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Kandithankulam Update
This update is long overdue. Our main excuse is that we have yet to get settled in our new environment. Many boxes are still unopened and, we often wonder if we have brought too many things from Monmouth. We wrote our last report on July 26, 2012, a few days before we left this nice little town.
Though it has been nearly two years since we visited India, our work in and around Kandithankulam has been continuing. Through the excellent mobile phone service in India, we are able to communicate easily with the village elders and learn about their needs. Also, Sam, who is managing the Light Eternal Medical Clinic/Computer Center, visits these villages and carefully evaluates the many needs of these communities. We decide on the projects that we can pursue and execute them through Sam and our long-time trusted village elder, Mani.
Medical Camp (Free Clinic)
A Medical Camp was arranged in our Light Eternal Medical Clinic
by Sam on October 28, 2012 when 385 patients from 8 villages around Kandithankulam were given free treatment. Many of them were brought to the Free Clinic with the help of rented mini-buses. Seven physicians (2 gynecologists, 1 pediatrician, 1 ophthalmologist, 2 dentists and 1 family practice specialist) along with 3 dental interns and 2 optometrists donated their services. The physicians brought their own nurses and technicians with them. School children were given dental checkups and received instruction on oral hygiene. They were also given free tooth brushes and pastes. We are including several photos taken during this Medical Camp.
As you know, we conduct such Free Clinics two or three times a year. The Senior Gynecologist who inaugurated the Camp is a good friend of ours. She observed that the general health of the villagers is getting better. Impressed by what we have done in these villages, she is planning to organize such Medical Camps in her own native village.
Help for a Cancer Patient
A 33 year old poor woman from Kandithankulam, Packiaselvi, is suffering from throat and intestinal cancer. She had surgery at a government hospital and needed our help for the follow-up chemotherapy. Since Packiaselvi and her husband are very poor, she didn't have to pay for the surgery. However, the hospital was not willing to provide her with the follow-up chemotherapy. She needs to take five injections each costing $ 120 and we are paying for them. She came to the Free Clinic and you can see her talking to one of the doctors.
Computer Center
In our last report, we mentioned that 10 students from our Computer Center have earned Certificates and Diplomas which will give them very good job opportunities in neighboring towns. We included a copy of one of the diplomas issued by the accrediting agency in that report. On July 27, 2012, Sam arranged a small graduating ceremony at the Computer Center for these 10 students. A retired Director General of Police - a good friend of Raj - presided over this function and his wife distributed the Certificates and Diplomas to the graduating students. We have included a few photos taken on this occasion.
A New Project
Many of you are aware that we have been building new houses or providing tiled roofing to hundreds of villagers who were homeless or had houses with thatched roofing. Even a few years ago, we could build a small house for about $ 800. There has been a steepincrease in the cost of living in India, and the gap between the rich and poor has been growing. The middle class is flourishing due to the outsourcing from the U.S. and Europe. The cost to build a small house is now more than $ 1,200.
We have been aware that in villages like Kandithankulam, most of the houses do not have toilet facilities and the villages do not have a
public toilet either. People used the nearby open lands as their toilet and the bushes provided some privacy for the women. The land near Kandithankulam is being turned into housing plots and the bushes have been cleared. This has created a serious problem, especially for the women. We considered the idea of building public toilets for some of these villages. However, the village elders pointed out that they will not be properly maintained. In consultation with Sam, we have built toilets with septic tanks for two poor single women in Kandithankulam. One of them, Selvi, is a poor 40-year-old widow who works as a daily laborer. She has two children. The other, Daisy Paripooranam, is a 35-year-old woman with one daughter. She is a laborer whose husband has deserted her. Both families live in single-room, tiled-roof houses. We have built them toilets with septic tanks at a cost of about $700 each. We have included a photo of one of the toilets and septic tank that is being built. In addition, over the past four months we have helped some families to repair their leaky roofs.
Raj and I are very grateful to the Faith Church and its congregation for their continued support and prayers for the Kandithankulam projects. We are proud to continue to be members of this noble-minded church.
God bless you.
Saro Ambrose
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