UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2006

[ See also recent photos - September 2006 ]

Dear friends, namaskar.

Until now the monsoon is still in full force in our region of Northeastern India. Due to the daily rains we could not move ahead quickly during the past few weeks with the last construction work for the first section of the new clinic building, such as the plumbing, further cement work needed for the roof and some minor work in different parts. We are hoping to get a roof water tank sponsored by a local social service group which had conducted a joint program with us some months ago. We have also applied with the local authorities to have a tube well dug by them (as this is a normal service of the local government) and hope it will be done soon.

To utilize the rain as long as it’s still coming, we’re at present concentrating on the surroundings, i.e. planting and landscaping:

- The herbal garden has grown considerably in size. Several weeks ago we started in the new area near the front of the clinic with only one herbal plant of each variety, surrounded by a circle of bricks for protection and demarcation. Since then we’ve expanded this to a patch of about one square meter for each variety, so that we can plant more of each kind. Now the herbal garden extends from the area in front of the new clinic along the side and to the area behind the clinic. Also we’ve begun to fix a name plate in the ground of each patch, with the name of the plant on it, which helps for demonstration purposes when educating patients and visitors about the herbal plants.

- In preparation for the upcoming inauguration of the new building end of September or beginning of October, landscaping is going on for the area directly in front of the clinic: ground leveling, planting of flowers, trees and grass. In this same area we’re improving the temporary patient waiting area by adding more benches and constructing a simple roof, so that the patients need not come into the hallway during rain, which disturbs the registration procedures and consultations .

- We’re also continuing to develop our vegetable garden behind the clinic; recently more tomatoes and spinach has been planted.

Inside the building we’ve improved the patient management by shifting the dispensing of homeopathic medicine out of the hallway and into the homeopathic consultation room, as there’s still enough room there for this. Now the reception/registration area is bigger and less congested. Also a display board has been fixed on one wall, for educational posters, articles and photos.

Last year the Indian government announced September 1-7 as National Nutrition Week, and invited NGOs to organise programmes in this context. From that time on we’ve been holding our regular nutritional education programmes in the surrounding villages. This year on the same dates the Nutrition Week was announced again. For this occasion we organised a special programme at a nearby high school in the village of Kura. Two other NGOs joined us in this programme: CARE and a local educational NGO. Approx. 650 students attended, and we taught them as usual about healthy nutrition, demonstrating various green leafy vegetables to them for supplementing their diet. The representatives of the other NGOs said they’d like to have further joint programmes with us in the future.

Two of our acupuncture assistants, who have been attending the local training for the Malaria Eradication Programme of the government, have completed this phase and are now beginning to work in the villages of the district. Our clinic has been selected to function also as a distribution centre for malaria medicine in this area. The regional government is planning to start another programme in the same style, with a training and eradication phase, to help control the widespread parasitic disease filariasis. This illness affects especially the lymphatic system and often causes elephantiasis, or strong swelling, of the legs.

Our neighbours in the village closest to our clinic are thankful to us and celebrating, as with our support they’ve now also gotten the govt. electricity connection.

That’s the news for this month. Thanks to all for your continued interest and support, and best wishes for your own health and well-being.

Yours
Dada Devashuddhananda

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