India Medicine

The Indian medical system just makes me laugh.  I have been to an urgent care that was unreal.  I had a 5 year old who needed stitches in his chin.  We were led into a room that was the size of a small walk-in closet.  I lifted him onto the examination table.  The sheet was green and dirty.  I mean spotted with blood, dirt and grime.  The wall was also covered with blood, dirt and grime.  Awful.  The intern opened the supposed sterile gauze out of the container with his hands and wiped the wound.    Oh my!!  I picked up the child and left.  We took care of the wound at our clinic.

Dr. Susan Hilton is the medical director here at Rising Star.  She is a native to Chennai and named after the English missionary who converted her Hindu Grandfather to Christianity.   She has 20 years experience in the ER and teaches at one of the local medical universities.   I am very grateful I was blessed to meet and work with her.  She is a Seventh Day Adventist and very devout.   She often teaches me the goodness of Jesus Christ.  Her motto is “We treat – God heals” .  She is presently working in the ER dept. at the University hospital and comes here at 4:00 every day to see and treat the children. 

So the yearly hospital inspection is this month.  They are not told it is coming but somehow it leaks to hospital officials.  Most hospitals are understaffed so there is a market that exists where doctors are called in to work during the inspection so the hospital appears to be fully staffed.  There is even a broker who arranges how many they need and when they show up for the day.  The doctor will be paid a full months salary for working that one day.  Some doctors live very well just going from hospital to hospital. 

On one inspection a few of the nurses were stranded in traffic and couldn’t get to work on time and they knew they would be in big trouble because administration doesn’t want to look bad on inspection day.  So they called and explained the situation.  They were worried about signing in for work on time.  The nurse who was there said don’t worry; I will sign you in right now. 

Then there was a meeting where an administrator said it was OK to lie but he wanted all the staff to meet and decide what to say so everyone had the same lie. 

Dr. Susan and I laughed and laughed.

MyMonisahw

Everyone has asked me why I would quit my job, sell my car, put everything into storage and go to India.  Here is the reason.

It’s important to understand the culture in India and the basic life style of the poor.  They use corporal punishment for everything that needs to change from being lazy to disobeying to lying.  They feel justified in ‘beating’ children to make them behave.  This is most among the lower class.  They have nothing, live in hovels and survive by begging.  We have a 7 year old boy with brain damage who was beat by his mother because he wouldn’t leave her alone so she beat him until he would sit in the corner and whimper.  The children learn survival mode as infants.

MyMonishaw is 9 years old.  She is very bossy, loud and aggressive.  She has huge anger management issues.  She can be demanding and obnoxious.  She was been badly abused and beaten since birth. 

 A week ago she asked the librarian for a paper and box of crayons.  She promised to give them back to the librarian when finished.  She came into the hall and sat on a bench to color.  Four other girls came into the hall and saw her.  A darling 5 year old, Sudah, picked up a crayon and started coloring which made MyMonishaw angry but she let her color.  Then Sudah picked up the box and walked away.  MyMonishaw lost it and started hitting Suda with her fist when I came around the corner.  I took MyMonishaw’s hand and told her she could not hit.  She went into a tantrum hitting and trying to get away from my hold on her.  I took her to the office where she was still out of control.  I told her again she can’t hit and left her for about 10 minutes to settle down.  When I went back she sat with her arms folded, had fire in her eyes and wouldn’t talk to me.  I sat next to her and explained I cannot allow her to hit.  We don’t hit at Rising Star.  If she needed help she could come get me and I would help her but she cannot hit anyone.  She wouldn’t look at me or respond so I let her go back to the hostel.  I stewed over the loss of a relationship with her.  It only re-enforced her belief that she is of no value and she can’t trust adults.  

The next day I went to the hostel after dinner when they have an hour of free time before bed.  I took with me a plastic, zipper pouch with a box of crayons, small scissors, a glue stick and glitter paper.  I sat in the outer room of her group where I saw her playing with the other girls.  She looked at me, turned angry and looked away.  I sat talking to some of the girls for a half hour.  They asked me why I was there and why I brought the pouch.  I said it was for MyMonishaw.  She finally sat next to me and I put my arm around her shoulders.  I quietly explained that we don’t hit and I cannot let her hit other children.  I reassured her if she needs help any time she can come get me and I will help her.  She softened and let me give her a hug.  The next day two different teachers tried to take her pouch away.  She came to me with teacher in tow - I could see she was upset.  The teacher asked if the pouch was hers.  I said yes, I gave it to her.  She smiled.  That afternoon she came into my office and stood watching me work.  When I looked up she smiled but didn’t say anything.  I said I needed a hug.  She gave me a big hug and left.  We have had 2 other incidents when she was upset and came to me.  I helped her figure out what to say and how to be nice.  I am confident she is on the path to feeling good about herself, that she has a friend who won’t push her away and that she can be nice to get what she wants.

