Kaspada-Bahirampada – Year-end Medical Camp-Phase 1

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As per the plans,  Team Suhrid  was to conduct the medical camp in the last week of March, 2015 in two stages.  First camp was conducted at Kaspada on 21st March, 2015. Apart from the regular health check,  we decided to have eye checkup for the kids, who were found to weaker vision during the tests, conducted at the school.

Before undertaking these schools under Suhrid Foundation, we had conducted a few camps for the kids and elders. We had challenges in terms of knowing the history of each individual. Also, we did not have proper mechanism to follow up the progress, based on the medication provided during the camp. In that context, this was our 4th camp with these schools, which means we have had medical records of at least three examinations before these camps. The doctors were in a position to see the results of various health related initiatives viz. nutritious  mid-day meal, de-worming,  purified water, timely medication etc.

We had around 150 students from Kaspada, Talyachapada and Nandelpada (at Kaspada location).  Second camp was conducted at Bahirampada, wherein around 140 kids from Bahirampada, Khandeghar and Toplepada were examined.

Health Camp

Following are the observations from the camp by doctors. Overall, there was noticeable improvement in senior kids in terms of de-worming and nutrition. First standard kids have also started showing signs of improvement.

• Noticeable improvement in skin related issues. Adequate water consumption was one of the reasons.
• Results of advanced treatment, which was carried out at Mumbai were quite encouraging. Sample representation given below:
  • A girl from Toplepada (Gitanjali Kurkute) was under the treatment for epilepsy before she was checked by SF neuro physician, She was quite lethargic and drowsy during the earlier treatment. She has responded very well to SF neuro treatment.
  • A small girl (Nikita Watas), who used to get almost 26 to 28 seizures a day, was treated by SF doctors. It has come down to 8 to 10 and is expected further improve.
• During the camps held in 2013 and 14, we had identified ENT problems a lot in kids and that’s we had closed follow up for those kids. Kids having prolonged Allergic Rhinitis had ended up with middle ear infection and discharge from ear. These category kids were given anti histamine and antibiotics under the guidance of ENT surgeon and are controlled well. We could see significant improvement in most of the kids due to proper attention by the teachers.

Eye checkup

During our the advanced treatment in Jan, we had brought 6 to 7 kids for eye examination to Mumbai. These kids had very high myopia, amblyopia, damaged retina. Improper optical disks and night blindness.  Almost all of them had numbers in the range of -3 to -5. These problems are supposed to be quite common in these areas due to:

• Heredity
• Poor nutrition by the mother during the pregnancy
• Kids not getting proper nutrition after the birth
• Missing out on early signs of eye problems and persistent ignorance
• Lack of facilities for eye treatment

While Suhrid  Foundation has long term vision of addressing the health problems at the grass root level, we decided to carry out eye tests to identify the kids, who have weaker vision. It was impossible to get 600 odd kids to bring to Mumbai for complete eye check up. At the same time, it would have taken at one full week to examine these kids if we had taken the optometrist to their schools. Hence, we decided to train the teachers to conduct first level screening. They were given Vision chart with letters in Devnagari script. They conducted the tests in their schools by asking the kid to read the chart with each eye by standing at 18 feet distance. The reading of each kid was shared with us. During our health camps, we took these 21 kids to the local optometrist. Out of these, 15 kids got the spectacles. Two kids have been recommended advanced examination.  The kids already got their glasses and the feedback from the teachers is very amazing. Many of the kids, who were barely able to read up to 3^rd line on the vision chart (out of 7) can go to 6th or 7th line.

Special Attraction for the kids

As a part of the regular camps, we used to provide kids with goodies (eatables, toys etc). However, it was decided that some of the members would spend time with kids after the camp on various activities involving fun and education. Kids from Suhrid foundation played major role in this. A six year old (youngest volunteer) too took up the job of teaching to village kids.

While our catchment area belongs to Warli tribals, this art is almost extinct. These kids don’t have any means to even learn any creative art. Our volunteers provided them with paper, color box, pencils and lot of other material, which they used to make their own greeting cards. They were taught various other craft related activities.

Generally, these camps are a bit taxing for the kids and it is important for us to ensure that they reach home early. However, the kids refused to go home once they started having fun with balloons, tattoos .. We also distributed some indoor games such as ludo, snake and ladder, which the kids can enjoy during the hot summer.

We would take conscious effort to train these kids on certain craft related skills going ahead.