis, which basically means her right eye lid droops sometimes. It's something she has had since birth. The eye doctor tried to get her to open and shut her eye, open her mouth (the muscles are connected so moving the mouth affects the eye), but of course she was uncooperative. So the doctor said have her eat something in front of me after I get out of my surgery. So we waited, kept her hungry until 1pm, and then showed the doctor. Of course the rugrat refused to eat in front of the doctor. I asked the doctor if we could video tape her eating, but the doctor proceeded to get upset with me because she thought I didn't want to wait, and thought I was asking for special treatment. I tried to tell her it's just because Basanti is a stubborn child and will do the exact opposite of what you ask her to do, but she didn't listen and just got mad at me. So I sent the other volunteer with her after the lunch break to show the doctor. They were doing a bunch of tests, and then in the middle, the doctors all left, so we were out of luck! She'll come back next time to get the tests completed, though it looks like they are not recommending surgery - but they think there may be some other problem with her vision. She has come up with mechanisms to clear her field of vision due to the drooping that are compensating just fine.

And of course while Basanti was being stubborn, everyone else was waiting in the heat for her to finish! We rented them a car that took them back to MP, since it was too much to have them all go in a general class train. I had the driver come over and look at a map on googlemaps to look at, since they didn't know how to go and were planning on just winging it. I really want to buy them a roadmap...I don't know how drivers function here without maps!!

Anyways, the families are going to come get admitted in July, and Rahul and a few others will come next week just for OPD follow-up visits, which still are running during this physician holiday season!

Nauchandi

There was a nauchandi at the mandir right outside of our house this week. They have one every year on the date that the mandir was started. My Masi and cousin sat in the pooja all day - it was too hot for me! It was amazing to see all of the people come together, take time off of work etc just to be there for this celebration. In India, religion and faith tie people together. Pictures are here.

Mount Abu Trip!

Two of my dear friends, Pooja and Nishma, and I took a trip to Ambaji and Mount Abu for the weekend. It was a good break away from the craziness! We left early Saturday morning, of course the driver slept in, so we were up earlier than necessary, but that should be expected in India! We went to Ambaji first - boy was it hot even at 10am! Then we went to Mount Abu - the roads are crazy driving up! Then we ate, took a nap, which ended up being a few hours long, but worth it...then we went to sunset point, and hung around the lake, did some shopping...the next day we walked up to Guru Shikhar, and went to the Om Shanti garden. We were exhausted by the end, probably just because our sleep was so all over the place, but it was a good get-away! There are pictures here if you guys want to see the fun :)

Civil Hospital Patients - Rahul's update

I got the most amazing news today that I felt I had to share. For those of you who remember, Rahul is the 3 year old boy that had tuberculosis meningities and was admitted here. He got better, but was still malnourished, and his parents were not very concerned about making sure he gets better. One of the field workers at the Real Medicine Foundation emailed me an update. Below is a before and then two after pictures that explain the transformation better than my words can describe. I literally did not recognize the little boy as Rahul! He is interactive and trying to talk and grab things and he is holding his own weight up...it is simply a miracle to see his transformation. A little bit of love, communication, and effort very clearly goes a long way. It is so inspiring to see his transformation into a healthy 3 year old boy!!

Before:



After:

More patients to Civil Hospital

I had lots of visitors from Madhya Pradesh this week! A car literally full of 5 patients, their parents/caretakers, 2 staff, and driver all came up. I met everyone on Monday night, got everyone settled in and tried to figure out what was what and who was who along with logistics with the team since it was their first time in Ahmedabad. After that we got started bright and early on Tuesday morning. Here is who was here:

Apsiba - This is a pre-teen aged girl who needs a heart valve replaced. They already took her to a doctor in Indore and now just wanted a second opinion on what the situation is. The civil hospital doctor did another echocardiogram and then said that 2 of the heart valves need to be replaced. I can't imagine how scary it is to be old enough to understand what is going on and then to go to millions of doctors to try to hear about this surgery over and over! The parents want a third opinion, and then will decide, especially since everyone is giving them a different answer.

Basanti - If you remember, is the rascal of a child who had the clubbed foot, had surgery, and then broke her cast several times. Well she broke it again, this time in record time - 2 weeks! Originally the doctors had said that she would wear the cast for a month, get it off, have another surgery, and then another cast, after which she will get special shoes to wear for about a year. The doctors saw her and decided to take off her cast and put her in these special shoes right away. So this means for now, no second surgery. The doctors took the cast off, and were very upset about the duct tape and wiring that the volunteers there had done in order to prevent her from ripping up her cast again - which obviously didn't work. They said it wasn't appropriate and could mess with the correction (I doubt it, but whatever) . They even made me take a picture before taking the cast off in case there are liability issues. Smart to make me take that picture on my own phone! After that we took her to the Spinal Institute and got her fitted for both her scoliosis brace and her shoes. The brace and shoes need to be worn at all times, except when she showers. I feel so bad seeing her in all of this gear - it's crazy hot here and I know she's a huge pain so I'm sure she will be extra annoying and fussy about being hot in all of this! But hopefully she and her parents are compliant, it will save her a lot of trouble in the long run.

Sonu - This is another little girl with a clubbed foot. The doctor saw Sonu and said that she will need surgery. After she gets admitted they will do x-rays, do the surgery, more x-rays, and then we will know how long she will need the cast, second surgery etc etc. She came with her uncle and grandma because her mom is about to deliver. Her uncle and dadi did not want to stay and get admitted right now because Sonu's mom is waiting to deliver and the dadi needs to be there. I didn't push them because I didn't want them to keep trying to leave or rush things along to get back. Her uncle said he doesn't mind staying but that he can't handle Sonu when she'll get upset, in pain etc., that he thinks she will need one of her parents. I think we all agree that the parents need to be involved in the care and decision making of their children as well. I told the uncle to take their time and come once they know they can commit and stay, in addition to come for follow-ups etc.

Preeti - Preeti is an adorable little girl with spinda bifida. She is 4 years old. She was seen and assessed when she was first born, but the doctors didn't tell them to do anything. Now the spinal protrusion at the base of her back is much larger and is affecting both her ability to walk and control her bladder. The neurosurgeon got an MRI and then assessed that Preeti needs surgery. He said with the surgery there is a chance she will walk and her bladder control will get better, but without the surgery there is no chance, and it's a we'll know once we do it type of thing. When I went to get the MRI, it was 11am, and the lady told me that the child will need anesthesia because she won't stay still, but the time is up for the anesthesiologist so come back tomorrow. I was like what hours does the anesthesiologist work that they are "done" at 11am. She said there are already too many patients in line and by the time they are done the time will be up. I was being very stubborn, telling them that these people came from so far away and are leaving tonight etc etc. The receptionist asked if I was a doctor. I was like well it wouldn't hurt to say yes, right? So I said yes. Then she was like well if you want to administer the anesthesia we have no problem. I was like whoa, I can't take that kind of liability, and I'm thinking in my head what type of regulations they have if they just let me self proclaim myself capable of doing such a thing! Finally the receptionist was like well you can go talk to the anesthesiologist if you would like. So I went back there and waited...I was guessing it would have been some young male and I would use my charm, maybe flirt a little, talk about the organization and convince him. But it was a young woman...I am thinking, okay I am screwed. I went in and talked about the organization, said that I'm from America here to volunteer for a year etc etc...she was actually really nice and said look we stop giving anesthesia at 1pm and it's already 12p and I have 3 more patients, but I will put her in the line and see what we can do. But apparently what I said had an effect on her because she came out in 5 minutes to assess Preeti and get her in! We could not get her admitted right away because apparently there is "vacation" within the department for the next 2 weeks, so no non-emergency cases. Crazy, huh?!