Cyclone

Saturday we had a CAT 2 Cyclone over Sri Lanka that we watched all day.  It was supposed to hit Chennai Saturday night.
I was in Chennai at the Mitchell's so we were watching it close.  It rained very hard but the wind was the element to watch.  On Sunday morning Teresa's driver said there were trees down in the city and it wasn't safe to go to church.  He really didn't want to drive in the storm so we stayed at their house and had a home evening.
Maran called me from Rising Star and asked about bringing the kids in for church.  We decided it was best not to.  It wasn't blowing so bad at RSO (Rising Star Outreach) but it was in Chennai where church is held.  It's a 2 hour drive one way to get there.  We leave at 7:30 AM - arrive at 9:30 for the start of church.  Then eat in the bus and arrive back at RSO by 3:30 or 4:00.  It's an all day event.
A few minutes later I got a call from Cala.  She thought it wasn't that bad and Maran, being Hindu didn't want to send the kids being Christian.  I told her I was the one who made the decision because I couldn't take the chance that anything would happen to the kids if they got stranded in the bus somewhere with a tree across the road or something else from the storm.  She was pretty firm about going into town but I said no. 
The storm was strong thru Monday morning but never grew into anything terrible.  The government cancelled school for the whole district on Monday.  Things here are fine.  There are 4 trees down on campus.  One right in front of the volunteer house, one by the hostel and 2 behind the well next to the volunteer house.  Maran has a crew cutting them into pieces so they can be hauled off and then will replant small ones.  It turned out to be a really good storm.  Thirty six people died and 12 are still missing.  There were lots of trees down in Chennai. 

Why India?

I've had several friends ask why and how did I get to India. 
I have done several humanitarian projects in third world countries over the past 10 years helping with dental and medical care, building houses, painting schools and teaching English.  A great Christmas was last year when I left with another family on December 23 for Tijuana.  For 2 weeks we worked very hard, slept on the floor and took cold showers.  Sound fun to anyone??   I wasn't working hard - I was doing small things for Father's children. 
When I have been home in the States I have either gone to school or been working.  I had enjoyed my job at the law firm over the past 5 years but 8 to 5 working and living for friends on the weekend was not fulfilling.  There was something very basic missing in my life - the routine had become as tinkling brass and sounding symbols. 
When the earthquake hit Haiti in January of this year I really wanted to go for a week or two and be involved in  the recovery efforts so I researched foundations in Utah but couldn't find any who could use one individual.  They only considered groups.  I decided I wanted to find something full time - not just for a week or two. 
I sent my resume' to 14 foundations around the country hoping someone would read it and someone could use an old woman on their staff.
I received several replies of thank you but no thank you.  Then in March I received a call from Becky Douglas of Rising Star Outreach.  RSO has been around for 5 years.  It is a fascinating story how Becky created this orphanage for leprosy affected children.  ( risingstaroutreach.org )  She needed an EMT and said she needed me there by June 1st.  When we talked I knew this was where I needed to be.  She said she would call back after talking to her board.  I waited 3 weeks then called her to check.  She said they had just hired a full time doctor and wasn't sure I was needed anymore.  I still felt I was to go to India so went to the health dept. and got all immunizations for India, collected my things that I had stored at different places and put it all in to one storage, went to see my kids who live in Washington & Idaho and flew to see my brother in northern Idaho who is very sick.  By July, I was confused because they said they wanted me to go in August to help with the influx of volunteers for that month but that came and passed too.  I had had such a strong confirmation of my being needed at Rising Star that I just had to wait.  Then in the middle of September Amelia called and said it was time to get my visa.  They didn't know what I was going to be doing but they needed me.  The visa was a process because India has tightened their process due to Muslim problems.  So my ticket was purchased for October 12.   HooRay!!

