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Survey!

Friday, July 17th, 2009

Hi, everybody, this is Gautam writing. I’ve been put in charge of the survey, and with regards to that, I’ve been cobbling one together over the last week or so. There are two purposes for this survey: the more obvious reason of data collection and incorporating that into future work we do in MGR Nagar, but additionally, we are looking to forge lasting bonds between ourselves and the inhabitants. Hence, I’ve tried to keep the survey as short as possible and have cut a lot of questions that were too difficult (and we’ve had to get rid of maternal health almost entirely…that’s something that we’ll do in the future). It should take around 15 minutes to do. We’re hoping to reach MGR Nagar at around 1700, and leave at around 1600. I’m going to be holding onto the Sangam India phone, so if there are any problems whilst taking the survey, then please give me a call.

We’re still not entirely sure on the numbers of volunteers that will be available, but if you have a few hours to spare, then please, PLEASE come down. I know that this isn’t particularly exciting work and there isn’t the direct feel-good factor that you get when helping at the camps but this work is just as important as it gives us a direction to work in over the coming months and years.

I’m going to do a quick breakdown of the survey, and its sections. Here it is:

We’re going to use census data to make things less confusing for you surveyor-folks. Each survey will have the occupants and a few details of theirs on the front page, to make it easier for me to decode the data.

Household – this is a section that you can fill by combination of simply observing the house (to see the quality of the walls, floor and roof) as well as asking a few simple questions. They’re fairly simple so all you need to do is circle the appropriate answer. It deals with their habitat and habits around it, including the bathroom status and water treatment/storage.

Environment – This deals with water sources for different activities and the source of lighting. It gives us an idea of how the average inhabitants of MGR Nagar are living, what they know about water treatment, and more importantly, what they don’t.

Hygiene – Basic hygiene questions about their washing habits. This is one of the most important segments, since rectifying any unsanitary habits is one of the ways that we can see a reduction in infection rates.

Health – A quick screening survey, just to find out what the prevalence of a few common conditions is like. Additionally, there are a couple of questions on access (where they’ve been and where they would go…both of these are important as we can identify which centres have earned the trust of the slum inhabitants). Rounding out this section are 2 questions: one is on smoking, and the other is on alcohol. In truth, we’re not expecting much statistical data from this, but we think that if anyone is likely to answer ‘yes’ to the alcohol question in particular, then it signifies the trust that we’re building between the people and ourselves. Still, it’s worth including.

Nutrition – Just to find out, roughly, what kind of society we’re looking at. Do they get enough fruits and vegetables? Are they eating enough in terms of calories? Does anyone take any supplements? An estimated 95% of the women will have anaemia. With that in mind…iron tablets, maybe?

Education – Finally, just a few quick questions on the adults’ level of education and whether they’d like to expand on that. Also, a quick note about the kids’ education level. This section is there since we’re trying to judge whether vocational programmes need to be put in place.

That’s about it. I’ll be filling in the front of the forms between 9pm tonight and tomorrow, so I hope you guys understood some of what was said above. I hope to see you tomorrow! Toodle pip!

Posted by Gautam in Healthcare, hygiene, information, survey, Women's Issues | 1 Comment »

Initiatives: Hygiene and Sanitation

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

an excerpt from our upcoming website
written by Katie Bush

Problem Statement
Throughout history, the mass movement of people into urban areas has resulted in increased risk to public health. Slums in urban areas are often defined as having low quality drinking water, poor sanitation systems, and little to no household hygiene, all of which are conditions that threaten public health. Poor living conditions in slums are directly related to sanitation. Nearly 64% of slum residences in Chennai are defined as ‘permanent-nature’ slum dwellings, the rest are merely temporary settings1. Additionally, 67% of slum residents live in single room houses. The semi-permanent and condensed nature of living conditions magnify the adverse health effects.

One of the largest challenges to public health in these slum areas is access to potable water; only 26% of the slum population has access to safe drinking water. Hand pumps supply 42% of the population with their drinking water and 31% have access via a tap. In addition, 33% do not have access to latrines. The lack of latrines leads to open air defecation, leading to disease and malnutrition due to parasitic and bacterial infections. Efforts to improve hygiene and sanitation must aim to reduce transmission of infectious agents. It is the goal of this group to investigate the effects of hygiene and health education in these slum areas on human health by carrying out surveys in the communities we adopt. Using this data, we will be able to develop more effective methods of solving sanitation and hygiene problems.

Importance of Sanitation on Community Development
Microbial contamination leading to diarrheal disease is one of the leading causes of death and disease worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 2 million children die of diarrheal disease each year. An even higher number of people fall ill due to poor hygiene and sanitation. Those suffering from diarrheal disease are also likely to suffer from malnutrition, impaired physical growth, and reduced immune response. High illness rates result in missed days of work and school for both the sick and those caring for them. Improving hygiene and sanitation will not only improve health, it may also lead to other social benefits such as improved school attendance, less time gathering drinking water, and less time caring for the sick.

Our Approach
Our approach will focus on hygiene education in the home. It is our hope that as people become more aware of the dangers associated with poor hygiene, a shift in behavior will result in improved health. We will also work with the community to promote a clean environment. It is our goal to help the community acquire the means to improve their water supply and garbage removal. There will also be targeted interventions aimed at promoting sanitation infrastructure.