Pankaj - Pankaj is a young teenage boy who slept on the roof with his friends in the village and has a habit of sleep walking and oh what do you know fell off the roof straight on to his head. It was a really bad gash - took a chunk out of his scalp - hair, skin all gone. The local hospital took a look at him and said to get an MRI done. He got an X-ray and CT scan, both of which were normal. The surgeon looked at him and said that the hospital he went to looks like they gave him stitches, which we were unaware of. They cleaned the wound and dressed it. I lectured him and his father a lot on how this was really stupid and should not ever happen again, and tried to scare them into how much worse this could have been.

We managed to get all of these patients in and out within one day which was absolutely nuts! It was me, this local worker, one of the directors, and then a poor student at the spinal institute who got stuck with us. We were one worker short for the 5 patients, all of whom ended up needing different things on different floors at the same time (before lunch, because after that, good luck finding someone who will talk to you). The local worker I had to be careful what I had her do because while she was great, she got pushed around easy and when the nurse said you can't come in with the patient, she said okay and stepped aside. So I couldn't, for example, have her wait around to sweet talk the anesthesiologist. It took lots of coordination and some patients were more complicated or had more questions to ask so we kept meeting up and switching patients, regrouping them, it was like a field trip! It went very smooth overall and I really felt like I know the hospital and its system pretty well to know where to go, when to push, timings...and I even figured out what things could be put in the afternoon priority and which had to be done right away in the morning to save us from needing another day. It worked beautifully. I tried to talk to the parents and families as well and educated them about their child and what they needed to know, and just bonded with them with general chit chat. A few will come back with their children and will be here with me, so I figured if they knew me and realized I am pretty nice, they would not be so scared to come back! Plus it was good Hindi practice ;)

The families were great as were the adorable kids, and I am so grateful to be a part of this organization and get to help these families and children get healthy and become mobile and free of disability!

Flowering Tree

The name of the Jamalpur (Manav Gulzar project) sponsors is an organization called Flowering Tree. They are based out of New York and basically visit and find organizations that do good work with women and children in Asia that is in line with their own organization values. They are funding our Jamalpur project. The way they decided to fund this project was very interesting. They were in Ahmedabad working on a different project, which fell through. They decided since they were here, they might as well check out the Gandhi Ashram. So they were visiting and stumbled into the Manav Sadhna hub while wandering. They loved it there, met everyone, saw all of the projects. They didn't do anything then though. They came back and visited every year for 3 years. Then in the 3rd year they were in the same van as some of the leaders from Jamalpur going to prathna. They started talking to this leader, asking him how they maintain such peace and harmony in a mixed Hindu-Muslim area. The husband started explaining...when he was newly married, he loved bossing his wife around. When he wanted to have people over for dinner, he would order his wife, make dinner for 10 people tomorrow. He quickly learned, however, that she maybe would not be able to go against him, but all she had to do was put extra chilly in the dinner, and his guests would never return, not to mention his image would be tainted. Instead, he learned that if he asks his wife, I want to have these people over for dinner, she might reply and say well today I cannot prepare that, but if you have them over tomorrow, I can make a good dinner. That way they work together, listen to each other, and everyone is happy. His wife was giggling in the corner listening to this story of course. So the leader said, I applied this same principle to the community. We listen to each other, ask what our thoughts are, and thus communicate well and live in harmony. Flowering Tree obviously heard this and thought what great and understanding leaders are running this area! Then they went to prayer, and afterwards these same leaders were talking to Jayeshbhai and Virenbhai saying they would like Manav Sadhna to help build a community center in Jamalpur. Flowering Tree heard this request, and afterwards in private, asked if they could help with this project. It was ironic since the Manav Sadhna philosophy regarding fund-raising is that whenever a need arises, someone who can meet that need comes along on their own - case and point! Thus started their relationship with Manav Sadhna.

I went to the airport to pick them up on Wednesday. It was a man and woman, middle-aged, very friendly. They were very excited to meet us and be here to see the project. They were very happy with the project, since they really were missing one thing in the project, communication and written reports, which I was able to fulfill. Also being from the states, I knew what type of stuff would be helpful for them to read, and thus was able to tailor the monthly reports to fit that. I gave them the annual report I wrote, which was a summary of all of the projects, reflections from the teachers, summary numbers regarding enrollment, nutrition etc. They literally could have kissed me, mainly because they didn't ask for this (they hate asking people who already are so active and busy in the field to do such stuff) and it had literally everything they needed. The next day we went around seeing everything, but they told me they were so at ease having read my report that they could just sit back and see everything without worrying about getting all of their questions answered etc. It felt good that something that wasn't painless, but relatively so, and definitely something that taught me a lot and helped Manav Sadhna also was such a big help for them. We went and visited Jamalpur - they loved everything they saw - and they knew a lot of the background so they felt like they knew what they were looking it. They saw thee construction, had pictures taken, songs sung to them..it was great! After that we went to the Leper Community to see that. They walked around and were shown the community - I sat aside and hung out with some of the little kids since I was exhausted (as was everyone). This was the middle of the day in full summer weather - I literally drank at least 1 liter of water over the 10 hours we were out, and did not have to use the bathroom, even when I got home. That tells you how much I must have sweat for that to happen! But it was great to meet and see them, and also see that they are working so hard on such projects, no only to provide funding, but have a genuine interest in helping and being involved however they can. It was heart-warming to spend time with them and a relief that my efforts on my largest project this year was beneficial to someone else besides me :)

Ram Naumi and Preparation for Visit

Today was Ram Naumi or the birth of Ram, which apparently happened at noon (yes, Indians know these things). So there was an arati at the mandir at noon. And things were mostly closed - surprise, surprise. I can't believe the number of people though that come to arati at these occasions. I don't know if people here are more religious, but I feel like they have more of a blind faith that things like visiting the temple once a day or wearing nice new clothes and visiting the temple on religious occasions. Anyways, once again it felt very homely to be squished like sardines in the tiny temple where everyone and their moms (literally) showed up. It was fun :)

Flowering Tree, the organization that is sponsoring the Jamalpur site, is visiting tomorrow and the day after to see how things are going firsthand. I wrote up a nice, colorful, long annual report and made a video slideshow of the children/events/etc. I'm excited to meet them tomorrow, help answer any questions they have about what we are doing, and hear their feedback on what else we can and should do!

Anganwadi Inauguration

Today was the inauguration of the Bholu 10 Anganwadi (pre-school) - the one that I went to go help out with construction at last week. The building looks amazing. By the time I got there (5 minutes early) the place was packed with cute little kids dressed in their best clothes (one kid even walked in with the tag still on his shirt!), parents, and Manav Sadhna staff alike. The kids were all lined up nicely and cramped together. The teachers had them sing some songs, a little girl did a dance...it was lots of fun to see them all excited!

