Monday morning we were pick up in Madurai for a scheduled Project's Abroad Volunteer "Dirty Day". This means that a bunch of the volunteer usually go an orphanage to paint, clean or help pick lice out of the kids hair. What we were told this time around was that we were going to a home for the elderly to help them wash. We had no idea that we were going to a hospice. This was a bit of a shock. This experience was incredible. Its hard to explain. I was close to tears at the lunch break. Not because I was sad, but mostly overwhelmed. There was so much to take in.
The man who started the hospice, Father Thomas, is an Indian who spend most of his years in England. He came back to India after his health started to cause him problems and he needed the climate here. He was working with various charities when he started noticing the number of helpless people on the streets, sick, dying, or mentally compromised. He was able to get funding to start this hospice from many of his followers in England.
The facility houses 300 people all picked up off the street in various states health. Some close to death, some have gone crazy due to blood poisoning from festering wounds. There are usually 4-15 deaths a month depending on the season and up to 5 brought in a week. Most of the patients are from broken families, have been left at government hospitals, or have families who can't afford to take care of them. The government hospitals will throw any patient who doesn't have a family member to take care of them out in the street. The hospitals are so understaffed and funded that they require family members to take care of the patient in the hospital.
There are 75 mentally compromised patients, a number are crippled and can not walk, about 50 who do not have bladder or bowel control, and many are blind. When at patient is brought in their head is shaved their clothes burned and replaced and they are thoroughly washed. They are given a bed, a fan, clean drinking water and three good meals a day. Many of them still during the day sit outside on the ground and nap. They feel comfortable there despite having a bed and shade inside.
I saw the wounds of some of the patients being dressed. They were huge and deep. The descriptions we were given of the conditions many of these people are in when they are brought in were horrifying. Many die within days of being brought in, others live 3-4 years depending on their condition. The facility becomes aware of the patients from calls from shop owners who have someone on their stoop that they think might be dead or dying, people passing by hospitals that see injured people on the front steps, or taxi drivers have even dropped people off that they have picked up on the side of the road. The hospice also has people looking on the streets.
The patients have no family, no visitors, just 3 nurses working, and volunteers. They are the lowest of the low on the caste system. There is a doctor that comes in once a week to check on the patients and adjust meds as needed. It is currently being run by two Priests and a Sister. Despite there being a chapel, there is no religion imposed on the patients. Their practice is to give aid to the needy. Currently there is another facility being built near Chennai. 16 acres were donated and this facility will hold up to 500 people. The Conservation/Farming project may go to Chennai to help set up the grounds in June or July.
The volunteers for this "Dirty Day" were the Conservation/Farm project and the Medical project. About half of the Medical volunteers washed the hands and feet of the patients and clipped their nails and the other half and the Conservation volunteers dusted and mopped. The day still hasn't settled for me yet.
The man who started the hospice, Father Thomas, is an Indian who spend most of his years in England. He came back to India after his health started to cause him problems and he needed the climate here. He was working with various charities when he started noticing the number of helpless people on the streets, sick, dying, or mentally compromised. He was able to get funding to start this hospice from many of his followers in England.
The facility houses 300 people all picked up off the street in various states health. Some close to death, some have gone crazy due to blood poisoning from festering wounds. There are usually 4-15 deaths a month depending on the season and up to 5 brought in a week. Most of the patients are from broken families, have been left at government hospitals, or have families who can't afford to take care of them. The government hospitals will throw any patient who doesn't have a family member to take care of them out in the street. The hospitals are so understaffed and funded that they require family members to take care of the patient in the hospital.
There are 75 mentally compromised patients, a number are crippled and can not walk, about 50 who do not have bladder or bowel control, and many are blind. When at patient is brought in their head is shaved their clothes burned and replaced and they are thoroughly washed. They are given a bed, a fan, clean drinking water and three good meals a day. Many of them still during the day sit outside on the ground and nap. They feel comfortable there despite having a bed and shade inside.
I saw the wounds of some of the patients being dressed. They were huge and deep. The descriptions we were given of the conditions many of these people are in when they are brought in were horrifying. Many die within days of being brought in, others live 3-4 years depending on their condition. The facility becomes aware of the patients from calls from shop owners who have someone on their stoop that they think might be dead or dying, people passing by hospitals that see injured people on the front steps, or taxi drivers have even dropped people off that they have picked up on the side of the road. The hospice also has people looking on the streets.
The patients have no family, no visitors, just 3 nurses working, and volunteers. They are the lowest of the low on the caste system. There is a doctor that comes in once a week to check on the patients and adjust meds as needed. It is currently being run by two Priests and a Sister. Despite there being a chapel, there is no religion imposed on the patients. Their practice is to give aid to the needy. Currently there is another facility being built near Chennai. 16 acres were donated and this facility will hold up to 500 people. The Conservation/Farming project may go to Chennai to help set up the grounds in June or July.
The volunteers for this "Dirty Day" were the Conservation/Farm project and the Medical project. About half of the Medical volunteers washed the hands and feet of the patients and clipped their nails and the other half and the Conservation volunteers dusted and mopped. The day still hasn't settled for me yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment