Promoting health in India
On the outskirts of Udaipur, in Rajasthan, a local social enterprise gives volunteers a very special experience. Practice nurse Sue Barnes and I travelled there earlier this year to take part in health promotion activities at a local rural school and boys’ orphanage and gained a fascinating insight into the Indian health sector
One of our first tasks on arrival in Rajasthan was to visit local day care centres to distribute the baby clothes that Sue had collected, and to attend the infant immunisation and antenatal clinics. Sue was particularly interested to learn how the immunisation system works in India compared with the UK, where – like all practice nurses – this is an important feature of her day-to-day work. But something that fortunately we don’t have to deal with in the UK is the ‘baby girl genocide’ that still occurs in India – the Indian government is now offering incentives to end the practice – as well as offering cash incentives for sterilisation to encourage couples to limit their families.
We spent one morning shadowing a doctor’s surgery at the primary health clinic, and another at a new private hospital –an architect’s dream – built on a green site and attached to a Medical University. We were in awe at the airy, light and modern feel with state of the art facilities and highly qualified Indian staff.
However, the best part was getting involved with the children on health promotion activities. Every morning, the social enterprise visits the rural schools in villages where the only water is obtained from the local hand pump and the children are the first generation to go to school. In the afternoon, the team visits a boys’ orphanage and provides after school activities for boys of primary school age.
Sue had found some excellent pictures to illustrate water hygiene, and the children delighted in being told what the pictures meant. Sue demonstrated hand washing and one by one, every child had to copy her and wash their hands the right way, dry them properly with a clean towel and have their nails inspected and cut. The boys at the orphanage in particular loved this ‘motherly’ attention.
Another activity was to show the children at the orphanage how to clean their teeth properly. Although some of the boys had toothbrushes, most of the children’s gums bled and it was clear that they didn’t clean their teeth regularly: many of the boys did not actually have a toothbrush. Sue decided to use some of the money that she had been given by friends and the Weybridge Health Practice to buy toothbrushes and toothpaste for all the children in the school and at the orphanage and the children were so pleased with them!
But it was not all work: aside from volunteering, we also signed up to the 6.30am yoga classes, the Indian cookery demonstrations and the Hindi lessons. Exploring the sights of Udaipur at the weekend was fun - we loved shopping in the market and we all had saris made. A weekend visit to Jaipur and a desert stay with a tribe culminating in a camel ride at dawn to watch the sunrise all contributed to an amazing travel experience and a real insight into India!
If you would like to participate in the Health Promotion placement, check the website www.volunteervacations.co.uk for more details, email to info@volunteervacations.co.uk or telephone 07833 208 158. Placements are from 2 to 12 weeks and cost from £995 to £2,195. Flights and insurance not included.