Then we heard some speeches - one from a Chunilalbhai, who apparently is a really amazing guy and still working hard following Gandhi's teachings at 94! He gave a nice speech about how the work we are all doing is so important and that we need to recognize that these people that live here in the slums have moved here from villages hoping for a better life, and that it is our efforts that will one day make the dream of there no longer being slums a reality.

Then we all lit some candles, did a prayer...Jayeshbhai, Anarben, and Virenbhai gave a speech about how much hard work the volunteers did, working literally day and night, without regard to food or really anything else. They then said the did not know how to say thank you to all of these volunteers who literally left their lives and homes behind and toiled selflessly for families and kids they had no connection with, no reason to help. So they decided the best thanks they could give is to wholeheartedly bow down to us. So right there, all three of them got on their knees and bowed down in front of all of us. I was speechless. And for those of you who know me you can expect that the waterworks were in process. It was such a selfless, simple, yet profoundly meaningful gesture for these people who themselves have sacrificed so much to help these people bowing down to us for our dedication, which compared to theirs is nothing. I have no words to describe that moment, except to say that it will stay with me forever.

After that everyone had chocolates and then did garba in the street. It was fun to see the little kids having a blast and walking through the slum and seeing the happiness on everyone's faces. There are some pictures from the day here :)

Building an Anganwadi and the World Cup :)

Friday we have our volunteer meetings before prathna. Somehow I wasn't feeling up to going, but I trucked on, get ready, and left. Sure enough when I get there, I see the volunteer coordinator and he looks at me and goes, oh shoot, I knew I forgot something. And I was like hmm, let me guess, volunteer meeting is canceled today?! He's like yeah, and I remembered to call everyone except for you. I'm sitting here thinking well how special of me. So I asked why it was canceled and he said because most of the volunteers were working on the construction of the new anganwadi (pre-school) building since it opens in 3 days and there is a lot left to do so I canceled the meeting. Then I was thinking well, this might not be so bad. So I asked if he could take me with him to the site so I could help. I figured it was a win-win...this way he didn't feel guilty for forgetting me either ;)

There they are making the walls out of plastic bottles. So plastic bottles have been filled with sand, compacted sand, and then the caps super-glued on. Then using cement the bottles will be put on their sides and used to build the wall. It looks really cool and is a very good example of recycling for the kids! So when I got there some bottles were left to be filled with sand but the main work was super-gluing the caps onto the bottles. But I was warned that if you get any of the superglue on your hands, you have to rip it off right away, which will also take some skin off and burn like heck. I responded well is there any other task for me to help with because anything with that strict of a warning, the first thing I will do is superglue my fingers together ;) So then they had me put the superglued bottles in piles next to where they will be used. Man, was it tiring! These bottles were heavy, and there were obstacles everywhere. But I did it, and it was fun to be useful and see all of the work the volunteers are doing to get things ready there! I did manage to get superglue on my hands, some had dribbled down apparently onto the bottle. I decided to let it crust and dry and let it fall off naturally...which actually turned out to work well! I only helped for a couple of hours, but when I went home I crashed! It was really tiring to do manual work especially in the sun! But it was a lot of fun and really cool to see all of the kids in the area trying to sneak a peek at what we were doing - you can tell the community is excited to have this being built!

The World Cup was on Saturday - India v Sri Lanka. This was again a zoo. The streets were literally dead, kids had the flag painted on their faces... Everyone was watching the game. In the second half when India was up to bat, every time they made a run, a single run, everyone would run out of their houses and cheer, even do fireworks. By the end things were out of control - they were using plates and spoons to make "music", half of them weren't even watching the game, just yelling when other people were yelling around the block! I don't like cricket, at all, but even I got interested towards the end. When India won, man was it chaos. The celebrations started way before we actually won, but once it was official, there were fireworks like it was Diwali or Independence Day, everyone was out on the street cheering, making noise. Then everyone got on their bikes or walked to the big intersections, and there I hear everyone just made more noise and cheered, stood up on moving bikes etc. I did not go to see or partake in the chaos, but I hear it was crazy. I swear it felt like we had just won a war or something! But it was great to see everyone united and celebrating something with so differences between young, old, men, women, rich, poor. That's true patriotism!!!

Jamalpur Update

The organization that provides the donations for the Jamalpur site, Flowering Tree, is visiting in April to see things. So we have to compile a yearly report with what we have done this year. So I have been busy at work trying to put that together. It's actually been fun to do and see everything we have done so far, and I have decided to only do one class a day and finish this project over the course of the week instead of try to cram it in, so it hasn't taken over my life too much.

I went to Jamalpur today to work on the monthly report..I'll go work on the yearly report with the staff there next week once I have compiled and need their input to add to it. After putting the report together I went and visited the Muslim Tuition class. The kids are so great there. They all have learned the Gujarati alphabet in only the last 2 months, which is really impressive, and are much more well disciplined. They come to class on time, don't yell and scream out of turn, and even sit on their bottoms now! They were very happy to see me and all tried to impress me with their new demeanor, which I was very happy to see :)

I have also added a folder of all sorts of pictures of me teaching the students...if you want to see, take a look!

Street School Education Curriculum; India vs. Pakistan Match

I spent a couple hours today reviewing my ideas on the Street School Value-Based Education Curriculum that Maheshbhai is putting together. He emailed me a list of 22 values (respect, compassion, waste etc etc) and asked me to come up with activities to do to teach them. I had to think back to elementary school when we used to actually do fun activities...then also did some google searches to think of ideas. I think I got in a good variety - my list is very Western education like - lots of partner/group stuff and lots of crafts and drawing. But I think it provided a contrast to what the teachers here can offer to add so I think we work well together in this brainstorming. We spent 2 hours of me reading and explaining my activities and Maheshbhai translating...it was fun to have him on the other side of that! There was some minor complaining on his part of his hand cramping, how long it will take him to type this etc...I just smiled and told him he's telling the wrong person!

While I was doing this I got a call from my Masi reminding me to not go anywhere...the India vs. Pakistan cricket match is today (the World Cup) so basically everything in closed, and there is (as always) a fear of riots breaking out here in Ahmedabad. She was worried since I wasn't home on time that I went into the city. It seems that there is always a threat of riots in Ahmedabad...they even called in police from other states for today! So crazy...it's like a curfew outside, everyone is at home watching TV. This should be an interesting experience!

Basanti's follow-up visit...sort of

Today was very very tiring! Let me just say that it's not super hot yet, and doesn't even feel too bad, and then you feel sweat trickling from places you did not know you had pores, and you are now conscious of the temperature! This is new for me, but I'm getting used to it...that and showering 3 times a day...you don't even have to use the water heater because the water comes from the roof and it's hot enough on it's own!

