1

QUARTERLY REPORT

JANUARY- MARCH, 2013

2

CONTENTS

PAGE NUMBER

Main Events and Activities 3 Achievements 4

An Overview of New Activities and Programs 5

Village Selection 5

Program on Malnutrition 7

Village Scan 9 Vocational Training 13

Strengthening Basic Education 13

Bodhgaya Clean Environment Program 14

An Overview of Total Medical Activities-OPD and Mobile Clinics 16 Medical Consultations 16

Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) 18

Types of Diseases Observed among Patients in OPD and Mobile Clinics

18

Generic Medicines 20

Identity Cards for Medical Consultants 22

Review, Revision and Update of the List of Medicines 22

Refresher Training for Doctors 22

Access to Primary Healthcare in Urban Area: Shechen Medical Centre in Bodhgaya, Bihar

23

Outreach Patients Department (OPD) 24

Laboratory 27

Outreach Services: Community-based Integrated Programs 28 Mobile Clinic 29

Medical Camps for the Poor and Needy 34

Health Education Program (HEP) 37

Non-Formal Education (NFE) 38 Solar Electricity 39

Other Events, Activities and Information 40

Recruitment of New Staff 41

Orientation on Program Activities 41

External Visitors 42 Finances 42

Upcoming Activities 44

Our Partners 44

Annex- Success Story 45

3

MAIN EVENTS & ACTIVITIES

A Medical Camp was organised in January and February for Monks at the

Nyingma Monastery. Total number of consultants at the camp was 748.

A Medical Camp was organised in January and February for the poor and

needy including the Dalits. Total number of consultants at the camp was

859.

In February Karuna-Shechen, India had the honour of welcoming several

external visitors including Chief Operating Officer, Tarek Toubale and

Director of Field Operations, Sanjeev Pradhan.

On 5th February, training on Malnutrition was conducted by Dr. Nadine

Donnet where the entire staff of Karuna-Shechen, India participated.

A one-day Orientation was conducted in Bodhgaya for the new staff of

Karuna-Shechen, India.

A village scan was conducted in March in the 6 newly adopted villages.

9 new staff members were recruited in the months of January and

February. In March 6 motivators were recruited for our six new villages.

The existing list of medicines was revised and updated.

4

ACHIEVEMENTS

Total number of consultants in OPD (Outreach Patients Department) and Mobile Clinics was 7358, where number of new consultants was 4221.

Our outreach healthcare service of Mobile Clinics was extended from 12 villages

to 18.

Generic medicines were introduced in January 2013 and have since been

prescribed along with branded medicines. New!

Identity Cards are issued to all Consultants at the OPD and Mobile Clinics in an

effort to keep a track of the medical history of the patients. New!

Refresher training was given to our Doctors by Dr. Jaya Maitra from the Red

Cross Society in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand.

Till 2012 only male doctors served the patients at the OPD and mobile clinics

but since February 2 female doctors have been working with us to better serve

the women and children who form majority of the medical consultants in

Karuna-Shechen, India.

5

Apart from its continuous dedicated efforts towards the wellbeing of the poor and

underserved communities of Bodhgaya town in Bihar and 12 surrounding villages, from

February 2013 Karuna-Shechen India has extended its outreach services to 6 more

villages with the objective of reaching out to more people suffering from the grinds of

poverty and marginalisation.

VILLAGE SELECTION

A meeting in Chando during village selection

AN OVERVIEW OF NEW ACTIVITIES

AND PROGRAMS

6

After 6 month of hard work to identify and shortlist the villages around Bodhgaya through several village visits, village walks, formal and informal meetings and discussions with the villagers themselves, 6 new villages were chosen for our intervention. The various above-mentioned processes have been taken in an effort to build a strong relationship with the beneficiaries and to incorporate and motivate them to work together with us for their own development.

The 6 new villages are:

Bandha Dema Nawatari / Meghuvigha Barsuddi Kadal Chando

Reasons for Selection of the 6 New Villages

The choice to provide services to the above-mentioned villages has been based on

several factors:

Need based search: The villages have been selected primarily based on their

need for intervention in the areas of health, education, environment and

social factors.

Distance: The villages are within 50 kms from our clinic in Bodhgaya.

Distance was an important criterion because we did not want travel time and

costs to obstruct our goal of providing the best possible service to the

villages.

