Well, now I’m back in Summit Lake and getting back to the normal winter routines of shovelling snow. India seems far away but I still feel uplifted from the experience. I think this was the best trip yet to India. The students were exceptional and the combination of occupational and physiotherapy students worked very well. The Early Intervention program is progressing well and several other organisations have visited it and are using it as a model for their own organisations. Prabakha, the senior disability-worker in charge of this clinic, has a good understanding of early development and is dedicated to making this program a success. They hired a painter to paint beautiful murals on the walls and SODA funds were used well to equip the centre. Families come with their children and spend most of the day there and receive concentrated therapeutic interventions.

We have successfully reached our goals for 2011 and now are well on our way to reaching our main goal for 2012 of building the spinal cord unit, through the successful sale of virtual bricks – thank you all. We are now concentrating on fund-raising for equipping this spinal cord unit. Later in the year we will still need to raise funds for the ongoing programming of Samuha.

The students and I featured prominently in the media while we were there. They dedicated 20 minutes of national TV programming to our visit as well as several articles in various newspapers. Interesting when we were trying to keep a low profile and trying to blend in with the community!

We are certainly blessed here in Canada with our lifestyle and quality of life. It is humbling to see how less fortunate people can dedicate their lives to helping others and seem content with their simpler life and narrower range of opportunities. Thank you to all our supporters who are making a significant difference in these people's lives. Thank you also to supporters in my sister’s village of Whitwell in England who also contribute generously. In particular I should like to publicly thank Penny who has been making huge quantities of jam over the years. All the proceeds of which go to charity and Samuha has been one of the main beneficiaries. Thank you.

Hilary

A student watches as a girl with Cerebral Palsy walks for the first time

A student with her client

A spinal cord injured client with his brother and students outside his home

All four 2011 students at Hampi

I am now on the plane flying over the Channel. It is hard to believe that I’ve left behind the colourful vibrant culture of village India and will soon be immersed in Christmas activities in England.

We had an excellent last few days in Koppal. The students finished all their training on spinal cord injury and stroke and did a great job. We all spent a full day at Samuha’s HIV/AIDS centre where we saw 22 patients with advanced disease then discussed with their staff various physiotherapy activities for them. One particularly sad case was an 18 year old boy who was scare-crow thin who had lost both of his parents to AIDS so has been raised as an orphan by charity.

On our last day several of the children who we’d been following came for a last session with us. One girl with cerebral palsy, who has been practicing walking for the last 6 weeks, managed to walk 50 feet unassisted for the first time. The smile on her face showed how proud she was of her accomplishment. A 2 week old baby came and had his club-foot corrected and casted. A young girl with hemiplegia improved her gait tremendously with the use of a foot splint and a pull toy. A deaf-blind boy came and we were able to use our new skills which we had recently acquired from the training. It was wonderful to see how he responded to deep pressure with a large ball and to vibration. It was previously thought that he was mentally challenged with a severe behavior problem but it was only his lack of opportunity to communicate and understand his world. He should do well with regular therapy through the early intervention centre. It was a very satisfying day and one of the parents brought snacks and sweets for us all to share.

The Samuha staff made us a special lunch and presented us with gifts of home-spun and-loomed cotton. We each got a bed-cover, pillow-cases and a towel – so generous. We went out for a quick supper then 12 of them saw us off at the Koppal train station and helped us with all of our luggage. We spent the night on the train, arriving Bangalore at 7am. After some shopping, the students flew north to Delhi to tour the Golden Triangle. I caught the 3.30am plane to Frankfurt and now on to Heathrow.

One of the passengers next to me looked as though he was having a stroke but they administered oxygen and took his blood pressure and he seems to be ok – thankfully.

This may have been the best Indian experience yet. The students were exceptional and I’ve nominated one of them for an award. The early intervention centre is going well and promises to be a successful venture. Looking forward to seeing friends in February for our next event to raise funds for the much needed spinal cord unit. See you then and Merry Christmas to all.

Hilary

I'm sitting at Bangalore airport now waiting for my 3 am flight toUK. I'llbe there for Christmas and fly to Calgaryon 27th. We'll spend a few days there with family then plan on being home for N Y Eve. I'll write in a few days - too tired now.

Hilary

We are now in our final week at Samuha. Time seems to have zipped by. We have completed our village visits and there has been significant progress in all the clients we’ve seen. A man with spinal cord injury now has a ramp to his house so he can access by wheel-chair independently. Several children have had special seats made for them so they can sit and play and watch the world rather than stay lying on their backs. Several have had foot splints made so they can walk more easily. The families and CBR workers have learnt new techniques to help their children with their development.

This week is being spent on training. I spent a day teaching different assessments to use for early intervention for children with delayed development. Yesterday one of the students taught therapy for deafblind children and behavior management. She has gained excellent skill in this through working in a group home for deafblind adults. I also taught on autism. Today a student is teaching on spinal cord injury and tomorrow a student is teaching about stroke. There are 20 Samuha staff attending and another 15 from another CBR program in the neighbouring state and a paediatrician and 2 people from a school for mentally retarded children. Quite a room full for performing the practical sessions. The training sessions last from 9.30am – 6pm with a 1 hour break for lunch and most of that time is spent sitting cross-legged on the concrete floor!

One day last week the jeep wasn’t available and there were too many of us to go by motor-bike so 3 of us went on the local bus to our village visit, one hour away. It was a fun experience. Going we all had seats at the front of the bus so that it is less bouncy. On the way back however, the bus was full and we had to stand the whole way jammed between sacks of rice and other items – no chickens or sheep though competing for space.

On Thursday we’re visiting Samuha’s HIV/AIDS residential centre to assess their clients and to give advice on physiotherapy and occupational therapy for their program. Then Friday we pack up and say our goodbyes and complete the student evaluations before taking the night train back to Bangalore. I’ll send one more blog from either Bangalore or England to complete this odyssey.

Hilary