So Basanti managed to somehow break a hole in the heel of her cast...it was so it was easier for her to walk...also something she is not supposed to be doing. You can tell she is a bit mischievous. Anyways, it was a long day getting them from the train station, waiting for things to get started at the hospital since it was 8am, going to the outpatient clinic (OPD), cutting in line, which I am morally against, but lugging around a 3 year old with a 2 kg cast I didn't feel so bad. The doctor asked why she broke the cast and that doesn't she understand that without the cast the correction won't get made...I looked at him, speechless, then replied that she is 3 so she doesn't understand anything more than play and fun, and he's like well she should know better. I was trying to not argue, laugh, or punch the guy...wasn't sure which emotion! Then we took her to get a mold made for a scoliosis cast...she was not happy having to lie on the table...her parents were not with us, just her older sister (who was 10) so she was all over upset! After that I got them settled in the ward to wait for the doctor who would change her cast and went home to shower and eat. They called me earlier than expected and said the doctor was ready to change the cast...of course the one time things happen on time. So I rushed back, we had to buy the bandages since the hospital was out (sounded shady but we went with it). The doctor had me help since no one else was there, and Basanti was not happy to let anyone near her, period. It was really easy and I couldn't understand why he was so pompous and arrogant about doing such a simple task (he was really rude to the RMF worker with Basanti before I came about following his instructions and not asking questions). But it got done with lots of plaster on me, but that works, I felt like I was back home, except plaster is better than spit and other such items. We got everyone food, and got them to the station. Basanti knew the minute she was done because her all day pasted frown was all smiles. Amazing how much children know and understand. Knowing I'm helping such poor children get something that is so simple yet will offer them something so great like the ability to walk makes all of the cranky doctors and buckets of sweat worth it!

Delay in Writing and General Health Camp

Sorry again for the delay! I had a week off because my cousin got married - lots of sweating and singing and dancing! - and then I went to Delhi to help my friend shop for her wedding, which was lots and lots of fun. It made me miss home a lot though seeing her and spending time with her family...but I'll be back soon enough!

The morning after I got back we had a general health camp at the community center in the Ramapir no Tekro. It was held on behalf of the Ahmedabad Medical Association. There were lots of doctors there - general, eye, ENT, skin, dental, surgeon, pediatrician. We got there early to setup, and put up lots of banners about preventative healthcare. When people came in they went to the registration table, had to say what they needed to be seen for, and in turn received a "case paper" with the doctor they had to see written on top. If they had multiple complaints, they got a different sheet for each. Then volunteers helped direct people to the right station. After that a volunteer at each station kept an eye in the room the doctor was in and had one person enter the room at a time. After each patient was seen they were directed across the way where medications were dispensed for free that were written by the camp doctors. It was chaotic! No one stayed in line, everyone budged then fought about it, they tried to enter multiple people at a time, and they wouldn't listen when we tried to direct them to the appropriate doctor! It was a zoo! But it was lots of fun and really great to see so many people getting their healthcare needs addressed. The doctors also took their time and seemed to actually enjoy helping these people. I loved seeing the people fight over their turn...it showed me their passion for healthcare...or at least I like to think so ;) My favorite was this girl probably around 10-12 who was getting really upset, crying, yelling, throwing a tantrum at the eye doctor station...everyone thought it was because she got glasses and didn't want them, but it was actually the opposite...she wanted glasses but the eye doctor told her that her vision was fine!! See, some people are as crazy as me when it comes to their health :)

Leprosy Community Visit

I finally got a chance to go back to the Leprosy Community today! Chris, one of the new volunteers, is housed there a few days a week, so lots of new programs are getting kicked off there, which is just what the community needs.

There is a new nutrition program starting there geared towards the elderly that live in the community by themselves. All of these people have leprosy, and thus most all have problems with their feet and hands. All of them beg to make money to eat and pay their house bills. The 23 people in this program all live alone, and are all elderly. Every evening, Monday through Sunday, dinner will be cooked at the community center. All of the 23 will arrive, do a prayer together, and then eat together. This will also help increase utilization of the community center and make this a community event. The donors that are helping fund this project wanted some background information of the people in this program.

First I met with the husband and wife who will be cooking the meals. They were really great - they already have anticipated what problems they may face and are really enthusiastic about getting things started. So next we went around to meet the people that will be in the program. Many of them were not around since they had gone out to beg, but we talked to whoever was home. We told them about the program, asked if they will have any problems participating such as they can''t walk to the community center (for which we will pick them up with a wheelchair), what they think about this program, and then just a brief history on how they ended up at the leper community. All of them said the program was a good idea, but they just hoped they could chew the food, so we passed on that concern. All of the people we talked to had relocated because they got leprosy, which basically outcasted them from society. A few left because they were run out of their home villages; others left because they did not want their families to suffer disgrace because of them. One women left behind her husband and two young children (one 3 years old and one 4 months old) and came to live here. To this date she does not know how her sons are doing or even where they are...so heartbreaking. But the elderly were overall very grateful to have a program that will at least ensure they will get one good meal a day and give them a cushion so if they do not go beg a certain day because they are sick etc, they will still be able to get by. I'm very excited to see this project get going - it's going to provide a big help to those in need.

Last I visited a boy that lives in the community, Guru. Guru's Mom had difficulty during childbirth, which led him to having insufficient oxygen, and thus he suffers from cerebral palsy. The volunteer has been working with him doing traditional therapy to improve his breathing and his condition as much as possible. Guru does not sit, walk, move at all and his breathing can be very difficult at times. But since the volunteer has been working with Guru he is breathing better, is much more alert, active, and responsive, and is even moving around a lot more which is great news! It was amazing to see him. The best part about seeing him was that every time the volunteer laughed, Guru laughed. It was like a natural reaction to him and so heart touching to see!

Jamalpur - Health and Hygiene Class; English Class

I went to Jamalpur to work with the women this time. They started a new batch in the sewing class in March. So I went and gave my health and hygiene lecture to both batches. I think this is really important to do, especially since culturally the women take care of the family and kids, and basically teach them everything they learn. So I started with this point - that whether it's as an older sister or a mother, they need to lead by example. Especially with these women, they understand and believe in being empowered, and that starts with education. The women were great. They engaged in the conversation well, especially since it was a small group so they asked lots of questions and made lots of comments. They seemed to acknowledge their shortcomings in this area and what all they should focus on being role models and teaching the next generation. Let's see if it actually sticks!

