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Multispecialty Medical Camp – August 23, 2009: Perspectives

nivedita — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:18:57 +0000

Yesterday’s medical camp was truly a testament to the power of unity and commitment to a cause. Everything, from planning for sufficient tables and chairs to acquiring the appropriate drugs to making sure the doctors were comfortable, happened only because of the dedication and sincerity of Sangam India’s volunteers.

This camp, being the first health-related event in MGR Nagar, was held to high expectations and high standards. Residents of the slum have been requesting health-related assistance, so the camp was also timely. We were honored to have the presence of highly esteemed doctors that we hold in very high regard. In the pediatrics department, we had Dr. Julius Scott, Dr. Vilvanathan, Dr. Mullai Vasanthan, and Dr. Latha. Anthropometry (height, weight, head circumference, and other measurements) were done by our volunteers. Internal medicine was handled by Dr. Emmanuel Bhaskar, with reinforcements provided by anesthesiologist Dr. Usha J. and postgraduates Dr. Tripthi Sugumar and Dr. Prithwijit Bannerjee. Dermatologist Dr. Renita Rajan and gynecologist Dr. Anbumalar also contributed their services. Special thanks to psychiatrist Dr. Sherab for coming all the way from Vellore for our camp.

Over 150 patients were seen at the camp, which ran from 10 AM to about 1230 PM. Several cases needing close follow up, including congenital heart defects and blockage of the nasolacrimal duct were identified by the pediatricians as well as the internists. We will be following up with these patients and ensuring that they receive the care they need.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to Canstop for providing us with a screen for our gynecology cases and to Paadhai for helping us arrange the camp. We also sincerely thank Mr. Yusuf, Dr. John Samuel and Dr. Renita Rajan for providing us with drugs for the camp. Most of all, we would like to thank the doctors and our volunteers. It is truly inspiring to see how beautifully everyone was able to work together for the sake of a cause greater than any of us. Many of the volunteers present were inspired by the thoroughness, kindness, and patience that each of the doctors displayed towards the patients.

Please let us know if you are interested in participating in any future camps. We are looking forward to conducting ophthalmology and ENT camps in the near future and any support or assistance you can provide is always welcome. And as always thank you to our donors and our supporters for giving us the boost that we need, ensuring that the work can go on.

From the Organizer: Medical Camp, August 23rd 2009

vandhana — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:17:15 +0000

A few thoughts from Vandhana, who organized yesterday’s camp:

We just successfully finished our first medical camp in MGR Nagar in association with another NGO, Paathai. It was amazing to know that we helped more than one hundred underprivileged people in such a large way. The camp was a huge success. Special thanks to all our fellow volunteers and doctors. We had representatives from Paediatrics, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gyneacology, Dermatology and Psychiatry at this camp. Thanks as well to Mr. Yusuf and Drs. John Samuel and Renita for donating drugs. Of course, we could’t have pulled it off without the help of the counselor and residents of MGR Nagar. We were shcoekd to find some severely ill people for whom we had to appoint referral visits.

Overall, I feel elated at the thought of being part of an organization dedicated to the betterment of humankind. This camp has made Sangam India yearn more to work for the greater good of humanity.

Vandhana Sundharam
Health/Health Education Coordinator

More Photos from Sunday’s Camp

The Sangam India Team — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:06:21 +0000

Here are some more photos from yesterday’s Multispeciality medical camp, in addition to the ones added yesterday. Thanks to B. Krithika and Rithika Rajendran for taking these! You can see all the pictures in the gallery.

Flyer for Upcoming Medical Camp

The Sangam India Team — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:40:01 +0000

Here is the flyer for Sunday’s Medical Camp, made by Rifa Khan, one of our members.

Sangam India was started a year ago by a group of students-quite like you. Today we’re an organization that aims to improve the social and economic conditions of underprivileged communities in urban Chennai.

Our efforts are aimed at empowering the inhabitants of slums by focusing chiefly on:

Value based education

Health & Sanitation

Focus groups for women

After having conducted health camps for the slum dwellers in Ramavaram, this time around we hope a conduct a multi-specialty health campin association with Paathai Foundation, for the residents of MGR Nagar slum (map over-leaf).
So if you’re a PG student and our cause interests you, please contact us at : 9789901650.
Date: 23/08/09 Time: 10 A.M.–1 P.M

As we wrote in our last post, the camp is scheduled for this Sunday, August 23rd. We’re in need of volunteers, so if you can come, we’d love the help. Please let us know if you’ll be volunteering.

Go to event on facebook

Upcoming: Multispeciality Health Camp

The Sangam India Team — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:07:46 +0000

This Sunday, August 23rd, we will be conducting a health camp in the MGR Nagar slum. There has been a great demand in the community for health assistance and we are looking forward for a chance to provide it to them. It will also give us a chance to work with the community more intimately, provide them with professional assistance and learn more about their needs.

We will have doctors from the following fields on Sunday’s camp: General Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Dermatology and Gynecology. Thanks to all our doctors and postgraduate students for volunteering the little spare time they have for this project – we are indebted to you for your commitment to our cause.

We’re in great need of volunteers to help us out on Sunday’s camp. Please let us know if you can come by calling or messaging us at +91 9789901650 or sending us an email. It promises to be a fun and exciting way to give back to your community!

The camp will begin at 10AM and go till 1AM. The venue is the same as our previous medical camps, located in the laundry facility on the same street as the MGR Nagar slum. Please contact us if you need directions.

Go to event on facebook

Medical Visit, March 18

thinesh — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 10:03:00 +0000

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!

Click here to view the photos from this trip.

Medical Updates

sriram — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:02:00 +0000

Earlier this week, Dr. Thinesh went with Sangam India members Nivedita, Vasundra and Vandhana to the slum to combat a recent epidemic of conjunctivitis that we discovered on our previous visit to Ramavaram. We’d all like to thank Dr. Thinesh for taking the time to come to the area to help treat the people there. About 10 children were treated for conjunctivitis. A variety of other medical complaints were also addressed on the same day. Hopefully we will soon have a short statement from Dr. Thinesh about his first visit to Ramavaram and his experience there. Click here to view the photos from this trip.

Also occuring on the medical front:

Nagajyothi, our patient from Ramavaram with chronic suppurative otitis media (unsafe type) was admitted into a hospital this week and has been recieving treatment. She will hopefully be operated on next month.
We are working with one lady who has had complications postpartum. She is in the process of getting her tests done and will receive treatment soon.

Funding for Nagajyothi’s Surgery

sriram — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 06:51:00 +0000

One of the residents of the Ramavaram slum, Nagajyothi has been diagnosed with the “unsafe type” of chronic suppurative otitis media, an ear infection which can have dangerous, (even lethal) complications ranging from deafness to brain abscess. One our visit to give food to the residents following the rains last month, Nagajyothi’s mother complained to us that her daughter had an ear discharge since her childhood that had recently become bloody. We sent her to the hospital where she was diagnosed with this condition.

In order to prevent complications, this is a condition that requires surgical treatment. Sangam India is going to be funding this operation. Today Nagajyothi and her mother came to the hospital to begin doing the labwork to prepare for the operation, which will probably happen in the near future.

We aren’t sure how much the operation is going to cost, but we will post an update as soon as possible. If this is something you may be interested in paying for specifically, please let us know. Thanks!

Dharma gets surgery

nivedita — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:27:00 +0000

Being medical students and doing social work on the side sometimes seems like we’re doing two totally different things, but this past weekend was a chance for us to bring our two worlds together. Dharma, a child from Ramavaram, was brought in to our hospital on Friday for a minor surgery. It being a new experience for him and his family, his parents asked us to be there and take them through the procedures. At first it seemed like we wouldn’t really know when the surgery was going to happen, and we were all waiting, hoping that someone would call his name soon. After a while, the three of us that were there decided to go in and talk to the surgeon. When we tried, though, he was very brusque and told us to just wait until the name was called. We tried again after a few minutes, since Dharma’s parents both came to the hospital and we knew that they really couldn’t afford the time off. This time the doctor took us in, and Benedicta and I scrubbed in on the surgery while Aruna waited outside with the parents. The procedure itself seemed simple enough. I had the opportunity to get some hands on experience with mopping blood and holding clamps and scalpels, and whatever other little things the surgeon allowed me to do. The surgery took about half an hour, after which we dressed the wound and took Dharma and his parents to get meds as well as give the biopsy for histopathology. The whole process took about 3 hours, but we were able to send Dharma home, having taken care of all his medical expenses. Today he came in for his follow up, but he came alone without his parents, which made all of us think about how hard it is for some of the people that we’ve met to take time off work even for medical attention. It really reinforces how vital it is that we continue to take doctors and medicines to them rather than waiting for them to come to us. Dharma is doing fine now, and I have to say that I’m grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of the process.