It’s been another interesting week for us. We got back from Allahabad and were back in full swing with a full OR schedule and a busy outpatient clinic. On Thursday, we were able to travel to two villages with the Community Health Development Program. A potential manager for CHDP was there to visit some of the sites. At the first village, the CHDP staff conducted a class on HIV/AIDS for local women. They were asked to name the routes of transmission of HIV and the right/wrong answers were explained. Interestingly, they were also asked if they believed that HIV is curable and many said ‘yes’. The session leaders from CHDP were excited to be able to correct this misconception and it really demonstrated the power of these sessions to educate and prevent the spread of HIV. There is always a female and male teacher present, so that the women feel comfortable attending class and expressing themselves.
According to a member of the CHDP staff, the second village we visited is inhabited by members of India’s lowest caste. This is the caste known as “the Untouchables”. As we drove into the village, we passed their school and, having seen our faces, many children left school to follow us. We were able to spend a little bit of time with the children and were also given a tour of the village, including explanations of some of the agricultural equipment. Recently, a new system was put in place for removal of excess water from the wheat fields. This was funded in part by a government subsidy and has improved the fields in the surrounding 10 hectares. The villagers were very proud to show us and the staff from BCH.
To relax at the end of our long days, we’ve started watching some of the Bollywood movies that we bought in Allahabad, along with eating some of our Indian sweets. We’ll post another blog on Monday before we leave for Delhi on Tuesday.