After that I went to the new Muslim tuition class - Rahim Sanskar Kendra. I just popped in to say hi and see how much they remembered from my health and hygiene lecture. They remembered a lot - even that you should brush for 3 minutes twice a day! Whether they actually practiced that or not is another story...then the kids told me they were going to learn English today. I wrote out the ABCs to see what they knew...it was actually really fun to see the kids getting excited about it! Then I asked them basic English words - like head, and they didn't know it! So I taught them the song Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes...it was an utter mess, but it was lots of fun! I had them give themselves a round of applause after, because it was their first time singing a song in English. But I am of the belief that these kids should not be learning English right now. The kids who cannot read and write in Gujarati should focus on that, not learning English. It was lots of fun spending time with the kids and seeing them so happy and excited about learning something :)

Rahul's follow-up visit - Civil Hospital

Rahul (tuberculosis meningitis patient with the shunt placed from Madhya Pradesh) had his follow-up visit today. Yesterday, however, is when the stress started for all of us. One of the Real Medicine Foundation volunteers went to his house to prepare things for their trip. He has been vomiting since he got discharged, and someone mentioned that it might possibly be because of his shunt, so we considered that he would have to stay in the hospital for a few days. Rahul's dad's brother however had some issues. First he said that Holi (Indian festival of colors) is coming up and immediately after there is a wedding in the family. Thus he said that he will only allow Rahul to be in Ahmedabad for 3 days, then it doesn't matter if he is officially discharged or not, he will make them leave the hospital against medical advice and come back home since the festival and wedding is more important. When they discussed how critical Rahul is and how important good follow-up is for him, Rahul's father and uncle said that the festival and wedding is more important, and that it's okay if Rahul dies. They said that they can dedicate time to get him admitted after the wedding is over, but not before. And if Rahul dies do to this decision, so be it, the Real Medicine Foundation is already dedicating more time than necessary to him, so maybe it's better if he dies. I was in shock when the volunteer called me and told me this! I understand that these people are illiterate, but I don't know if that can be an excuse for not understanding the value for a human life, especially an innocent child.

Needless to say I was really apprehensive about this follow-up visit because I didn't know what to expect from either the family or the doctors. After a long and expensive miscommunication about what train station they were at, we arrived at the neurosurgery OPD (out patient department). The neurosurgeon said that the shunt is working well, and that the vomiting is probably due to the tuberculosis medications, and that he is doing well. He told us to visit the pediatrician OPD as well to see what they have to say.

The pediatrician said he should stay on all of his vitamins and tuberculosis medications and didn't agree that the vomiting was due to the tuberculosis medications, but gave him something for when he vomits to help him keep everything down. She was very concerned that he barely gained any weight since discharge, and he is only 5 kg, when he should be 12 kg per his age. She said he is severely malnourished and will need to get a feeding tube again if he can't gain a few kilos. The kid is really struggling, but hopefully the family will get him admitted to a Nutritional Rehabilitation Center after their wedding and get him on the way to recovery.

It's hard working so hard and getting so attached to these children and seeing that despite all of your love and efforts the family still sees it all as frivolous. The parents seemed on board when I talked to them, so it seems maybe the brother is the one with all of these crazy ideas. I just know we have to do the best we can to serve and help and the rest is out of our hands.

Indian Standard Time, Dental Awareness Camp, Lizards, and Health Camp

Lots of stuff going on these last 2 days!

I was supposed to meet one of the staff members to help him translate some stories into English and type them up. So after prayer after people finished socializing and going about their work I went to find him and asked him if we're still on to sit down. He's like yeah, sure, just give me 5 minutes and I'll be back. One hour later he was no where to be seen, and finally called him, and he's like I'm on my way back. He was truthful, he got there within 2 minutes, but then tells me his write-up is at home so we can't finish this now anyways. So I'm left wondering why he would have told me to wait 5 minutes in the first place...Luckily, I've learned the ways of Indian Standard Time (IST) and ate lunch and finished up some other work instead of patiently waiting for "5 minutes." I don't know if expecting IST is a good thing or a bad thing, but I suppose it makes me more efficient so I can't complain!

We hosted a dental awareness camp at the ashramshala on Thursday. This is through the same people that did our dental camp - Thursday afternoons are their community outreach times, so we have them setup to come to 4 different places the next 4 weeks and work with the kids. First we introduced dental hygiene and talked about the importance of teeth. We showed pictures of teeth of movie stars - one with smiling faces and one with their teeth blacked out - and asked the kids which one they preferred. Obviously we know what they said! Then the dental students did a skit about teeth - there were 2 brothers, one who brushed his teeth and ate right, and the other who didn't brush and ate candy all day. We all know which one ended up having cavities, bad breath, and gum disease. Then the students showed the kids how to brush their teeth and talked about when to brush, how to brush, why to brush etc. Last they did a dental screening on all of the kids and filled out a form on each child. We will follow-up all of the kids with problems in our dental clinic at the community center. All of the kids got a coloring book, crayons, toothpaste, and toothbrush. The kids had a lot of fun, as did the students, who were really happy that they could do outreach where it really was needed.


More pictures here :)

So it's starting to get warm outside, which means - lizard time! They're starting to appear on the walls everywhere. We were having our volunteer meeting on Friday and not one, but two fell on me. It was one of the scariest things ever. And the lizards are all white, so they look albino, which makes them more scary.

We're planning a comprehensive health camp for later this month. I don't know the details of what organization this is organized through, but basically they have physicians for 7-8 different specialties present (peds, gynac etc) who provide screening for patients. They also give away things like 100 free prescription eyeglasses and more. This will be an organizational nightmare, especially since most of the staff will be busy with a craftroots presentation that date, but it should be a good leadership experience!

Basanti's follow-up visit

Basanti and her dad came back to Ahmedabad yesterday for a follow-up visit. She needed to get her cast removed, the stitches taken out, and then re-casted. They arrived by train and it was Dad's first time on the train, so he was really nervous. I had never been to the Kalupur train station either (the main train station in Ahmedabad) so I didn't know what was going on either! Things were really confusing there...you apparently need a platform ticket to go drop or pick someone up, but the window where they sold the tickets didn't have anyone sitting there. I finally found where to get the ticket and went and got them...it was a zoo!

We took a rickshaw to the hospital, and Basanti was smiling! She had lots of fun on the train and didn't know yet where we were going so she was playing. Then we got to the hospital and first went to the paraplegia hospital where the students took her cast off. The minute we stepped foot in the building Basanti knew where we were and was not happy. It took them forever to take the cast off, and when the sir stepped away for a few minutes one student was throwing glances in his direction while the other did everything the sir said not to in order to get the cast off quicker...not very comforting, but then I pretended to be interested in what they were doing and got involved and I think I scared them so they went back to doing what they were told. Basanti made sure everything in the building knew she was there. I promised her an ice cream if she either stopped crying or generated tears while wailing. She did neither.

Then me and 2 students took her to the main hospital to get the stitches out and re-casted. The OPD (outpatient) hours were over in the morning, so we were calling in a favor to have this doctor do this for us. We finally tracked the doctor down and he tried to take the stitches out and Basanti was just not having it. She bent over her legs and wouldn't budge. The doctors decided they would have to put her under anesthesia and finish everything, which is what they did when they re-casted her in the hospital as well. This meant we had to wait for her to have not had anything to eat or drink for the last 6 hours. So we waited in the trauma center waiting room for it to be 2 more hours and have the surgeon free to get this done. Of course Basanti was starving since she was going on hour 7 without nothing to eat/drink so she was making a ruckus. I didn't have anything except my mp3 player and hair clip for her to play with, neither of which was entertaining enough. Then some lady sitting in the waiting room got mad at me and asked what kind of mother I am that my child is crying and I'm leaving her with her dad. I just glared at her and then she turned away. Seriously, no one minds their own business in India! The doctor had told us Basanti would have to stay the night since she'll be getting anesthesia so they'll have to monitor her. So I told the Dad he won't be able to leave tonight and he wasn't thrilled but he also has learned to trust us to do what was best for them, so he went along with it. We made arrangements for her to stay at the Paraplegia hospital and then get discharged in time for the morning train.

