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The Good Samaritan - Love your neighbor as yourself "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him”. We Are All Neighbours In an urban slum like Nagwa, entire large families live together in a single small room. Overcrowding creates disease. The plethora of disease we see is almost always related to chronic severe dehydration or a shortage of essential vitamins and minerals. Lack of nutritional food impairs healthy brain function. Therefore learning becomes difficult. Education is the stairway that leads out of destitution. We aim to provide the basics for the people of Nagwa so that they have equal opportunity and may shatter the shackles of poverty. Compassionate Care The clinic at Ashray belongs to the people of Nagwa. It is a mini-hospital equipped with the basics, offering immediate health care to the very poor. People experience the comfort of the family style environment that Ashray exemplifies. On occasion people have even traveled from the neighboring state of Bihar for treatment in our clinic. It is a walk-in style clinic where nurse Maya and volunteering Canadian nurse Krystina treat common ailments and conditions, making referrals when necessary. Twice a week Doctor B.N.S. Bhatnagar, a very compassionate man, volunteers his time to sit in our clinic assessing the more complicated cases. A Child is Born Women will only be fully convinced of the virtues of the small family when they are guaranteed that their child will be born safely, and will live beyond its 5th birthday. Nutrition: Veg as Meds We recognize that nutrition is the key for building immunity and hence our main focus is to treat dehydration and malnourishment. The most common condition, of people of all ages, in poor areas is chronic severe dehydration. We attempt to educate, those who visit, about the importance of drinking plenty of water. Understanding Ayurveda to be one of the oldest sciences, we use these 6 000 year old teachings to revive the intellectual property of this great country. Those who visit our clinic with common ailments that can be alleviated ‘ayurvedically’ with the consumption of certain fruit or vegetables are issued coupons like a prescription for these food items. Outside our doors sits a vegetable cart where the coupons are exchanged for the healing foods. T.B. Our major program has been to treat for Tuberculosis as this is a disease that is rampant within our community. One of our long-time programs is the dhal program for our families whose members have T.B. For every member of the family one kilo of dhal (lentils) is given monthly. We identify the severely malnourished children encouraging them to attend our school where we provide nutritious food supplements to increase their immunity so that they are at lesser risk of acquiring this cruel disease. Special Cases We have several ‘special cases’ within Nagwa. They are special for the fact that they require more time, attention, and funding than most cases at Ashray. Here are just a few of our special cases: Ram Adhar has cancer of the mouth and is being treated palliatively. Seikunder is a parapalegic with psychiatric problems. Poonam is a fifteen year old who is severely malnourished and has T.B. Nagu Ram has severe C.O.P.D. (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). (see photos of these special cases) There are many more unfortunate who regularly require a plethora of medications and follow up appointments with specialists. One of our most ‘special’ cases is our Sonu who was diagnosed with a liver disease four years ago. Ashray assisted him through this illness and he now works with the nursing staff as a nurse's assistant. He is a very valuable member of our staff and does the job with a great deal of dedication and compassion. He is an example of the spirit of Ashray. Childhood Cataracts Weekly we make a trip to a husband and wife doctor team, Dr. Anand and Dr. Sheela Sharma, ophthalmologists. They treat our eye cases, many of which are children with childhood cataracts related to vitamin A deficiency. Whenever possible we provide the funds for sight saving surgeries. Puja is just one of the children whose glass eye surgery we had sponsored, which changed her entire body image (see before and after photo of Puja). Social Work Each patient is known to us, because of our social workers, Sangram Pal and Manju. They go from house to house surveying each family and their health needs. Every patient has a full medical check–up on the first visit. The nursing staff identifies the personal needs of individuals: problems of finance, domestic violence, alcoholism and the like. We step in whenever it is prudent to do so, referring them to a legal expert, or perhaps further medical specialists. Innovation: New Programs At present we are implementing several new programs to ameliorate the health of those indigent living near by. Most of the programs relate to nutrition and hygiene but the crux of it all is education. Hence the new clinics being formed at Ashray focus on health promotion. Each of the programs listed here provides a delicious healthy meal for those who attend. * Prenatal Classes |
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