Creation of Village Cluster: Villages have been chosen in such a way that the

benefits of program intervention can reach the cluster of villages nearby.

Villages belonging to the same block and /or panchayat have been chosen as

we have identified the need to target the entire Panchayat. Kadal and

Barsuddi have been selected as they both belong to Bhumer Panchayat;

Chando is located in the neighbouring Panchayat. Again, Meghubigha and

Bandha belong to neighbouring Panchayats.

Possibility of extension to Jharkhand: With the intention of extending our

programs to the neighbouring state of Jharkhand several villages near the

Bihar-Jharkhand border have been selected. Kadal and Barsuddi are 3 and 2

kms from Jharkhand border respectively.

The process of village selection and building relations with the target communities,

continuing from 2012 lasted through the month of January this year.

7

PROGRAM ON MALNUTRITION

Training on Malnutrition

8

Looking at severity of the problem of malnutrition in

India at large and Bihar in particular, Karuna-

Shechen, India decided to incorporate malnutrition as

an integral part of its health services. The groundwork

for the program started with a one-day training on

Malnutrition on 5th February this year. It was

conducted by Dr. Nadine Donnet and was attended by

the entire staff of Karuna-Shechen India, a volunteer

from France, the Program Officer of Karuna-Shechen,

Nepal, and Field Operations Director, Karuna-

Shechen, Nepal.

Dr. Donnet demonstrating MUAC measurement

The training was followed by an extensive baseline survey of our 6 newly adopted

villages where the malnutrition

program will be conducted. For the

survey the widely used and

accepted tool of measurement of

malnourishment, the MUAC (Mid-

upper Arm Circumference) was

used. The MUAC is a simple way of

determining whether or not a child

is malnourished using a coloured

plastic strip. MUAC is used on

children from the age of 12 months

up to 5 years.

MUAC measurement taken during baseline survey

9

ACM

VILLAGE SCAN

Shamsul Akhtar engaged in discussions with the people of Dema village

Keeping in tandem with Karuna-Shechen’s participatory approach towards its various

development programs, we conducted a village scan for our new villages. Our team, led

by the Director, conducted meeting with the people from each of the 6 villages. Village

Scan is the first step to identifying and implementing projects that are guided by the

specific needs and aspirations of the local communities. It will thus form the base for

determining what projects will be introduced in the villages. The programs that would

10

run in these villages will follow the ‘small money big change’ model which empowers

the target communities by facilitating their participation in community planning and

management.

The Village Scan was segregated into two distinct categories. It started with Social

Mapping and then proceeded to a discourse on the main problems confronting the

village as a whole. In the first exercise the villagers were provided with flipcharts and

coloured pens and asked to draw a map of their village demarcating the various types of

water resources, schools, roads, households etc. This fun-filled activity worked as an

ice-breaker thus forming the first step towards participatory learning. It enabled the

villagers to engage and interact with us, making them comfortable and at ease with the

entire situation. Map making was followed by an animated discussion about the

common problems facing the villagers, the probable solutions and how we could work

together to implement them. In this activity villagers were asked to state the most

crucial problems that they faced, while one amongst them volunteered to write them

down. Having done that the villagers were asked their opinions on how we could

resolve them.

The following table shows the problems pin-pointed by the villages as those requiring

immediate action:

Table 1: Problems faced by the villages

VILLAGES PROBLEMS

Dema Drinking Water Irrigation Education Inadequate Healthcare Facilities Unemployment for the Youth Electricity

Bandha Women’s Education Lack of Adequate Hand Pumps

Kadal Drinking Water for Villagers Drinking Water for Animals/ Ponds Irrigation Roads Inadequate Healthcare Facilities Education Electricity Unemployment Embankment Bandh (Small Dam) to store water

11

Barsuddi Proper Roads Electricity Drinking water for Villagers Drinking water for animals Water for Irrigation Inadequate Ponds Inadequate Healthcare Facilities Education

Nawatari

Drinking Water Electricity Lack of Ponds School/Education Temples for Lord Shiva and a Goddess Panchayat Bhavan

Meghubigha

Tubewell Electricity Temples for Lord Shiva and a Goddess Pond Sewing Machine Roads Drains

Chando Drinking Water Irrigation Electricity Unemployment of Women (insistence on requirement

for training in incense stick making) Land is sloped /lack of leveled land Inadequate Healthcare Facilities Increase in the Price of Diesel

The above-mentioned table clearly demonstrates lack of drinking and irrigation water,

dearth of electricity and proper education facilities as a major problem for all villages.