The surgeon finally came and they took us first (out of 30 people waiting). Then the anesthesiologist decided that she wouldn't sign off on Basanti's surgery until I took out a "case" - basically means got her admitted inpatient first. I explained to her that she wasn't inpatient, the doctors sent us straight up here, but she walked away before I could even get out a sound. So we waited patiently and then her doctor came and whisked her into the operating theater. I went back to the waiting area hoping they didn't fight and send her back out! But her dad came to get me a half hour later telling me Basanti was out. I quickly ran and caught the doctor and asked what was next and to make sure they'll discharge her on time in the morning. He just looked at me and said I don't need to keep her, go home, bring her back in a month. Seriously no communication among these physicians! So we got Basanti dressed and rushed off to the train station - she knew where she was going because she was all smiles again!

We got to the station with 15 minutes to spare, otherwise they would have to wait another hour for the train, and then reach home in the middle of the night. So we rushed, got a ticket, found someone to sell me a freaking platform ticket who them proceeded to answer when I asked what platform our train would come on "4, but you better hurry it's about to leave." I'm thinking yeah well maybe if you didn't dilly dally for 5 minutes it wouldn't be about to leave!

So we rushed - I grabbed dad's bag since he was carrying her so all the weight slowed him down and we did a very filmy run for the train. We found the train but the general box was way in the back and we were way in the front so we did another filmy run for the end. The train was crammed, but they made it. Basanti was all smiles, as was Dad, though I never did get to give her an ice cream...next time!

Jamalpur Health and Hygiene Class

I gave my health and hygiene lecture to the new Muslim student class today...it went surprisingly well! I had to talk in Hindi since that was what most students understand, and I never speak Hindi, but I apparently did okay! I couldn't remember one word - the word for germs - kittanu, which is very different from Gujarati. Anyways, the kids was very impressive. They were much more well behaved than I saw 2 weeks ago, which was great, and they answered my questions very well which I was very happy about! And I think I got my speech down pat...what used to take me 20 minutes now takes an hour, which is great that I have thought of so many little anecdotes and ways to make the lecture more interactive and fun! It was cool to see the kids slowly inching closer and closer until one was quite literally in my lap and I had to gain his attention to that and scoot him back to his spot! Working with these kids is so energizing to see their curiosity and interest in hearing what you have to say :)

Civil Hospital - Basanti's Story

Basanti is an intriguing 3 year old girl! They brought her up to get surgery because she had a clubbed foot, meaning her foot isn't straight, so she couldn't walk. The organization A Leg To Stand On based out of the US sponsored all of her care. The ALTSO team was great, checking up on everything regularly and helping us jump through all of the hoops as quick as possible - it was working with them that made me realize that all you really need to be seen/heard is a white lab coat, so you look official. No one asked for ID, the lab coat spoke for itself!

Anyways, she had to have corrective surgery for her foot. She has a month old brother at home so the mom could not come along, so the father came, had never taken care of her on his own before. When they told him the surgery would be the next day and then she would have to stay in the hospital for 4 days, he freaked out and all he could say is he wanted to go back to the village and pick his corn and that there was no way he could watch her for 4 days. After he met Rahul's parents we found out that they are related and actually neighbors! This eased him a bit and after much convincing he decided to stay. I met him when he was having lunch with Basanti. She peed while eating. I told him and he looked down and said oh, and didn't do anything. Then I suggested maybe he should move her away from that area so she isn't sitting in her own urine while she eats. that lit some type of a lightbulb since he moved her! The morning after her surgery they gave the family bread in a plastic package, and he handed the whole package to Basanti, who just stared back at him, and after a minute he was like oh, I should open this for you maybe...I'm sitting here like you think?! But I talked to him and was telling him what a great opportunity he was getting to spend time with his daughter in a way that he probably never has and never will. After his first day jitters subsided he agreed and seemed very grateful to get this one on one time with his daughter :) And by the end he actually knew how to take care of her, which was amazing to see!

Basanti was a very moody girl..whenever I went to see her she was upset and frowning - never happy to see me until day 3 when she smiled, but day 4 was more of the same. But apparently every time I left she would ask 20 questions about me - when I was coming back, my name etc etc. I think she just didn't like hospitals and wanted to go home to Mom. But she left happy and ready to get home, and now she'll be back for more follow-ups and another surgery.

Civil Hospital - Ayush's Story

Ayush was a little boy they brought up from MP that had a shunt put in his brain when he was a month old. He had hydrocephalus (fluid in the brain) so needed the shunt to remove the fluid. It's been 2 years since so he had to come up for a follow-up to make sure things were going okay. There isn't much to tell in his story - we did lots of running around as per the normal and got him seen in the OPD (out patient department) in neurosurgery. They had us take a CT scan to see where things were at and then decide if there was anything that needed to be done. The process was far from systematic but things got done, and it turned out his scan was clean and he was good to go home. He was the cutest kid, and he was so playful. He didn't cry at all, even though he didn't even get water for 3-4 hours...he just went about smiling. I have never met such a happy baby with such a contagious smile...so precious. He had come with his grandparents, who it was obvious interacted and stimulated him a lot.

Civil Hospital - Rahul's Story

This is the story of the first patient I worked with at the Civil Hospital on behalf of the Real Medicine Foundation. The chapter of this organization that I'm working with is based out of Madhya Pradesh in a village named Jabhwa. This village is home to many farmers and migrant workers who are very poor and mostly illiterate, fairly uneducated. Our role is to help them get advanced medical procedures at the Civil Hospital (government hospital in Ahmedabad) and help them navigate the system.

Rahul is a little 3 year old boy who was first diagnosed with TBME (tuberculosis meningitis or tuberculosis of the lining of the brain) in November of last year. The doctor hospitalized him and then discharged him with a month long course of medication and told them to come back in a month for further follow-up. As happens with many TB cases, Rahul was doing better after the first month of treatment, and the parents being uneducated figured he's better so there is no reason to take him back to the doctor. Of course this is not how TB works and without a full course of TB medication the infection is still present and merely gains resistance to the TB drugs and manifests much harsher later. This is exactly what happened. Rahul got really sick in the middle of February with multiple days of vomiting and seizures and since there is no hospital near the village that can treat such a sick patient, they rushed Rahul here.

I came the day after he was admitted here. I met his parents who were really confused and concerned about who I was. It took them a few days to warm up to me, after which time they would become concerned if I didn't come and always seemed very excited and relieved to see me.

Rahul was put back on his TB medications along with antibiotics. He also had a CT scan done which revealed hydrocephalus or fluid build up in his brain. The surgeons placed a shunt to remove the fluid. Then they kept him in the hospital for 14 days to finish the antibiotics course. Some time before coming in to the hospital, Rahul lost most use of his right arm and leg, probably due to the fluid build-up in his brain. He moves them ever so slightly, but both limbs are bent and he keeps them curled in a fist (his foot too). The doctors say this will be a wait and watch process and taught them physical therapy exercises to do on him - this is his best chance of regaining use of his limbs. It's hard for parents to do these on him since he whines and cries and usually that's enough to get a parent to stop. I tried to drill it into their heads that they need to push on. He also cannot see anymore, and the doctors again say we'll have to see if he regains that. However, on his last day here when Naiara and I (another RMF volunteer based out of Madhya Pradesh) were playing with him he reached out for her bracelet which was held about his head! So we're hopeful that he's starting to regain his sight!