Driving in Chennai

Painting white lines on the road is a waste of money and labor.  The road is three lanes with 5 lanes of traffic.  There are large public buses, hundreds of cars, hundreds of yellow three wheelers that have a cab built around the driver,  thousands of scooters and small motorcycles, pedestrians, cows and flat bed carts drawn by beautiful, matched Brahma bulls - the kind with huge horns that go straight back from their head not out to the side.  The drivers use their horn to say "'I'm here'' so horns are going all the time.  It is a game of jockeying all the time just like 20 kids trying to push their way to the front of the line  in a space too small for 20 kids.  Sometimes a scooter will be going against traffic  What a nightmare!  The motorcycles are very small - none larger than 150cc.  They will put the whole family on a motorcycle and go.  I've seen dad driving, a 10 year old sitting in front of him, a 6 and 4 year old sitting behind and mom on the back holding an infant.  They will be weaving thru traffic just like everyone else.  Thank goodness top speed is 40.  You have to hire a driver to go anywhere.  They know how to maneuver in the madness, however, they don't use the gears.  They will be in 3rd when they should be in second and start to go in second when they should be in first.  All vehicles are standard transmission so there is a lot of pigging in the engine.  Sometimes I just close my eyes :)

Leprosy and Rising Star

Rising Star Outreach is a foundation dedicated to changing the lives of leprosy effective children.  Ancient tradition required all lepers to be considered outcasts.  They are the 'untouchables.'  They cannot hold a job, go to school, go to a hospital, or have any other contact with society.  Some live their life without human touch. 

They survive by joining together in colonies.  The only money they have is from begging.  Children who have parents or grandparents with leprosy but are leprosy clean themselves are also condemned to live this life of begging.  Rising Star gives these children an education including teaching English.  This is their ticket to a productive life of happiness where they can go into society with respect and honor.

Morning Excitement

This morning I had the funniest thing happen.  At 6:30 I was sound asleep when my door flew open and 2 seven year old boys came in shouting, "Chris key - crackers - bring key."  They were talking Tamel too so I didn't understand anything they were saying.  I asked what they needed crackers for and motioned with my fingers to my mouth.  They agitatedly said "NO, crackers, crackers."  Then one said 'Mani' who is a vehicle driver who works here so I thought there must be something to do with Mani or something to do with the children's safety.  I told them to go out so I could dress then asked them again to which they excitedly said "Key for crackers - come to kitchen with key."  I wasn't getting it so we started walking to the school area. 

Here's some background - This weekend is one of the major Hindu holidays.  It's equivalent  to Christmas.  The children were so excited yesterday in school it was hard to keep them focused.  The  festivities started last Monday and culminate tonight - Friday.  They have been shooting off fireworks for days.  They especially light large cherry bombs to scare away the evil spirits.

Here on campus we have a hostel where the children live with a housemother for every 20 kids.  It was self contained with a kitchen and bathrooms  until two months ago when a new dining hall was built that is much, much better for serving over 200 people rather than the very small one in the hostel.  The old kitchen is now used for storage.

Back to the 2 little boys.  They figured out that there were fire crackers stored in the old kitchen and that Mani could set them off since children are not allowed to have 'crackers' at the school.  When I realized what they were saying I smiled.  I knelt down to explain there are no fire crackers in the old kitchen.  We had a few other kids and a house mother standing around listening so I made it a simple explanation to them.  I walked back to my room chuckling all the way.

Getting Started

This is such a beautiful and harsh land.

It's hot but the killer is the humidity.
My hair is tightly kinked - bless those genes!
The bed mattress is hard but the kids sleep on the cement floor.
Everyone eats rice and vegetables with their hands. 

My ankles are the size of elephant's ankles.  The humidity - so I'm pushing fluids and elevating them whenever I can.  Give them a week and they will be back to normal. 
I am now over student welfare which means I will help organize and work in the medical and dental clinic - review the menu and nutrition for the kids (they get almost no protein) - teach the room mothers how to keep the living quarters clean and what good hygiene is.

There are no volunteers here this week and no students either.  They are on a quarterly schedule so they get 2 weeks off in May, October and January.  What a blessing.  I have a week to get my things organized, learn some of the local traditions and habits, catch up after jet lag and meet the people I will work with.
This place is divinely inspired.  The spirit is very strong.  Some of the things I brought but didn't know why at the time were right on what I needed.

The locals have a holiday this weekend.  There is a man here at the school who is devout Hindu.  He did a special celebration with chanting and bell ringing and flowers.  It was to bless the school during the year so it will be protected and provide shelter for the children.  The staff members who participated splattered red and yellow dye on all the vehicles and door posts.  One of the villagers brought a cow which they splattered with dye too.  Then they walked around it with lit lanterns while chanting and ringing an annoying bell.  Most everyone walked around the cow.  Some bent down in front of the cow with their head on the ground in prayer.  Then they took the cow into the school and walked it up and down each hallway to bless the school.  Then they went outside again where they held a small fruit up high with a sugar cube on it that was lit on fire.  After holding this in the air and praying they smashed it on the ground.  Then they did  the same with an apple - then with a melon that they smashed into 4 pieces and put a piece on each of the 4 corners of the entry to the compound.  It was very colorful and obviously important to them.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2065798&id=1257014966&l=c5982a08c5