The villages agreed to work along with us, contributing in their own small ways,

towards the resolution of the problems.

Thus, the village scan formed the building blocks of the upcoming programs in the new

villages.

12

Women and Girls were especially encouraged to come

forward and participate in Social Mapping

Villagers engaged in noting problems and potential solutions during the session on problem discussion

Discussing problems written on flipchart by villagers Listening to the villagers

13

VOCATIONAL TRAINING

In an effort to enhance the skills, add to the livelihood and economically empower rural

poor women we will incorporate vocational training like making pickles, baskets,

poultry farming etc. in our Non-Formal Education program which will start from mid-

April in the new villages. The decision as to what type of vocational training should be

imparted will be taken in accordance with the interests and requirements of the

villagers. During our village scan in our newly adopted villages, where extensive

discussions were held with the villagers, several women demanded that they be trained

in sewing, tailoring and incense stick making. The final decision will be made after

further discussions with the villagers.

STRENGTHENING BASIC EDUCATION

We have started the process of visiting schools in various villages and talking with the principal, faculty members, students and their parents regarding teachers’ training on pedagogy, providing TLM (Teaching Learning Materials), forming Children’s Club, etc. We are in the process of searching for individuals from amongst the villagers who, with their knowledge and enthusiasm, can act as support teachers to the existing school faculty and thereby help ameliorate education of the school-going children. We have also started looking for suitable sites near the schools to make playground for the children.

14

School children of Barsuddi with Director, Karuna-Shechen, India

BODHGAYA CLEAN ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM

As the first step to this project, in January this year, photographs of various localities of

Bodhgaya town were taken in order to get an idea about the level of cleanliness in the

town and to pinpoint which localities we require to work in for this project. Again, the

village coordinators have been in the process of talking to street vendors and random

local people in order to understand their stance on hygiene and clean environment.

An ill-maintained dustbin Vendor selling food open without any cover

15

Following the principle of Charity begins at Home, during the Orientation on Program

Activities in March this year, the entire staff of Karuna-Shechen India was trained in

making paper bags with the objective of discouraging the use of plastic bags and

encouraging the practice of paper recycling amongst the staff members.

Karuna-Shechen staff making paper bags Staff with their hand-made paper bags

16

MEDICAL CONSULTATIONS

The total number of Consultants availing healthcare services of our OPD (Outreach Patients Department) in Bodhgaya and Mobile Clinic in 18 villages is 7358, wherein new consultants constitute 4221 people (57.37% of total number of consultants).

An Overview of Medical Activities -

OPD and Mobile Clinics

Total

17

The number of patients refered to PHC & Government Hospitals was 102

(1.14% of total consultants at OPD, Mobile Clinics and Medical Camps ). The total patients who were treated “Free of Cost” (Pregnant women,

children and aged people above 60 years) in the OPD Clinic and by our Doctors were 2336 ( 13%).

4 special cases (from poor patient fund) were treated by our doctors.

Total money collected against registration charges was INR 84395.

Table 2: Total Number of Patients Referred to PHC and Government Hospitals

MONTH OPD MOBILE MEDICAL CAMP

FOR POOR & NEEDY

MEDICAL CAMP FOR MONKS

January 12 8 21 5

February 12 10 15 18

March 1 0 0 0

Total 25 18 36 23

Table 3: Total Money Collected from Registration Charges

Month Amount

January 23340

February 31640

March 29415

Total 84395

18

DIRECT OBSERVED THERAPY (DOT)

Out of 751 medical tests conducted in our pathology laboratory Sputum tests (for

Tuberculosis) constituted the highest number of tests done (168) in the first quarter of

2013. Out of these the number of people who were diagnosed with TB was 9. Currently,

the total number of TB patients undergoing treatment is 24.

Table 4: Details of DOT program

January

February March Total

Number of TB patient’s started medicine

5 4 3 12

Number of sputum test 33 47 88 168

Sputum Positive 1 5 3 9

Refer TB Patients 0 0 0 0

Completed TB Medicine 3 5 2 10

Undergoing Treatment in Mobile 5

Undergoing Treatment in OPD 19

Total Number of TB Patients currently undergoing treatment (OPD and Mobile)

24

TYPES OF DISEASES OBSERVED AMONG PATIENTS IN OPD AND

MOBILE CLINICS

The following table gives us information about the various types of diseases observed

among the patients in our OPD and Mobile clinics.

