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Medical Visit, March 18

Saturday, March 21st, 2009

My first visit to Ramavaram today! What an experience to say the least! Swarmed by kids, teenagers, and adults alike…I was in for quite a shock! To FINALLY visit the place and see for first hand what Sangam India was all about was truly amazing!

My first visit saw a lot of cases of conjunctivitis. disposed medications..kinda like a mini “medical camp!” Apart from that, got to interact with the people there as well as the kids… such unconditional warmth and generosity! Felt something you can’t quite put into words to be able to help so many deserving kids… All I can say is that I am glad I am part of such a wonderful organization and looking forward to many more trips and experiences at Ramavaram!

Kudos to the whole gang for starting Sangam India!

Posted by thinesh in Healthcare, medical, perspectives, visits | No Comments »

Children’s Programme, Day One – March 14, 2009

Saturday, March 14th, 2009

Today’s educational programme with the children got off to a wonderful start. We were a bit concerned at first that we would not have enough Tamil speakers, but as usual, it worked out. The actual programme turned out slightly differently from what we had planned, but overall we all felt that it was successful.

After arriving at Ramavaram, it took us some time to figure out exactly where to gather the children. We tried the side of the road, but it became difficult with passing buffaloes and cars. So we decided that we should cross the water and go into the field. Some of us, especially some of the girls, were slightly reluctant, but in the end everyone rolled up their pants and waded straight through the stream.

All of the children were collected into a circle, where we worked on learning names. Soon they were separated into 5 smaller groups, with one Sangam India member per group. Each child was given a paper with pictures to color – the Indian flag, a house, a flower, and an apple. The children were taught the importance of sharing the crayons that were provided, and of returning everything at the end of the activity. Everyone from the ages of 2 to 12 involved with the activity, and seemed to enjoy it. Each group leader explained the importance of each item and conducted a discussion in the small groups.

After a brief break, we had a learning session on handwashing. One of the children came to the front of the group to show what he had learned the last time we held a handwashing lesson. With plenty of interaction and audience participation, Malar conducted an excellent lesson.

Overall, I think that today was an excellent chance for us to see that given the proper circumstances, our group can really make a difference in this community. The children are very responsive, and even more importantly, the parents were actively involved in our activities. The sight of fathers sitting with their children, drawing and coloring, was a truly heartwarming one. We hope to take our lessons and curricula to the next level soon, and maintain a good education scheme.

In addition to the children’s programme, Ritika, Sindhura and Rifa conducted a brief survey of about 15 houses, regarding occupational status, health status, and educational status in those households. The results will be published after information has been gathered from all the houses.

As usual, we had a few medical cases which we have requested to come to the hospital. Also, there seems to be a small epidemic of conjunctivitis among the children. We will take a doctor with us in the next few days and try and treat this as best we can.

We are all looking forward to next week’s program, which we think will be great. We are in need of Tamil-speaking volunteers, especially men. If you are interested in coming out, please email us or give us a call, we’d love to have you.

Posted by nivedita in education, educational programme, Healthcare, visits | No Comments »

My Perspectives on Sunday’s Medical Camp

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

A few things really struck me in the medical camp we had Sunday (November 2nd, 2008):

First of all, I have to say that I am very proud of our group members who took on the responsibility for this massive task – especially to Ayesha who has proven herself to be a very capable leader. Its exciting to see the group mature and for its members to be willing to take a more active role.

Ayesha did a terrific job of setting up the details for the camp – organizing and purchasing the drugs, arranging the space, finding the volunteers, and setting up the tent, among other things. We reached the campsite around 11AM to set up the tables. The children, as usual, greeted us excitedly and helped to set up the tables and chairs. We set up the pharmacy and got the camp started. Several of our members went into the slum to create awareness of the camp.

This brings me to the second point which really struck me. We have made huge inroads to building trust with the people at the camp and I feel like that was very evident today. This is probably because of the work that went on in the last two weeks, where we responded the the community in its time of crisis to play our part – even though it was small, it was undoubtedly appreciated by the residents. The people at the slum know that we are there to help them and not to take advantage of them in any way and they were willing to come to the camp to get treatment.

In an effort to increase participation at the camp, Nandini, Nivedita and myself went to the slum on the other side of the road to increase awareness here. This slum was much smaller, and only slightly better off than the one we usually work at. The people here were very receptive to our message and a large number of them came to the camp to receive treatment. This was our third revelation. Following this experience, we have decided to include this slum in our future work at Ramavaram.

Finally, our doctors did a terrific job in coming. For people who work six to seven days a week, they were very enthusiastic to help and supportive of our cause. It is not small thing to ask from people who seem to be perpetually exhausted and tired from their work in the hospital to spend even more time working. Their willingness to participate in the camp is always deeply appreciated – after all, it wouldn’t happen without them!

These things made today’s camp especially exciting for me. Though this may be our last major even of the year, its clear that next year will bring us to the next level of promoting education, healthy activities, and overall self sufficiency to the slum residents.

Posted by sriram in Healthcare, perspectives | No Comments »

Medical Camp, November 2nd, 2008

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

Yesterday Sangam India held its final health camp for the year 2008. Although we had already conducted a medical camp earlier on in the year, we decided to hold another one out of the request of the Ramavaram community. The camp began at 12pm where we got off to a bit of a slow start. Many wanted to have their lunch before the camp began but when it started, it got busier and busier. The patients were asked to register so that a log could be a kept on who was being treated. They were then ushered to one of the doctors who prescribed them medication for their complaints. Finally, the patients proceeded to pharmacy where they were given the drugs prescribed to them. Most of the complaints required simple treatment but a few had complaints that required follow up. This was noted down by Jaba.

The camp lasted for a total of 3 hours where approximately 45 patients were seen. In addition, patients from the slum across the street also came in to get checked up.

All in all, the camp was an overall success. The patients were happy with the treatment they got. I would personally like to thank Drs. Amish, Shihas, Tripthi, Arjun and Prashanti for sacrificing their only day off to conduct the camp and making it the success that it was. I would also like to thank the newcomers, Varna, Noora, Vidya, Vandhana and Naseema, who monitored and managed the camp smoothly. We hope to see more of you at our camps next year!


Drs. Amish and Prashanthi working with patients.


Thanks to Drs. Arjun, Amish, Shihas,
Tripthi, and Prashanthi for coming out.


Group photo at the end of the camp.

Click here to view the photos from this camp.

Posted by ahrar in events, Healthcare | 1 Comment »

Plans for Sunday’s Medical Camp

Friday, October 31st, 2008

The details for Sunday’s medical camp have been just about finalized:

  • The camp will begin at 12:30 and will last for approximately two and a half hours
  • We have several doctors coming – and thank you for volunteering your time!
  • This is going to be a general medical camp, with a focus on men, since they have had no specific camp to address their needs in the past. However, it will be open to all people.
  • The camp will be held in its usual location, at the Ramavaram slum, in the laundry facility area that has been generously given to us. Our email is info@sangamindia.org and our telephone number is +91 9789901650. Click here for directions.

  • We need all the volunteers we can get to run this camp, as many of our members are tied down with exams. Please let us know if you can help run this event!
  • This will be our final medical camp of the year, and probably our final major event for the year as well.

Hope to see you there!

Posted by sriram in Healthcare, upcoming | No Comments »

Medical Camp, Sunday November 2nd

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

There has been a little confusion regarding this Sunday’s medical camp, but we are happy to announce that its still on. The camp will be conducted by some of the postgraduate students and interns at Sri Ramachandra University. It is going to be this Sunday, November 2nd, and it will be in the afternoon (around 12PM.) Stay tuned for the official timing which will be announced as soon as possible.

The afternoon timing was chosen because, first of all, most of the doctors will be busy before then. Secondly, many of the residents work on Sundays, and by having it in the afternoon, we may be able to reach them as they come home from their work.

We really need help to run this event! We need doctors, of course, to practice – currently we have only two confirmed. If you are a doctor (intern or postgraduate student) and are interested in working at this event, please let us know! In addition, we need volunteers to run the camp itself. Please let us know if you are interested in working with us. Our email is info@sangamindia.org and our telephone number is +91 9789901650.

Hope to see you there!

Posted by sriram in events, Healthcare | No Comments »

Women’s Camp with CanSTOP, Ramavaram, September 21, 2008

Wednesday, September 24th, 2008

The Women’s Camp was held on Sunday, September 21st, and was quite successful. The camp began from 10 and lasted till about 1 in the afternoon.

We were honored that the CAN-STOP Organization joined us in conducting this camp. This organization, run by Sundaram Medical Foundation, focuses on cancer screening camps as well as general medical camps for underprivileged populations in Chennai. We would like to thank Arjun Rangarajan, an intern at Sri Ramachandra University, for his immense help in arranging this project.

