Report of 6 Dec '10
And it's time to build an ark.
The Northeast Monsoon has brought rain unceasingly for 2 days. Today, all schools and colleges were closed, and Scott and I did not go to work. Naren came to visit last night and stayed the night, and I dropped him at the train station today. On return, I hit a pothole of epic proportions, cleverly concealed by rain water, and damaged the power steering fluid link. Scott took the vehicle to the mechanic, and we now have the car back. One does not appreciate power steering until one is without it, as with several other things.
The Banyan is fine. We had a new volunteer start: she is a physician about to emigrate to the U.S. and wants to continue volunteering with the B on her visits here. I encourage it. We talked about how nice it was to do for other women, because, in society's eyes here, everything is the woman's fault: if she has a mental illness, if her husband has it, if they have a daughter, if some ill befalls the family, whatever - everything is blamed on the woman. And yes, you read that right: in some families, it is considered a curse to have a daughter, as her wedding expenses will nearly drive the family to bankruptcy. It's nice to be on the helping side. I am grateful to Vandana and Vaishnavi that they founded this magnificent organisation.
Our mentally disabled (there's a difference between that and mentally ill) patient, Ms. M, is up in the dorm now. There's another Ms. M in the sick room and she'll be there for a bit, as her gait is not strong enough to let her be upstairs. She had climbed her bunk bed and fallen from it, so we think it best that she be where she can be seen. Hema, one of our intrepid and dedicated volunteers, also the person who runs "Friends of the Banyan" in the U.S., had sent Ms. M a sheet of stickers and they are pasted all over the sick room now. They really do make the place look cheery and fun: God bless Hema. The dorm Ms. M came up to me the other day, with a very happy smile, and she and I chatted for a bit about what she had eaten for breakfast, etc. She answers all my questions correctly; I do think she had not been sent to school as a child because the family was worried about the stigma of the mental disability. Shame. She would have been a quick learner, as she is now.
We continue to struggle with leptospirosis and the blooming rats. With the monsoon, I hope that's the extent of our woes. The residents do, however, drink from the faucet and that becomes eminently unsafe at monsoon time.
I got to sit with some of the senior health care workers for lunch the other day - all of us went late - and enjoyed that immensely. I am very fond of these young women - impoverished, dedicated, so willing to learn, fun, funny, good people. At the end of the meal, I mentioned how much I'd enjoyed it, and we parted ways.
The lady gardening assistant at our apartment complex gave me a grand salaam the other day, and when I asked how she was (she's the one with hip pain), she said she was out of the med (Ibuprofen); I told her I'd write its name down and she could get it at the store. My stash tends to run out quickly and I think it's affordable, even for the impoverished, so I will have my patient buy the meds herself. It would be nice to subsidise everyone's requests, wouldn't it, but that's not realistic.
Our neighbor, Usha, a wonderful resource with advice on our boys, chairs a facility for special needs children; it is named Vidya Sagar. She has involved Naren with helping one of his collegemates, K, a young man with cerebral palsy and in a wheelchair, get off the city bus. Our facilities are not very disabled-friendly, and the poor young man needs help to get off the bus and to get to his class. His mother travels to college with him every day and waits for him to get done; she told Naren that the bus driver and conductor were reluctant to help, and acted like the disability was contagious. So Naren gets K off the bus and takes him to class; he said it was "rewarding." I am delighted. Nothing like tapping the hearts of these young men and helping them realise there is a whole populace out there who'd like to be included. I notice also that Naren's arms are more muscular, and he mentions that he must get up early and eat breakfast before he gets K, othewise K's mother buys Naren breakfast; Naren had previously got up late and missed breakfast, etc., none of which helped his overall state of health. Helping K is also helping Naren, which is a great bonus.
Navin appears to be taking his studies a bit seriously. We hope for the best. His school is inclusive and there are students from various sections of society, and some special needs kids, all of which we like. If we do for folks without it seeming like a major production, it goes that much farther towards making such activities as natural as breathing.
Scott and I managed to get away for lunch and a dreadful Tamil movie called "Ratha Charithram." It was billed as a multi-starrer, etc., and has an actor named Suriya whom I really like; however, it was violent and unentertaining. Lunch, however, was great; when the waiter noticed my disappointment at the absence of fish at the buffet, he asked if he could make a special order for us - on the house. I agreed joyously, and he packed the leftovers for us, which I thought was an exceptionally kind gesture.
If you think you could spare $15 to sponsor a Banyan resident this Christmas, please email fotb.usa@gmail.com. We would appreciate that immensely. Thank you.