Table 5: Types of Diseases

Types of Diseases Total

Diarrohea\children 37

Diarrhoea / dysentery adults 66

Amoebiasis 17

Ttyphoid 0

TB 34

Gynea patient 139

Bone & joints patients 568

19

Burn patient 87

Worm manifestation 15

Skin diseases of all kinds 301

Ophthalmologic infections 23

Number of identify malnourished children 2

Cardiac Inf. 3

HTN 122

Diabetes 10

Asthma & COPD 135

Cough & Cold 476

Epilepsy 33

ENT patient 50

LYMPHadenopathy 20

I&D Dressing 21

Other patients 341

20

From the above table and graph we notice that the most common diseases observed, both in OPD and Mobile clinics, were Skin diseases, Bone and Joint Problems and Cough and Cold.

GENERIC MEDICINES

Till 2012 only branded medicines were given to the patients but since January 2013 generic medicines have been introduced as they are equally effective but much cheaper than their branded counterparts. Therefore, since the beginning of this year our medical team is providing generic medicines to the patients along with branded ones.

The following table gives a comparative study of the prices of 12 branded medicines and their generic counterparts. These 12 medicines have been chosen as they are some of the most widely used medicines in our healthcare services.

21

Table 6: Cost-Effectiveness of Generic Medicines

The above table shows that the substitution of these widely used branded medicines with their equally effective generic counterparts has resulted in about 60% reduction in the cost.

Composition Medicine Name Price Rate

Generic Medicine

Name

Price Rate

% of reduction in Price Rate of Generic Medicines Compared to Branded ones

Calcium Tab Calcium 500mg 2.4 Tab Cachacal 500mg

0.33 86

Paracetamol Tab Calpol 500mg 1.06 Tab Pyrakem 500mg

0.30 72

Cefexime Tab CEFOCEF O 100 tab

3.98 Tab O-Powercef DT 100mg

2.25 43

Clobetasol propionate sulphate & Miconazole nitrate

Cream Cosvate-GM 8.43 Cream Clobikem-GM

8.00 5

Anticold, anticough Sy Lemolinctus 27.69 Sy New Nano Cold

10.00 64

Levofloxa Tab Ovil 500mg Tab 5 Tab Levowok 500mg

2.45 51

Ofloxa+ ornidazole Tab O-Cebran Oz 5.2 Tab Oflowock OZ

1.60 69

Anticough (Dry cough) Sy Samdex 38.8 Sy Tordex 17.50 55

Anticough Sy Samdryl 28.6 Sy Kemodaryl 8.50 70

Aceclofenac+paracetamol+ serrataiopetidase

Tab Speeder SP 4.18 Tab Acceclowoc SP

1.30 69

Aceclofenac+paracetamol Tab Speeder-Plus 1.98 Tab Acceclowoc-P

0.54 73

Levo-Cetrizine Tab 1 Al 1.26 Tab lovozine 0.4 68

22

IDENTITY CARDS FOR MEDICAL CONSULTANTS

In order to keep track of the medical history of each patient identity cards are issued to every individual seeking medical help from us. These cards cost a mere INR 5 and should be brought along in every visit to the OPD or Mobile clinics.

REVIEW, REVISION AND UPDATE OF THE LIST OF MEDICINES

The list of medicines existing in 2012 was reviewed, revised and updated to better serve

the target population.

REFRESHER TRAINING FOR DOCTORS

Refresher Training was imparted to our doctors by Dr. Jaya Maitra of the Red Cross Society, Jamshedpur.

23

Patients waiting for check-up in OPD Patients queuing in front of the Pharmacy

OUTREACH PATIENTS DEPARTMENT (OPD)

The total number of people who came to the Medical centre in Bodhgaya for Consultations in the first quarter of 2013 was 3834. Out of this total 2410 were new consultants, representing 62.86% of total consultations in OPD.

