The Main Activities:

The focus of most of the discussions this year was on the issue of sustainability. The need to maintain the changes in the health status that have been achieved over many  years was highlighted. Capacity building at the village level was envisaged as the most important activity. The number of volunteers being trained in preventive and curative health care has increased from 100 last year to over 200 this year. Training sessions in the areas and at the hospital have been extremely lively and rewarding. The enthusiasm of the younger generation has been infectious.

The changing scene … Malu and Kunjamma, two 16-year-old Paniya girls, had been hospitalised for over a year with extensive compound fractures of both legs, after a jeep ran over them in 1997. They were transferred to the government medical college hospital, where they almost died! CMC Vellore came to their rescue and got them their lives and legs back! Though handicapped, they can walk. Their case, which was pending in court for over 5 years, was finally settled their favour! A lawsuit being decided in favour of a tribal is indeed a novel experience that gives everyone hope.

The 10 new health animator/nurse trainees who have joined us this year have been a treat to train and work with. Their concept of time and discipline are so different from earlier batches that it made us realise just how much the community has changed over the years. They have imbibed many conventional values. The challenge is to help them enter the mainstream whilst preserving their unique values. A team of senior staff is being trained in hospital management. It has been gratifying to see their growing maturity in taking on the   responsibility of running the hospital.

Financial Sustainability:

The health insurance program has generated a lot of interest and we have had discussions about it in various fora all over India. We are striving to improve it, so as to help reduce the financial burden caused by illness in the community.

 

Visitors and volunteers from many parts of the world visited us during the year, bringing with them fresh thinking and ideas. The preventive and curative health care programs are proceeding well, with the help of the committed staff, as well as the financial support from individuals, The Paul Hamlyn Foundation, The Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Skillshare International.