Working with Rahul and his family was my first experience in this hospital. It was overwhelming, even for me. When you need something done the doctors send you on a wild goose chase across the hospital to find it or to take the patient to get whatever it is done. I look professional thus I get good treatment from the staff and guards, some of whom would seek me out to find out who I was (got asked on coffee by a few doctors using this same excuse!), but the rest of the patients are just kicked around. You really had to be an advocate and be assertive to figure anything out there...it could be a really intimidating place! The doctors explain the equivalent of nothing to the families...the doctors come in the same variety as in the states - some really great and helpful and some huge snobs. But you can't just expect that you're admitted so you'll be taken care of like you can back home. Like one day the doctors said not to feed Rahul since he was going to have surgery for his shunt, and yet the nurse yelled at the parents for not giving him milk! You really needed to be on your toes and know what was going on. I spent many mornings just waiting and running around and trying to track down doctors who were on 2 hour tea breaks to get a simple question answered.

Overall though it was a great experience, especially seeing Rahul's parents warm up to me and rely on me with their questions and concerns over time. His parents were very young and overwhelmed and just plain scared like almost anyone would be that situation and being able to help them navigate the system and make sure Rahul gets the best care possible, along with getting to observe the medical care in a government hospital in India was like an all in one for me! I have to say that the doctors are good, very good, very well educated, just the bedside manner and obviously the amenities are lacking. And to see Rahul improve and go home at least more interactive and alert and possibly with some vision was heart-warming :)

Jamalpur update

At Jamalpur they started a new class that is being led by a teacher named Sam. Her real name is something crazy so Dilipbhai, the computer teacher, renamed her! Anyways, she got her teaching certificate and has been taking computer classes with Manav Sadhna. Since she is Muslim Barotbhai thought she would be ideal to start a new tuition class as a way to try to get some of the Muslim kids in the class to start attending class and getting involved with Manav Sadhna.

She has a class of like 40 students. On top of that they all speak different languages - some speak Gujarati, some Hindi, some Urdu! And they don't all understand each other, though she speaks them all. So when she teaches class she writes everything in 2-3 languages even if she's teaching just one language so they can all learn what she's trying to teach! It's nuts - I have lots of respect for her having the patience and ability to make sure she constantly caters to all of the kid's needs.

I sat in on one of her classes - the kids are out of control! They don't sit in a straight line, they don't raise their hand, they don't listen when someone else talks...nothing! I talked to Sam and will continue to attend class and work on the discipline of the kids. Educating them is obviously important, but Manav Sadhna prides its teaching as value based, and wants to make sure the kids are well-behaved and equipped to learn first. Sam runs the classes out of her own house, so Virenbhai suggested I keep an eye on things there, since the family would be more comfortable with a girl spending time there than Barotbhai. I'm looking forward to this challenge!

We also hosted a 2 day shibir (like an orientation or get together) for the moms of kids who attend the tuition classes there. They had all sorts of lecturers come - talk about Manav Sadhna, education, family values etc etc. Barotbhai had me speak about health and hygiene. I didn't know how to attack this, since they're all women with kids and obviously much older than me. But I went in just like I did with the kids and said I'm going to teach you what I taught them. You're the moms, the cornerstone of any Indian family, and if you don't know this stuff and practice it yourself, you can't except your kids to either. I told them that you might not be educated or have had a chance to work or anything else, all things you hope for your kids, so in that area all you can do is encourage them, but when it comes to health, you can do everything they do. The talk was really general and basic, showering, keeping the house clean, brushing your teeth, handwashing (really pushed this with them). It was very light and simple, but the women had lots of fun. They were very grateful and understanding of what I was saying and appreciative that I took the time to talk to them.

The guy who ran the shibir was a bit irritating. After I finished my talk he was telling the women how insulting it was that I was telling them how to stay clean - "as if you don't already know this running a family and all" - immediately one of the Moms said no, we may know this but it doesn't mean we practice it, and we aren't educated enough to understand why we should do these things. The guy continued "but still I mean she's half your age and telling you how to take care of your family, if someone did that to me I'd be insulted. If you're not insulted you should be." I'm just sitting here with my jaw dropping since he was dead serious. But the women started all talking at once - how grateful they were to hear what I said, that if someone tells them something with this much love it's not an insult, that they realize I took time out of my day to teach them something that will only help them and how selfless that is etc etc etc. I was amazed that these women were arguing with this guy for me, who they had known for a total of 1 hour. I got up and left because I felt awkward being there, and later found out that this guy really was that big of an airhead and meant everything he said, but I walked away with a lesson: that it really is true that when someone tells you something with good intentions it is conveyed that way to the other person. I didn't mean to be insulting or to tell these women that I know better than them, just to share what I knew and reinforce what they knew - and they realized that emotion even after only hearing me talk for 30 minutes. It was really touching and made me realize that maybe I don't understand or appreciate how much of an impact I really have on their lives. I'm glad I got a chance to interact with them and I hope that in the future I can visit some of them and try to get to them on a bit more of a personal level.

Rohan - a ray of sunshine

I was sitting in prathna one day when Sunilbhai, one of the health project coordinator, calls me outside to see if I want to come with him to visit this kid, Rohan. Of course I ran and grabbed my purse and got in the car - any opportunity to see someone new and different, I'm there!

On the way Sunilbhai told me the history of Rohan. Sunilbhai ran into Rohan one day when he was just walking about. Rohan was begging. He looked at him and realized that Rohan had open sores on his arms. After trying to talk to him he was told that Rohan is deaf, blind, and dumb (unable to speak). He inquired about his family etc...found out that his parents have passed away and that Rohan lives with his aunt and uncle. His condition was apparently very poor, so Sunilbhai took him to the doctor right away. He got lots of medication, treatment (I can't remember the specifics). Seeing that Manav Sadhna was taking care of Rohan, the aunt and uncle disappeared from the picture, leaving him to Manav Sadhna to take care of. Manav Sadhna being who they are took excellent care of him. They took turns taking care of him in their own homes for months. The staff members just moved him from host family to family, including Virenbhai and Jayeshbhai the founders of Manav Sadhna. Once he recovered, they got him enrolled at the Blind People's Association which is an amazing institution for blind people where they have classes, housing, workshops etc. The stuff these people make (crafts and such) is unbelievable! Anyways, this organization didn't have the teachers trained well enough to work with someone with multiple disabilities like Rohan, so they moved him to a different school.

Rohan still comes to the Blind People's Association 2 days a week with another child, Sameer, with the same disabilities to take some classes and also help train some of these teachers. So we went to visit him there. Everyone was telling me how precious and loving Rohan is, and how I had to see it for myself.