CAN-STOP’s gynecologist, Dr. Sunantha came for the camp. She was a very kind and understanding doctor who treated not only a variety of gynecological complaints but also general medical complaints for the women who came to the camp. In addition, she also screened the women for cervical cancer via a Papanicolaou (PAP) smear. Accompanying her was a nurse, Sister Jeevitha. We were also glad to have with us doctors from Sri Ramachandra University – Dr. Shihas Salim, Dr. Prabhu, Dr. Ashmitha, and Dr. Arjun Rangarajan who saw cases as well.

In addition to the medical work, we also provided reproductive health education to each of the camp visitors. Lalita and CAN-STOP’s social worker, Ms. Sujatha, instructed a group of female volunteers on teaching points for sexual and reproductive hygiene which included important topics such as breast self exam, menstrual hygiene and sex education. These lessons were given individually to the women who utilized the camp.

We arranged the camp tent this time in a way to create a fully enclosed area to guarantee the highest amount of privacy to the women being examined. In addition, we insisted that the male volunteers coming wear lab coats and that no cameras be used during the camp time, to guarantee privacy with the women, establish a professional atmosphere, and build trust.

Our main problem was with camp attendance. Though we anticipated this and tried to improve the attendance by publicizing it for it twice and distributing a flyer, we were able to treat about 20-30 people. This forces us to confront some of the difficult cultural realities of the camp – that women are undervalued members of their societies, that they will not take the opportunity to serve themselves without having finished their duties of cleaning, cooking, and laundry work, and that women are scared of coming to see a doctor for a gynecological exam though they are aware of the health benefits. These are all aspects of culture that, despite the difficulties, will have to be confronted head on. Despite this, we consider the camp to be a success because we did treat a significant number of people and we were able to learn more about the community from it.

Due to our rule regarding photographs, there are few pictures from this event, which are included below:


Sriram, Nivedita and Sivaprakash stand with visiting Drs. Arjun, Ashmitha, Shihas, and Prabhu


Group photo of the Sangam India and CanSTOP volunteers

Thanks to everyone who came out and volunteered! We saw a lot of new faces, including Nimeshika, Vaishnavi, Swetha, Sivaprakash, Priya, Mulatu, Kivina, Nandini, Ritika, Jaba, and Varna. We were also excited to have a guest from England, Gautam Bagga. Lalita, who organized this camp, did an excellent job in terms of research and with the immense practical work involved in running a camp.

For more information on CAN-STOP, please visit their website at http://www.canstop.org/ and their blog at http://can-stop.blogspot.com/.

Posted by sriram in camp, events, Healthcare, hygiene, photos, Women's Issues | 3 Comments »

Women’s Camp Tomorrow

Saturday, September 20th, 2008

Tomorrow is our women’s camp at the Ramavaram slum. We are going to be addressing issues including gynecological complaints, PAP smearing for cervical cancer, general medical complaints, as well as explaining to women about maintenance of proper reproductive hygiene.

Today a group of us went again to the slum to spread the word about the camp and to make sure everybody knew about it. We hope that this will increase the attendance at the camp.

In other news, our Sangam India flyer has been updated with the new phone number and with updates to our past events. Please feel free to print it out and share it with anyone who might be interested!

Posted by sriram in events, Healthcare, Women's Issues | No Comments »

Woman’s Camp is officially on!!

Thursday, September 18th, 2008

It’s my pleasure to announce that our Woman’s Camp will officially be held this Sunday after there was concern that it might be canceled. The camp will be conducted between the hours of 9am to 4pm. A variety of services will be carried out including screening for cervical cancers, gynecological examinations and the importance and awareness of breast cancer. We hope to see some new faces at this camp so please come out and show your support! See you Sunday!

Posted by sriram in events, Healthcare, updates | No Comments »

Women's Camp

Monday, September 8th, 2008

We are excited to announce that our Women’s Camp details have been finalized.

The Camp is scheduled to occur on Sunday, September 21st, from 9:00AM to 4:00PM.

The camp will include services such as:

  • Screening the women for cervical carcinoma via Papanicolaou (PAP) smear tests
  • Gynecological examination for the women
  • General medical check up for women of all ages
  • Education to women regarding breast self exam and other important topics.

In order to publicize this event, a group of girls will be going to Ramavaram tomorrow to spread the word, house to house.

In addition, they will be distributing to each house a Tamil flyer to explain about the event.

Below is the flyer:
WomensCamp210908_Tamil.pdf

Edit: Sorry for the mistake, the camp is this September, not last August!

Posted by sriram in Healthcare | No Comments »

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