It has been quite some time since I have written. Last week, I was dispatched with a medical team to visit a village a day. Each village was about an hour or south of Chennai. We had a team of 5 Doctors and a large supportive staff. Most of them were either from the US or other parts of the world.
The experience was a great learning experience in the “field”. I was fortunate to gain direct knowledge of activities in the village. Some things were heart touching and others quite frustrating. Frustrations arised when we encountered duplication of services amongst NGO’s ( non-govermental organizations – same as what we call non-profits). In some places medical camps were already held, in others there was going to be one the next day. This was according to the villagers. Accurate or not, it was frustrating that there was a great lack of coordination between NGO’s. As simple as this may sound, it is a very complicated task. I have heard such numbers… 200 areas affected… 500-600 NGO’s working in the area! It is a positive that there is a vast amount of help, but in the end it is a matter of whether we have met all the needs of the people and not just the immediate needs.
However, the positives outshine all else. It was a great honor working with about 15 selfless people, willing to do any task in the glaring sun. It was great to hear the stories of sharing between all the villagers. For example, one village consisting of 106 houses was only approved by the government, based on damage assessment, to recieve money for 81 houses out of 106. 81 houses recieved 4,000 rupees each as initial compensation . These villagers whose houses are no longer in living conditions, whose tvs, furniture, boats, clothes have been destroyed… who are now living in make do tents with tarp and plant materials.. do you know what they did?? The 81 houses pooled all the money together and divided it by 106… and spread the money amongst all the families. Now that is really sharing… sharing when you really do not have much left. As I stood in the midst of the destroyed houses, and saw the vision of the “houses” made by the road… a moment of silence circulated within me trying to grasp the concept.
Such are my experiences of service…
Love Karuna :)
On 14 December 2004, Lean on Me welcomed our first organized group of volunteers. 17 People from the American Be The Cause Organization joined us from the 14 – 23 December 2004. The group, who organizes local volunteer missions in their home country, was on their first international volunteer expedition. Lean on Me was honored to receive such an amazing group of people and thoroughly enjoyed their short time with us.
The BTC volunteers assisted our other volunteers and staff in hosting our numerous project Christmas parties all of which were a resounding success. Parties filled with presents, sweets and laughter were held at the following venues:
Once again we would like to thank everyone who helped us to make these parties a success, the enormous smiles on the children and patient’s faces were enough to confirm that the time and effort was well worth it. Although we appreciate each and every donation, we would like to make special mention of the following people for their generous contributions:
With our project Christmas parties bringing a very festive end to 2004, Lean on Me is now looking ahead to the Busy and Exciting year of 2005.