UPDATE NOVEMBER 2007 - JANUARY 2008

[ See also recent photos: November 2007 - January 2008 ]

Dear friends, namaskar.

First of all my apologies for the longer interval this time since the last update. Apart from various visitors and volunteers which have kept us more busy than usual over the past few months, some serious computer problems and other technical difficulties have held up my office work.

We recently completed the painting and other renovation work which we’d started last October after the rainy season. The last round of interior and outside painting has been done. The yearly painting not only cleans and brightens the buildings, which become dirty and mouldy in the rainy season, but helps to protect the walls from the extreme climate. We also excavated and deepened a water pipe that was too close to the surface and had been damaged during garden work. New kitchen cabinets are providing much-needed storage space, and tiling behind the sink and benches has made it easier to keep the kitchen clean. Both the new guestroom bathrooms have also been given a tiled floor and are completed, so that visitors and volunteers now have more convenience and privacy.

In the nutritional and medicinal herbs gardens, many plants have come up again and most are doing well, thanks to daily hand-watering and the addition of manure to improve the poor soil. In early January the weather warmed slightly for a week, and so some plants, such as the palak (spinach), enjoyed quite a growth spurt. Though our medicinal herb plots are not large enough for producing herbal medicines for the patients (instead they are used for demonstration purposes), our Kalmegh bush grew so quickly that we were able to harvest a good amount, which is now being dried and will then be powdered. Kalmegh is an excellent natural antibiotic and useful in treating various infections, fever as well as for blood purification.

Since November we purchased approx. 50 flower plants, amongst them marigolds, tulips and crotons, and many are now in full bloom. They’ve been planted along the front of the clinic building and guestrooms, around the small new lawn and in front of the herb gardens. The lawn and some garden beds have been further beautified and protected by low brick borders. Existing bamboo borders and fences have been repainted.

On 7 December we welcomed two Australian volunteers, Kim Dudley and Barbara Curnow, who are staying for 10 weeks. Kim is a natural therapist who practices homeopathy, acupuncture and herbal medicine. He’s enjoying the challenge of dealing with patients and medical conditions that are very different to those in Australia. Kim has also helped in various other ways, such as by his initiating a common and more systematic patient filing system, his thorough cleaning of all windows on the premises, and helping with garden weeding. Barbara has been doing administrative work, such as bringing our book-keeping up to date and revising some of the clinic’s promotional materials. She’s also been cleaning and cooking and has enjoyed the creativity needed to prepare a variety of meals without the wide range of ingredients that she’s used to at home.

Our outpatient services continue 6 days a week. In November we treated 572 patients with acupuncture, homeopathy, allopathy or physiotherapy; in December the total was 996, and in January 982. This gave an average of 22 patients per clinic day in November and 37-38 in December and January. November to January are the rice harvesting months, when many if not most villagers are working in the fields. Therefore, patient numbers are lower at this time. But in December and January we saw more than usual as Kim’s consultations attracted greater numbers.

On 19 December we held a homeopathic medical camp in the nearby village of Gowaladih. Kim and our resident homeopath Dr. Prabhas treated nearly 90 patients, while others attended to registration, took blood pressures and tried to keep the noisy crowd under control. The camp went until sunset, with the last couple of patient consultations under torchlight. Then, just as we finished packing the van to go, a last minute request came for Kim to treat a bed-ridden, elderly man in a nearby house.

A few days later we held a children’s medical camp in the more distant village of Jerka. This was done with Kim, our regularly volunteering physician Dr. Das, as well as Dr. Mishra, a paediatrician from Bokaro City. The trip to the village went across very bumpy roads and included a precarious river crossing for our van. In Jerka we treated a total of approx. 120 patients. Dr. Das’s friend Arun, who regularly volunteers for the dispensing of medicines at our clinic, did the same at Jerka. While many children crowded around his table, he used the opportunity to teach them a few basics of healthy nutrition and hygiene.

Prescription eye-glasses and clothes were distributed here at Abha Seva Sedan on 12 December. ‘Helping Hands’ (the Bokaro-based charity group which has supported the clinic and local villagers previously) donated the goods. We organised the event and provided the preparatory eye-testing with help from a local optometrist. 15 villagers received glasses, together with a case and cleaning cloth, and about 20 received an item of second-hand clothing.

Helping Hands also recently donated 40 blankets, which were distributed on Jan. 13 at the clinic to patients whom we selected on the basis of need. The winters here are very cold for many villagers, who have little bedding, thin clothes and no insulating body fat. Throughout the winter most patients don’t arrive at the clinic until at least 10am, as it’s too cold in the early morning to leave the house.

Over the last few months we have continued to screen our nutrition education video, every week in a different village. Despite the cold evenings, still around 130-200 villagers have been coming for the entertaining film, depending on the size of the village. We recently completed our second phase evaluation interviews in 5 nearby villages. In these interviews, which are held at least one to several months after the screening, one of our staff asks the viewers questions about the video and how it has affected them. Most importantly we ask them whether and to what extent they’ve increased the frequency of adding greens to their meals, after having watched the film. Out of all interviewed so far, 70.3% gave a positive reply to this question.

This year we again invited children from the closest villages to come for the Republic Day ceremony on 26 January, which is held according to local custom at public institutions. This time the village children were joined by 55 school children from a newly opened primary school very close to the clinic. This brought the total number of children to almost 150, who lined up around the small lawn and flowers at the front of the clinic. After the children recited the songs and the official speech and flag raising was over, every child then waited quietly and eagerly for his or her little packet of sweets, before heading home.

We had planned to expand the program to include many games, as Barbara and Kim volunteered to buy toys for the prizes. Due to the cooler weather and overcast sky, we decided to wait for a warmer and sunnier day. This past Monday the sun came back, and sure enough we were able to gather more than 200 children from several surrounding villages for a large program of outdoor games and competitions. Everyone enjoyed it immensely, including the adults present. Many small and bigger prizes were given to the children, most of whom rarely get such nice toys at home.

That’s the news for now. Best wishes to all of you for your own work and well-being.

Yours
Dada Devashuddhananda

TOP