Greetings from all of us.
News from the valley
Good rains came this year; wells are full, and the harvest of rice, sugar and tapioca has been good. Pongal was celebrated with colourful enthusiasm here as in all of Tamil Nadu. New clothes and freshly white-washed houses brightened every village, and families gathered to heat milk and water over an outdoor wood fire until it boiled over, symbolising prosperity in the year to come. Everybody shared a feast with the newly cut rice, and firecrackers banged late into the night.
Despite the respite from drought we still have major problems with most of our roads, and during the rains many villages were cut off by floods. Some roads are at last earmarked for resurfacing, and the forest road to Salem now has bridges over its rivers, a major improvement for transporting sick patients or for moving produce to the market.
A new Jeep Ambulance
After 5 years of hard service our Mahindra Marshal has begun to show its age. Recent immersion in a flooded river only added to its engine problems.
International and corporate donors have not been keen to fund a new ambulance, but fortunately a group of Rotary clubs in UK and in Salem became interested, and teamed up together to collect over 8,00,000 rupees for a brand new Marshal.
Heartfelt thanks to Rotary clubs of Bedford de Parys, Bedford, Bedford Park, Scarborough Cavaliers , Stockport Lamplighters, Kimbolton Castle and Salem West.
Village meetings
All our work has been aimed at helping tribal families improve their own health and livelihood. Many of our original health targets have been met, so this year we have launched a new project to try and address some of the economic and social problems behind the vicious circle of poverty and illness so many farmers fall into.
Our whole THI team has been touring the valley on foot, visiting each community in turn. We spend the day meeting householders; eat and sleep with them. In the evenings the whole village gathers to discuss issues of health, behaviour or economic difficulties according to each village's priorities.
Several villages have chosen to start co-operative farmers' or women's groups. With a joint bank account they will be able to buy seed and fertilizers in bulk, borrow funds, and even work towards marketing their own produce without middlemen. A new health finance scheme will make them independent of moneylenders if major illness occurs.
Many ideas were exchanged about agricultural practice, social habits and community issues. At least 2 follow-up meetings are planned in each place to work out guidelines for running the groups.
Thulir Education Resource Centre
A steady stream of eager and cheerful children now bound into the Thulir plot at 4pm each evening, and early on Saturday mornings. They have begged to learn English, and to work on their Tamil reading. They also paint, draw, write poetry and strengthen their practical mathematics skills with a variety of donated or home made educational equipment.
Students are planning a dance and drama show for their annual Open Day, and several older students are working extremely hard to catch up on previous lost studying time in order to attempt their tenth standard examinations this spring.
Hospital News
Our TB programme has just been recognized by the government as one of the most successful in Tamil Nadu. An average 95% of our patients complete their treatment.
Dr Regi has been asked to sit on the committee of the Association of Rural Surgeons of India.
Staff changes
We are delighted to welcome Dr Jose, an experienced physician looking for a broader experience, and his wife Vasantha who is joining the nursing team. A regretful farewell to senior nurse Navamoni who has moved to town, and to one of our original Health co-ordinators Senthilkumar, who has moved on to a project further north. And Dr Ravi is now looking to study Public Health and Development in Europe for a year from this summer.
Tsunami relief
Our whole valley was touched by the horror of the tsunami disaster so close to us, and within days we sent a relief medical team to a group of villages in Kancheepuram. "Although the people did not need much specialized medical care we were able to help with counselling and liaising between small local agencies and larger organizations to direct money quickly where it was needed," reported Lalitha. "The whole team felt their 10 days at the coast to have been a positive experience despite the despair and destruction all around. The fisher folk welcomed local Tamil speaking helpers, and our team realized that they could really work together effectively in an emergency situation, to help another community."
Visitors
As usual we have had many visitors, and as usual we put them to work. Midwife Patti Chico came from UK to exchange experiences in her field: physiotherapists Santosh and Neha from Kerala and Hyderabad taught us all many useful techniques; Hari Prabhakar from US wrote our Annual Report, and Rick and Rowan from UK filmed all of us for a TV mini-documentary.
As always your support this year has been invaluable. Without your ongoing interest and financial backing we could not continue to help the tribal community work towards good health and a hopeful future.