ACCESS TO PRIMARY HEALTHCARE

IN URBAN AREA: SHECHEN

MEDICAL CENTRE IN BODHGAYA,

BIHAR

24

Table 7: Number of Consultants in OPD

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

TOTAL

TOTAL NUMBER OF

CONSULTANTS

1360

1321

1153

3834

TOTAL NUMBER OF NEW CONSULTANTS

872

864

674

2410

MEN

420

431

310

1161

WOMEN

585

552

515

1652

CHILDREN

355

338

328

1021

PATIENTS FREE OF REGISTRATION

CHARGE

485

478

461

1424

25

The total patients who were treated Free of Registration Cost (Pregnant women,

children and aged people above 60 years) in the OPD was 1424, representing 37.14% of

the total consultants.

26

From the above pie-chart we can see that women and children constitute the majority of

the consultants (70%) in OPD.

LABORATORY

Total number of patients who came in the first quarter of 2013 (January-March) for

different medical tests were 237 and total anaysis done was 751. The number of

patients and tests are different because one patient may go for several tests. Total

money collected from these tests was INR 7210.

27

From the above pie-chart we can see that the more frequent tests were Sputum

test (for tuberculosis), ESR and TC/DC ( Blood tests for infection, allergy and red blood cells) and less frequent test were ASO (for throat infection), Titer and VDRL.

Patients tested free of registration charge (pregnant women, children and

people above 60 years of age) were 38 (16. 03%) out of 237 people

undergoing medical tests.

28

Apart from the medical clinic situated in the town of Bodhgaya Karuna Shechen provides several outreach services to the poor and marginalised population in the surrounding villages. The Community-based integrated programs run by Karuna Shechen India are:

Mobile Clinic

Health Education Program (HEP)

Health and Hygiene Reproductive and Child Health (RCH)

Non-Formal Education (NFE)

Solar Electricity

OUTREACH SERVICES:

COMMUNITY-BASED INTEGRATED

PROGRAMS

29

MOBILE CLINIC

Inaugration of Mobile Clinic in Chando village

Inaugration of Mobile Clinic in Bandha village

Till January 2013 Karuna-Shechen India provided medical care to the rural population

through the services of a mobile clinic that functioned 6 days a week.

With the objective of providing

comprehensive healthcare to a larger number of the rural poor our organisation has

expanded its mobile health services to 6 new villages since February 2013 by launching

a second Mobile clinic. The new villages have been selected on the basis of the cluster

model so that the services of the mobile clinics are not confined to the population of

these villages alone but are also extended to the people of 3-5 satellite villages.

In the first quarter of 2013 (January-March), the number of patients who came for the consultations in mobile clinic from 18 village were 3524, out of this 1811 were new patients representing 51.39% .

Number of consultants from the satellites villages around our 18 adopted villages who sought medical help from our mobile clinic services is 1474.

The total patients who were treated for Free of Registration Charge (Pregnant women, children and aged people above 60 years) in the Mobile Clinic was 1918 (54.43% of the total consultants at mobile clinics).

30

Table 8: Details of Consultants going to Mobile Clinics

MOBILE CLINIC

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

TOTAL

TOTAL NUMBER OF

CONSULTANTS

632

1511

1381

3524

TOTAL NUMBER OF NEW CONSULTANTS

237

915

659

1811

MEN

172

426

409

1007

WOMEN

283

774

652

1709

CHILDREN

177

311

320

808

PATIENTS TREATED FREE OF

REGISTRATION CHARGE

336

769

813

1918

31

From the above table and graph we can see that the number of consultants at the mobile

clinics in the month of January is much less compared to February and March. This is

because the mobile healthcare services were extended to the 6 new villages from

February, i.e., till January mobile clinics served 12 villages but since February it has

been covering 18 villages.

1918 patients out of a total of 3524 consultants visiting the mobile clinics were treated

free of cost by our doctors.

32

Just like in the OPD, women and children constitute the majority of consultants in the

Mobile Clinics (73%).

33

Villagers waiting for their turn for check-up

34

MEDICAL CAMPS FOR THE POOR AND NEEDY

In addition to the mobile clinic Karuna-Shechen makes an effort to extend its outreach

healthcare services to the poor and needy groups like the Dalits (low-caste Hindus who

constitute a poor and underserved community) and the Buddhist Monks through

medical camps.

In the months of January and February a medical camp was organized for the poor and

needy in general and another camp specifically for the Monks at Nyingma monastery

during the auspicious occasion of Nima pooja.

