With Your Help...

This little Hindu girl and her fellow students at the creche give thanks for YOU as well as their lunch every day!!!
As the calender year has drawn to a close I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you just how your contributions have made a difference here in South India. Surrounded by such profound and basic unmet needs it is tempting, but inevitably futile, to try to respond through charitable measures i.e. handouts of some type. In the long run improvement in living conditions occurs as a result of advocacy which in the case of the Creche Project takes the form of education of children, staff, parents, and the community.
On the other hand there have been situations which presented themselves where I felt a charitable response was warranted and I am grateful that funds were available. Twin boys were born (unexpectedly!) to a local village couple after five years of infertility. Although cause for much rejoicing in the family and community the parents did not have the resources to clothe the babies. A layette was provided. A creche graduate now in her teens suffers from tuberculosis (TB) of the kidneys and has lost one kidney to the disease already. Her mother, dressed in rags, father and three siblings go without to cover her medical expenses which are on-going. Her mother received an inexpensive ($4.00) sari in December and I was able to advocate for this and another family who had gone into debt due to medical bills and to obtain financial assistance from a local organization.
Two creche staff members had family medical emergencies with which I could help by providing financial assistance with transportation, diagnostic testing, and prescriptions. I am talking about $20 for a taxi ride for someone with a severe headache who would otherwise have had to take a hot, dusty, jarring bus ride of three times the duration to get treatment, $10 (yes, you read that right!) for a CT scan at the government hospital, and a few dollars for medication for someone's father who lay barely conscious on the floor of his daughter's three room house. I am glad to report that both of these people are doing well at this writing.
In appreciation of the two "granny" midwives sharing their stories with me I was able to purchase thread and razor blades for tying and cutting the umbilical cord. To encourage toothbrushing all the creche children went home with a new toothbrush one day and as the weather turned cool here in Kodai we were able to have 150 little red, hooded fleece jackets with pockets made at a cost of only $300. As you can see from the photo I was a bit off on the sizes, ordering Size 2-4 and 4-6 for our three to five year olds!
Advocacy-
The first three months of my time here was spent interviewing members of the health care system as well as consumers/community members as part of a community health assessment which helped me identify needs for education as well as services. In Porayar it was evident that people did not have ready access to primary health care services and were often seeking out the creche nurse for care. We were able to provide her with very basic supplies including acetaminophen, ibuprofen, scabies treatment, gloves, bandaids and dressing materials. In addition a British-trained Spanish midwife passing through Kodaikanal had given me her birthing kit complete with instruments and emergency medications and I was able to pass this on to the same nurse in Porayar where most births are attended by an elderly traditional birth attendant with the most rudimentary knowledge and supplies.
The focus for the remainder of my time here will be on continuing various educational programs with the children, staff, parents and community members. Hand washing and tooth care as well cough and cold etiquette will be reinforced. In-service educational topics for the staff will include health and safety issues in the childcare setting. Parent and community meetings will address issues which the participants have expressed interest in including women's health issues, HIV, family planning, and care of the sick child.
As you can see $10 can go a long way here so donations no matter how "small" can make a real difference and any amount will be gratefully accepted. For more information on the Creche Project please go to www.help-kids-india.org (That's dashes/hyphens NOT underscores.) Checks can be made out to The Betsy Elizabeth Trust and mailed to Ann Peck, P.O. Box 12, Topsham, VT 05076, USA
Thank you so much for your support-financial, emotional and spiritual, and keep those emails and blog comments coming!!
Happy New Year!!
Lora