Our Work So Far
Through the course of our educational programme, various lessons on health and hygiene were taught; emphasizing the importance of simple activities such has hand washing and personal cleanliness to children as a first line measure to reduce the transmission of disease. Children were taught, then asked to reinforce their lessons by demonstrating what they had learned to the group and by washing their hands under supervision. During our women’s camp we were able to give women in the slum one-on-one instruction regarding reproductive hygiene. Additionally, dental hygiene was taught at our dental camp.

Plans for the Future
Future work will largely be dictated by the community we seek to help and their specific needs. Health education will always be a main focus of our efforts, regardless of the location and condition of our next project.

To finish the rest of this article, check back on our upcoming website, releasing July 2009.
  1. Chandramouli, Dr C (2003). Slums In Chennai: A Profile. Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Environment and Health, Chennai, India, 15-17 December, 2003. Chennai: Department of Geography, University of Madras and Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University. http://www.yorku.ca/bunchmj/ICEH/proceedings/Chandramouli_C_ICEH_papers_82to88.pdf

Posted by The Sangam India Team in Healthcare, hygiene, initiative | No Comments »

Saturday evening at Ramavaram

Sunday, April 5th, 2009

Saturday saw the activities of the third visit to Ramavaram, as a part of the educational program for children. Crayons to colour what’s on their mind, and cricket to bring alive the playing field-the kids kept us on our toes for all the two hours that we spent with them.

The objective was to get some creative juices flowing. So the kids were asked to draw what they wanted to be when they grew up. From policemen to flowers and mountains, the colouring activity brought out some very fascinating ideas of job opportunities. Vandana, Mounica and Saikiran seemed extremely happy with the results of their respective groups.

Cricket and hyperactive young lads kept Safwan and Arjun on their toes. Meanwhile there was another train of kids who were enjoying their games with Basera, Pavitra, Samar, Apoorva, Krishnaja , Amrutha and Pranusha (who joined us for the first time). Then there were photo sessions with Aneesha and some camera-savy kids.

This was followed by a round of discussion with the kids, where they came forward and let us know what they had learned from the activities of the day. A review of hygiene lessons quickly tailed by a briefing on oral hygiene (by Vandana), brought the visit to an end.

Toothbrushes for all the kids who made the activity a success, brought smiles to everyone who came together for day three of the educational program.

Posted by rifa in education, educational programme, Healthcare, hygiene, visits | 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 »

August 7th Ramavaram Visit

Friday, August 8th, 2008


“How easy do you think it is to hear, but not listen?

How tough is it to see and, yet not perceive?”

Beside the usual chaos up there, these are precisely the two questions that have been lingering in my mind since my last visit to Ramavaram – 7th of August’08.

It was supposed to be a simple visit, to an underprivileged community, 10 minutes away from our college (by bus). So the visit was to include: talking (in a language I don’t know), demonstrating hygiene practices (and secretly resolve to follow them myself), playing with the kids (yes all the people in my head were excited too), and handing out a healthy snack (we called it a banana).

What happened instead was this:

Once we got off at the bus stand, I was intently listening (yes I was) to a briefing about Ramavaram. I was in no way prepared for lay ahead.
Which was, a huge bear hug! I’d like to call it a bear hug, because there were 5 kids for each one of, as if we were the hottest property of the ‘Lost and Found’.
The excitement around us, was a true Ramavaram special. For, I haven’t seen it anywhere.
We made our entry into their habitat in a human train…the engine being Bhavya. We passed by what I thought were 35 thatched huts (turns out there are 94 of them!)

We were led into their playing area, which altered between a tarred road -a freeway for speeding cars – and an even more low lying area.
So this even more low lying area – a vast expanse of greenery with stagnant black water from the Adayar river – is an even more special place.
It’s free of any inhibition, what with people washing an array of things over there, ranging from dirty clothes, to filthy bodies.

After a little deliberation and lot of frenzy, we decided that the area of activity would be near one of the huts.Once seated, we brought out our master demonstrators- Valli and Vandana. So the first lesson to be taught (and learned) was “Wash your hands after playing in the water/with the animals, and most importantly before you eat.”

Valli said a lot more, but the fascinating piece of oratory has to be heard in Tamil. Our audience watched in rapt attention as they were being taught how to use the soap in a more efficient way. Once that was done, we had our own little orientation session – quizzing them on our names and guessing their names as well. By now, each one of us had our favourite- not necessarily the one hanging off our shoulder. It’s as if Nature made a Giver of each one of them, their hands might be empty, but their hearts aren’t.

Lesson no.2 dropped in after a little singing session. So Pamela and Nazneen , armed with a brush and tooth powder, taught them how to fight tooth decay, everyday – twice a day. Most of the members of Sangam were as interested in the novelty of oral hygiene as the little inhabitants of Ramavaram! And… the incentive for being a good audience, was a snack-as much as they wanted. Though I’m sure one of the next visits will include lessons on “What is a queue? And How to form one without killing each other?”

We weren’t done yet. One by one, the parents came up with queries, grievance and, complaints. While most kids were distracted with a parallel photo session, some of us addressed their concerns. It was like watching a medicine textbook unfurl – a grave assortment of diseases.
There was one on the spot treatment too: a minor head wound was set right for Ritin’s bravest patient.

3 hours and a lot of chaos later, something had changed in each one of us. The trouble with being there, is the kids just won’t let you stop smiling: either with their songs,
or their witty retorts. We were back to were we started from, when I saw something… straight ahead stood a sparkling clean top notch hospital, and to my left was a swanky IT office.

And that brings me back to the my initial question:

How tough is it to see, and yet not perceive? That they live there with so many problems and such few resources, & just a helping hand would make a living difference?

Posted by rifa in events, hygiene, perspectives, photos | No Comments »

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