Medical Camp for poor and needy

Medical Camp at Nyingma Monastry

Table 9: Total Number of Consultants and Refer Patients at the Medical Camps

Month No. of Consultants at Medical Camp for Poor & Needy

No. of Consultants at Nyingma camp

No. of Refer Patients at Medical Camp for Poor & Needy

No. of Refer Patients at Nyingma camp

January 500 148 21 5

February 359 600 15 18

March 0 0 0 0

Total 859 748 36 23

35

36

HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAM (HEP)

Health Education Program (HEP), which was introduced in our 12 villages in 2010,

continues to run smoothly. Currently there are 87 health groups with 534 members

under HEP.

Table 10: Some Important Data on HEP

Total

Total Number of Home Visits by Village Coordinators 689

Total Number of Home Visits by Motivators 1515

No. of Families who Received the Message regarding

Health & Hygiene

1078

Number of Hand pumps Repaired 32

Number of Soak pits created 0

Total No of Meetings 83

Table 11: Some Important Data on Reproductive and Child Health (RCH)

Total

Identified New pregnant Women 55

Total Pregnant Women 140

Total Pregnant Women immunized with T.T1 31

Total Pregnant Women immunized with T.T2 98

Total Pregnant Women not immunized 11

Total Deliveries 52

Delivery at PHC 35

Delivery at HOME 17

Total No of Miscarriages 3

Number of Pregnant Women Followed-up by

Motivators and Village Coordinators

140

37

Total Newborn Children 52

Total Neo-natal Deaths 4

Maternal death at child birth 0

New born child Immunized 34

Training for birth attendants 0

Meeting up Mother and Child by Village Coordinators 63

The above table shows that among the 52 child deliveries that took place in the first

three months of 2013 35 were institutional deliveries (67.31 % of total deliveries). The

remarkable number of women opting for institutional deliveries shows the increased

health awareness through HEP. Again, the number of neo-natal deaths has been very

less (4 children); only 7.69 % of total newborn children and there are no recorded cases

of maternal deaths.

Health and Hygiene- Women collecting drinking Mothers with their Children

water from Tubewell

38

NON-FORMAL EDUCATION (NFE)

NFE classes were started in August 2011 in 6 villages namely, Banahi, J.P Nagar,

Karhara, Kharati, Gopalkhera and Trilokapur with the objective of expanding and

improving basic education of the poor illiterate rural women. However, NFE classes

have been temporarily stalled due to poor attendance of the students in all 6 villages

where the program was running. Currently we are in the process of evaluating the

reasons for the large-scale absenteeism of the women enrolled in NFE classes. One of

the reasons for the above-mentioned problem has been the teacher’s incapability of

inducing interest among the students about studies. Teachers seem to have failed to

connect with the students due to the former’s inability to explain things properly, their

unapproachable attitude and their irregularity. On the other hand, the students are

faced with certain socio-economic impediments to their non-formal education such as

resistance from and reluctance of the family members, no time for classes during the

harvesting season, etc.

While the process of intensive evaluation of the NFE program in the existing villages is

going on, our meetings and discussions with the new villages (during village scan) is

evoking a lot of interest among their population regarding the above-mentioned

program. So, with the objective of restarting our NFE program in the 6 existing villages

where classes have been temporarily stopped and with the intention of extending the

program to our new villages in response to their demand we are working extensively on

resolving the problems and modifying the program to provide optimum benefit to the

target population. Therefore, we have already started searching for appropriate

teachers who are passionate about bringing about positive change in the lives of their

students by imparting knowledge to them. Besides, we are in the process of revising the

syllabus and modifying the methods of teaching to make the program efficacious for the

rural illiterate women.

As mentioned earlier in this report, we will be incorporating vocational training in our

NFE classes and have already taken the first step towards it through our meetings and

discussions with the villagers.

NFE program will be commencing in the new villages and re-starting in the existing

ones from mid-April, 2013.

39

SOLAR ELECTRICITY

Children studying under Solar light

Our Solar electricity program continues to run in all 3 villages. However, over the past several months we have noticed a decreasing sense of responsibility of the beneficiaries in terms of monthly payment towards maintenance and replacement of batteries. In an attempt to understand the reason for such a trend and to better serve the people we have prepared a comprehensive questionnaire for the existing and potential users of solar lights. It has been designed as a tool for impact evaluation of the existing solar program and as a feasibility study for the program in new villages.