Unw -
R
The Northeast Monsoon has brought rain unceasingly for 2 days. Today, all schools and colleges were closed, and Scott and I did not go to work. Naren came to visit last night and stayed the night, and I dropped him at the train station today. On return, I hit a pothole of epic proportions, cleverly concealed by rain water, and damaged the power steering fluid link. Scott took the vehicle to the mechanic, and we now have the car back. One does not appreciate power steering until one is without it, as with several other things.
The Banyan is fine. We had a new volunteer start: she is a physician about to emigrate to the U.S. and wants to continue volunteering with the B on her visits here. I encourage it. We talked about how nice it was to do for other women, because, in society's eyes here, everything is the woman's fault: if she has a mental illness, if her husband has it, if they have a daughter, if some ill befalls the family, whatever - everything is blamed on the woman. And yes, you read that right: in some families, it is considered a curse to have a daughter, as her wedding expenses will nearly drive the family to bankruptcy. It's nice to be on the helping side. I am grateful to Vandana and Vaishnavi that they founded this magnificent organisation.
Our mentally disabled (there's a difference between that and mentally ill) patient, Ms. M, is up in the dorm now. There's another Ms. M in the sick room and she'll be there for a bit, as her gait is not strong enough to let her be upstairs. She had climbed her bunk bed and fallen from it, so we think it best that she be where she can be seen. Hema, one of our intrepid and dedicated volunteers, also the person who runs "Friends of the Banyan" in the U.S., had sent Ms. M a sheet of stickers and they are pasted all over the sick room now. They really do make the place look cheery and fun: God bless Hema. The dorm Ms. M came up to me the other day, with a very happy smile, and she and I chatted for a bit about what she had eaten for breakfast, etc. She answers all my questions correctly; I do think she had not been sent to school as a child because the family was worried about the stigma of the mental disability. Shame. She would have been a quick learner, as she is now.
We continue to struggle with leptospirosis and the blooming rats. With the monsoon, I hope that's the extent of our woes. The residents do, however, drink from the faucet and that becomes eminently unsafe at monsoon time.
I got to sit with some of the senior health care workers for lunch the other day - all of us went late - and enjoyed that immensely. I am very fond of these young women - impoverished, dedicated, so willing to learn, fun, funny, good people. At the end of the meal, I mentioned how much I'd enjoyed it, and we parted ways.
The lady gardening assistant at our apartment complex gave me a grand salaam the other day, and when I asked how she was (she's the one with hip pain), she said she was out of the med (Ibuprofen); I told her I'd write its name down and she could get it at the store. My stash tends to run out quickly and I think it's affordable, even for the impoverished, so I will have my patient buy the meds herself. It would be nice to subsidise everyone's requests, wouldn't it, but that's not realistic.
Our neighbor, Usha, a wonderful resource with advice on our boys, chairs a facility for special needs children; it is named Vidya Sagar. She has involved Naren with helping one of his collegemates, K, a young man with cerebral palsy and in a wheelchair, get off the city bus. Our facilities are not very disabled-friendly, and the poor young man needs help to get off the bus and to get to his class. His mother travels to college with him every day and waits for him to get done; she told Naren that the bus driver and conductor were reluctant to help, and acted like the disability was contagious. So Naren gets K off the bus and takes him to class; he said it was "rewarding." I am delighted. Nothing like tapping the hearts of these young men and helping them realise there is a whole populace out there who'd like to be included. I notice also that Naren's arms are more muscular, and he mentions that he must get up early and eat breakfast before he gets K, othewise K's mother buys Naren breakfast; Naren had previously got up late and missed breakfast, etc., none of which helped his overall state of health. Helping K is also helping Naren, which is a great bonus.
Navin appears to be taking his studies a bit seriously. We hope for the best. His school is inclusive and there are students from various sections of society, and some special needs kids, all of which we like. If we do for folks without it seeming like a major production, it goes that much farther towards making such activities as natural as breathing.
Scott and I managed to get away for lunch and a dreadful Tamil movie called "Ratha Charithram." It was billed as a multi-starrer, etc., and has an actor named Suriya whom I really like; however, it was violent and unentertaining. Lunch, however, was great; when the waiter noticed my disappointment at the absence of fish at the buffet, he asked if he could make a special order for us - on the house. I agreed joyously, and he packed the leftovers for us, which I thought was an exceptionally kind gesture.
If you think you could spare $15 to sponsor a Banyan resident this Christmas, please email fotb.usa@gmail.com. We would appreciate that immensely. Thank you.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
5:32 AM
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