Thank you from Wendy IDEX fellow

I was placed with Aaorgayseva as part of my 6 month IDEX fellowship.  Time has flown so quickly.   When I first came I thought there would be so much time to do so many things.  Yes we did achieve a lot during my time here though there is still much to be done.

The highlight of my time here was having the opportunity to join the 2016 AIPNO Medical Yatra.  It was a different way to see the country, meet the locals and make new friends.  It was an unforgettable time where we all had to be flexible, creative and patient with limited supplies and language barriers. The thing about the Yatra is that it is not just about going out there and helping community it also included a visit to a girls boarding school, a women's empowerment project and Republic Day Festivities whilst staying in an Ashram. The other volunteers were an inspiration especially given that large majority were in their late 60s and had been doing this for the past 10 years and will continue to do so as long as they are able. 

I am really proud that I took the leap to come to India.  To anyone considering a move from what they know I certainly say do it.  I feel that unless and until you challenge yourself and do what you fear you don’t really give yourself a chance to learn, grow and really know who you are.  It is in those times of worries and insecurity we realise just what is most important to us.  

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their warm hospitality and hope that our paths will cross again. I look forward to being updated on what Aarogayseva is doing both in India and around the world. 

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AarogyaSeva and AarogyaSeva does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

To get in touch with the author or to join our team write to us at – Volunteer@aarogyaseva.org

International Women's Day Event

I hope everyone had a lovely day yesterday celebrating International Women's Day.

We at AarogyaSeva were lucky enough to have 6 artists come down yesterday to help decorate the walls of our soon to be open AarogyaSeva Karuna Clinic right near the Siddaoura Lalbagh Gate.

As Poornima, one of our artists said, it was bridging art and health via an Art to Heart Collective. Each artist had her own style and interpretation of the heart and it all come together in such beautiful way.

Two of the artists are still working on their pieces and photos will be posted of their completed works in the come week.

The kids in the neighbourhood come by throughout the day and really enjoyed watching the artists work. In fact some of the time they had too much fun just hanging out inside the clinic.

We were honoured to also run the trailer to Meryll a story about a young girl who lives in seclusion until when a series of events open a dark alley that bring back her worst nightmares to life.

We also ran an impromptu community session with thanks to Dr Karishma Kagod who spoke to women in the neighbourhood about giving themselves a voice and looking after themselves as they are the centre of the community and their families.  Dr Karishma is a plastic surgeon who is head of burns unit at Kolar Medical College.

Special thanks to Madhu from By the River who helped give thanks to our artists.  If you're after a storyteller please feel free to connect with her at:  By the River

I look forward for the clinic to be finished and for the community to be able to use the space.

You may have also noticed that we launched our campaign yesterday with the aim of providing 250 refugees with sanitary napkins for $20 per person.   Please support this worthwhile cause:  AarogyaSeva: Health, Dignity for female refugees

If you would like to volunteer or contact the author please drop us a line at Volunteer@aarogyaseva.org

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AarogyaSeva and AarogyaSeva does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

 

Pre-Screening for Doctor at School Program

The Swiss volunteers volunteering in the pre-screening process of the Doctor at School Program

Sports for SEVA day

On the 1st and 2nd of June happened Sport for SEVA, which was a fund raising sport event for the School Kit Drive, organised by Youth of SEVA. The benefits, about 25'000 rupees, will be used to provide school kits to 30'000 under privileged children.

There were lots of tournaments organised: cricket, basketball, volley ball, throw ball and chess. The participants were corporate employees, RWAs and apartment owners.

With the help of Doctors for SEVA we had a stall. There, people could get their blood pressure checked and their weight and height measured. We also provided first aid in case of injury.

During that day, we made a survey about the level of physical activity of the participants. 9 women and 25 men took part in the survey. the The results are the following:

On this table, we see that the majority of the people 

are doing a high or medium intensity sport. About

high intensity, there are more women than men, but it's the contrary for medium intensity activities.

This tabel shows that half of the participants had a  normal BMI, but most part of the women were overweight.

Here, the results are very good, because the majority of the particpants had a normal blood

pressure, even if a quarter of them are a bit high.

On this one, we see that there is no difference between vegetarian and non-vegetarian people, be it for BMI or blood pressure.

Anti-tobacco day

Today was the World No-Tobacco Day. A rally followed by a conference were organised by the Karnataka Cancer Society.

This walk's goal was to warn the population about the tobacco risks. The problem was that the march took principally place in little streets. This may suggest that the instigators wanted to aim the lower population class. The march started in  the Hallada Ground in Malleshwaram.

The rally

The procession was mostly composed by women. They were nurse and dentist students. The walk lasted 30 minutes, and ended in a school: Thirumala Vidyanikethan.

The conference took place in the school. There was the organisation comity, partners, a police officer and guests on the stage. They wanted to transmit one message: spread the awareness of the tobacco risks.
Bangalore's people are smoking or chewing tobacco. The population doesn't know tobacco risks, that's why there is a major danger. There are more chewers than smokers, that's why there's more mouth than throat cancers.  Moreover, some people don't even know that there's tobacco in the material they chew.

A surgeon also talked about the bad knowledge of the medical network. Many patients with a minor cancer problem are misguided: an easily treatable tumour can turn into a dangerous one because of this misunderstanding of the medical system.

There's a law which forbids smoking in public structures. The policeman said that the police forces would try to be more efficient on punishing the people who don't respect it.

Conference's stage

Sports for SEVA: study results

The study results will be available on Tuesday !

Sankara Eye Hospital: 1’000’000 free eye surgeries!

 
Here is Sankara Eye Hospital in Bangalore. This clinic is specialized in eye care. On 24 May 2013, it was the 1'000'000th free eye surgeries celebration.

This hospital was founded in 2008 and is part of  Sankara Eye Care Institution which has 11 hospitals all over India. It was imagined by Dr. R.V.Ramani and his wife Dr. RadhaRamani in 1977. At first, it was common health care centre. Then it grew and specialized in eye care. Dr. R. V. Ramani also created the first  eye bank in South India.

There is a community outreach programme. A hospital team patrols around Bengaluru rural areas to find people with eye diseases. On the spot, they do a screening of the population and those who need eye care are brought to Sankara Eye Hospital. There, they are given food, accommodated and cared. Patients needing surgery are tested for their eye and body fitness. If both are fine, surgery can be carried out. After that, they stay for 1 or 2 days in the hospital, then they go back to their village. One month later, a hospital team goes there to do a check-up on them.

There are 3 outreach programmes being  aimed at children: Swagatham, Maithri and Rainbow. Swagatham is neonatal screening programme for children who were born in hospital. Maithri concerns children from 3 to 6 years old who don't go to school yet. And for those who go to school, there is the Rainbow programme. This one is in 3 steps. First, volunteer teachers are trained to identify children with eye defects. Then they call Sankara Eye Foundation which will send them a team. Professionals inspect these kids and if eye care is needed they are sent to the hospital. Finally, their disease is treated in the hospital.

It is divided in a paying and a non paying section. Patients pay according to their  means so the poorest don't pay and get free care. The money from the paying patients, who represent 20% of all patients, is used to pay charge of all patient.

The Big Bull

We went to the Bull temple. This place of worship is dedicated to the bull, known as Nandi in Hinduism.

This animal is sacred because it's Shiva's animal mount. If you go inside this beautiful construction, you will see a big bull made of one granite block.

Lunch at MTR branch

We went to a famous restaurant's branch in Bengaluru: Mavalli Tiffin Room or MTR.

The original MTR is one of the oldest restaurant of the city. You can eat  excellent vegetarian food there.

MTR's masala dosa and Lassi