During our village scan 3 villages (Kadal, Barsuddi and Chando) have shown a keen

interest in our solar program. As per the discussions held during the village scan, 10

men and women from Kadal were taken to J. P. Nagar, one of our existing solar villages,

to give them a vivid idea about solar lights and their use. Karuna-Shechen arranged for

and bore the cost of their travelling, food and lodging. We intend to provide the same

opportunity to people from the other two villages.

In the 3 villages where solar lights will be installed, we are in the process of searching

for young, illiterate mothers and grandmothers who will be interested in undertaking

training for Solar Engineering at Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan.

Later this year Karuna-Shechen plans to send more young grandmothers for training,

bringing light to even more families.

40

OTHER EVENTS, ACTIVITIES &

INFORMATION

RECRUITMENT OF NEW STAFF

With the starting of a host of new activities since February 2013 and with the extension of the organization’s existing programs from 12 villages to 18, Karuna-Shechen India team has expanded to incorporate nine new staff members, including 2 female and 1 male doctor, 1 laboratory technician, 2 nurses, 1 pharmacist, 1 driver and 1 research and documentation officer.

With over 75% of our patients being women and children recruitment of female doctors has been a great step towards the provision of better healthcare services in our OPD and Mobile clinics.

In addition to these 9 new staff members 6 village motivators were hired in March to work in our new villages.

41

0RIENTATION ON PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

Entire staff of Karuna-Shechen, India at the Orientation

On 2nd March, 2013, after a month of working with the new members, a one-day training was organized in Bodhgaya as an orientation session. The entire Karuna-Shechen India team was present as participants while our Director, Shamsul Akhtar, played the role of the facilitator. Objectives of the Training To give a clearer understanding about the organization To give a clearer understanding of the program activities To make all new colleagues feel as part of the team and enable them to do their

best to help the organization achieve its goals.

42

EXTERNAL VISITORS

In February Karuna-Shechen, India had the honour of welcoming several external

visitors including Karuna-Shechen’s Chief Operating Officer, Tarek Toubal;, Director of

Field Operations, Sanjeev Pradhan; Alexandra Brun, Project Officer for Karuna-Shechen,

Nepal; Nadine Donnet, ex-Field Operations Director; Rafaele Demandre, Field

Coordinator for Karuna-Shechen, Tibet, Dr. Jaya Maitra from the Red Cross Society,

Jamshedpur; and two international volunteers.

FINANCES

The budget and expenses for the first quarter of 2013 are presented below:

Table 12: Budget and Expenses

Budget in USD($1=50 INR)

Expenses in USD($1=50 INR)

Administration, transportation and

functioning cost

14,271 12,302

OPD direct benefit to population in Bodhgaya town and close surroundings

18,465 15,730

Mobile clinic benefit to population in 18 villages

27,329 14,503

Education direct benefit to population in 18 villages

15,710 4,497

Environmental Program 3,155 502

Social Program 11,780 2,367

Program Support 8,030 806

Investment: Equipment 17,450 21,269

Contingencies 5,810 627

Total 1,22,000 72,603

43

44

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES

Non-Formal Education will commence in the 6 new villages and re-started in the

existing villages from mid-April.

Household Survey in the 6 new villages.

A Purchasing Committee will be functional from April.

OUR PARTNERS

Current Partner: Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan

Prospective Partner: Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi.

45

A six year old girl called Anchal Kumari came to the OPD in February this year to treat

her severely burnt hand. Her hand had been burnt two days before but due to their poor

economic condition the girl’s family could not afford to take her to the government

hospital in Gaya. Instead they sought local medical help in their village which, due to

wrong treatment, resulted in worsening of the wound. Then one of the villagers

suggested they approach the Shechen Clinic where treatment and medication are

available free of cost, with only a nominal registration fee.

When the girl was brought to the clinic she was running fever and her hand was

infected, badly swollen and severely paining. After taking her medical history her

treatment commenced with dressing and medication. Just two days after her fever was

gone and swelling and pain of the burnt hand had subsided. After a week of treatment

her wound was healed and healthy skin appeared.

Her family was relieved and very thankful to the clinic.

Anchal Kumari, when she came to Shechen Clinic for treatment

1 week after treatment

ANNEX- SUCCESS STORY