We went upstairs to see him and the teachers walked him towards where we were standing. I was really nervous because while I've seen people in such situations, I had never interacted with them, and honestly just didn't know what to do. Sunilbhai went up to him and took his hand and drew circles in it. Instantly Rohan started smiling and drew circles back on Sunilbhai's hand - apparently this was their sign to recognize each other. Rohan was beaming with joy - I couldn't hold back my tears. Someone who quite literally has nothing to be happy about in life was so genuinely happy and brought happiness to those around him. Then he greeted Virenbhai - their sign is a pat near the heart. They showed Rohan the toys we brought and a hat we got him, since he apparently loves hats. Rohan kept trying to give the hat back to Sunilbhai put Sunilbhai kept giving it back until Rohan understood it was a gift to him. Then Rohan took the hat off and felt around for where Sameer was and put it on his head. Such a selfless gesture, I just couldn't comprehend it. While I was sitting here trying to process the scene in front of me Virenbhai pulled me forward and had me touch Rohan's hand and introduce me. All of my uncertainty and anxiety disappeared, but only because Rohan was so comfortable with me...he was helping me think of a sign for us! We couldn't decide on one, mostly because I could barely hold it together and Rohan was too busy getting excited trying to figure out who I was - how tall I was, how long my arms were, what my hair was like...

We left shortly after since we didn't want to disturb their class. As soon as the teacher sat him down at the table to work the first think Rohan did was feel for where Sameer was. He felt that Sameer was sitting in the chair. Next he felt for what Sameer was doing, if his shirt buttons were done, if his zipper was zipped. It was amazing to see the attention and care he felt towards Sameer - this brotherly instinct, even though Rohan is younger! The headmaster was telling us afterwards that every 5 minutes Rohan looks for Sameer, checks that he's okay, dressed properly etc.

This was definitely one of those experiences I can't describe in words. It was amazing to see this child with nothing yet acting like he had everything. More importantly it was amazing to see the basic human emotions that he possessed - happiness, recognition, concern, selflessness. And to see these emotions in a child like Rohan - when sometimes you feel like you don't see these emotions in an average adult let alone a child with so many disabilities and hardships to face. Seeing Rohan completely recharged me and filled me with so much love, joy, energy and just made me appreciate that you don't need much to make a positive impact on the world.

Rohan is a ray of sunshine on this world that I feel very fortunate to have met.

Why I didn't post for so long...this one is different!

So I know I have had a variety of reasons for not posting, but this one trumps them all!!

Someone who must really be out to get me decided one Friday afternoon that they were bored and would mess with me. So they proceeded to hack into my university, gmail, and facebook accounts and delete all 3 (all with different passwords I might add).

Getting the university account back was easy enough since the U has everything on their servers. I went through a million hoops to get the gmail account back which was tricky since my account no longer existed so going to recover password or any such normal option didn't work. When I tried to recover the entire account, I somehow couldn't prove the account was mine! They asked about who you contacted regularly etc, and it kept coming back saying we can't verify this is your account so we can't give it back to you to protect you and prevent fraud...you can see how this was unbelievably annoying. And since I never thought to back up my blog (who does that?!), I lost it. Luckily a friend of mine did some techy-y stuff and got me a copy of it back. Then another friend pulled some strings with some friends and got me back my account! So thank you for everyone who helped...and be careful is all I can say, I don't even know how to avoid such a problem...though google has a 2-step verification process for sign in now, I highly suggest taking advantage of that!

I decided facebook isn't worth the trouble to create a new account there, so I'm no longer on there :(

But now that I have everything back, I will post what I've been up to!!

Thanks for sticking with me and all of my technical issues :)

Meetings with no agenda...

Something I have learned while being at Manav Sadhna...meetings with no agenda, heck gatherings that aren't even meant to be meetings tend to be more productive than actual meetings. Today after prayer I met with Sunilbhai and Ramanbhai, the two health coordinators, and just talked about my timeline and how I can work with them and they can work with me. Just casually sitting around chatting we brainstormed more things to get done than you probably do in a well constructed meeting! We talked about doing a dental camp and pediatric camp and having the volunteers provide some basic education while we have everyone together at these events. We also talked about doing a physician appreciation dinner for those who provide services at reduced fees for us. We also discussed doing tuberculosis and other disease awareness campaigns. It was a very productive hour and gave us a chance to interact in a relaxed environment as well as exchange ideas :) I'm thinking about putting together another health presentation that I can give to kids in the various programs when there isn't much going on. I'm considering either doing a hand washing one or one about how to prevent the spread of disease and incorporate hand washing...any ideas are appreciated!

Update :)

Once again, so sorry for the long overdue update! After all of the craziness things are finally getting back to normal around here, and I'm starting to get things rolling. Here is what I have lined up for my last few months in India :)

There is an institute called the Indian Institute of Public Health that is currently housed here in Ahmedabad. They provide classes for physicians in public health along with do research and serve other public health functions in the area. They're fairly new, but their purpose is the same as any other public health institute - research and education primarily. I've gotten in touch with them and at first they thought I had come to get a job with them and told me they'd have something for me in a few months! After I told them that I wanted to volunteer while I was still here, they got back to me telling me that they have a project in mind that is starting in the next few weeks that they could use my help on. I'm not sure of the details yet, but the institute was very professional and I felt right at home when I visited the campus, so I have high hopes that this project will be right up my alley.

There is an organization called the Real Medicine Foundation that does NGO work all over the globe. In India they do work in Madhya Pradesh, a state approximately 6 hours south of Ahmedabad. I haven't gotten to read up too much on what they do, but I know they are involved in HIV/AIDS work with migrant workers among I'm sure a huge slew of other things. Something else they do is bring patients needing advanced medical procedures and care here to Ahmedabad to be treated at the BJ Hospital, where the patients are for the most part treated for free. The RMF organization workers bring the patient and their families here to Ahmedabad for their procedures, but are unable to stay with them for the duration of their visit which often is many weeks. Thus, the organization needs volunteers from Ahmedabad to help out. Basically our role will be to be an advocate for the patient, be a liaison between the patient's and their treating physician(s) and care team and basically be familiar faces to put the families at ease. I'm really excited to get an inside look at the hospitals here while helping out as well! As I mentioned the organization also does HIV/AIDS work - everything from awareness, to testing, to treatment. Anyways, many of their patients are migrant workers and seasonally move from Madhya Pradesh to Gujarat for work. Thus the organization is looking to setup a network here in Gujarat to help these people once they move so they do not stop getting the appropriate treatment. I'm hoping to help setup a network here, find out which NGO's and government help is available etc on the Gujarat side of things so patients can stay linked into care.

I'm going to also start working with the Indian Red Cross, teaching first aid courses to employees who need a one-day first aid crash course as a part of their employment. Currently a physician goes around teaching this class. I'll go around with him a few times, then provide my feedback on how we can improve the course, and then take classes myself. It should be a good way to keep my training fresh and hopefully introduce some new ideas! They are also starting work on an EMT-Basic training course to launch in the next year or so. While I can't help with that, they're hoping I can help setup the syllabus and the coursework since their program will be based on the US Department of Transportation curriculum guidelines.

Last, but not least, I will continue my work at Manav Sadhna, hopefully trying to do some more education based stuff with the kids. While much of my work there does not fully utilize my years of education and training, the kids and families are so full of energy and life they keep you energized and give you perspective on life.

I'm looking forward to getting back to things in full swing again, and blogging regularly again :)