Thursday 17th
A beautiful day but so hot that by the time we have waved goodbye to our Journey Organisers, Richard, Pooja, Swati, Vana and Alex there is only enough energy left for a final trip to the sales at Fab India. Dorothy and I have one final unscheduled visit to make on the way back to Chennai Airport, and at 12.30, much to our delight, a white Ambassador taxi pulls up for us. We have admired these classic cars for the past 2 weeks so pleased to have this as out last mode of transport.
We are heading for Adyar Poonga which is situated in urban Chennai on the banks of the tidal estuary. A major conservation restoration project inspired by the successful reforestation and environmental education work at Pitchandikulam. We meet the staff team and are shown around part of what will become a first for India- an urban ecology park which will not only be used for urban education and research programmes but which will demonstrate on site treatments for waste water, flood management and waste recycling. It will be a couple more years before the project is ready to be fully open to the public but already its creating an impact and should provide an invaluable demonstration project and tool for more sustainable urban planning. For me to finish my journey with a visit so similar to my own back in Sheffield proved the icing on the cake.
Then finally to the airport – and with what different eyes we seemed to look around now. Like a return through the wardrobe in Narnia our Indian cottons were replaced with our travelling clothes. A long and boring wait in Dubai and finally Dorothy and I separated to board our different planes. And at 1.30 pm UK time I stepped off the plane into a grey and wet Manchester day.
Wednesday 16th
The final day of the formal programme is also Holi – a National Festival celebrated by liberal use of colour, on the face, body and wherever else seems appropriate at the time. The morning is spent on the 3rd Reflection session, a very productive process led by William, Jim and Cath and which commenced creatively in the Ashram at Pondecherry, a place where the spiritual teachings also gave birth to the Aaravind Eye Hospital and Auroville.
On a suitably higher plane Dorothy, Cath and I head off for an afternoon at the Ayureveda Holistic Health Clinic. Like so many things here in India this proves to be a totally bizarre experience which involves Dr Johns back street clinic, very liberal amounts of hot oil and no chance of retaining our modesty. Suitably chastised abut our layers of fat and our severe imbalances of Vata, Pitha and Kapha we make a pleasing exhibition of ourselves walking back in our now transparent oily garments stopping to laugh along the way. The street takes us back alongside monkeys scavenging on the pavement and the temple elephant, decked out in Festival Finery half blocking our route and bestowing grateful taps on the head for admirers feeding it bananas and lemon grass.
The evening is our last together as we eat out under the stars at a wonderful restaurant. Thank You speeches and then the first of the Good Byes as Heather, Jim and Laura are whisked away by their taxi. To keep up our spirits we are forced to go back for more champagne cocktails before returning to our hotel. Here we also wish Cath and William farewell as they will be leaving in the early hours of the morning. As an excuse to keep themselves awake they have arranged to watch the Liverpool match live on TV.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Auroville's Renewable Energy programme
We're visiting Hemant at Auroville's Renewable Energy programme. Hemant is a senior figure at Auroville, although this is played down as I get the impression that the concept doesn't sit well with Auroville's egalitarian values. Still, he's been involved for 16 years and with a wife and young child, he's a committed Aurovilian. So what is Auroville? Well, put simply, it's a 40 year old experiment in creating a new kind of town and a new kind of community. With a current population of 2,000, spanning 40+ countries and an aspiration to be a 'city' of 50,000 it's definately a 'big idea'. The philosophy behind Auroville, the values that bind it together and the grand plan for this fledgling city all make fascinating reading, but I don't propose to try and cover this now. If you want to explore Auroville in more detail go to http://www.auroville.org/
OK so what's the Renewable Energy Programme all about? Well,since the early days at Auroville, the community have been involved in the research and implementation of renewable energy systems; an interest originally born from necessity. This early interest has led to the gradual development of an expertise in the whole area of renewable energy and the development of research and development facilities and a market for Auroville to provide a range of renewable energy 'services. Today, Auroville is recognised in India as a 'testing' centre for a wide variety of renewable energy technologies.
We had a chance to see some of this work at first hand. From an impressive solar powered 'steam cooker' that powers the cafe/restaurant that feeds the working population of Auroville, to a variation on a theme of solar powered streetlight.
The experise at Auroville is clearly in demand and provides a source of income in the form of consulting fees and income from product development support.
The 'killer application' that a bright community like Auroville could deliver, is a 'fit for purpose' and affordable energy solution for the developing world. In a sense, this is the holy grail as access to affordable energy could transform the education, economic development and social inclusion of large parts of the developing world. Will Auroville solve this problem before the big commercial beasts? If so, could Auroville's philosophy for life ensure that the discovery of a solution to this problem, isn't hijacked for commercial gain? Well it's too early to tell I guess, although it would be great to think this could happen.
OK so what's the Renewable Energy Programme all about? Well,since the early days at Auroville, the community have been involved in the research and implementation of renewable energy systems; an interest originally born from necessity. This early interest has led to the gradual development of an expertise in the whole area of renewable energy and the development of research and development facilities and a market for Auroville to provide a range of renewable energy 'services. Today, Auroville is recognised in India as a 'testing' centre for a wide variety of renewable energy technologies.
We had a chance to see some of this work at first hand. From an impressive solar powered 'steam cooker' that powers the cafe/restaurant that feeds the working population of Auroville, to a variation on a theme of solar powered streetlight.
The experise at Auroville is clearly in demand and provides a source of income in the form of consulting fees and income from product development support.
The 'killer application' that a bright community like Auroville could deliver, is a 'fit for purpose' and affordable energy solution for the developing world. In a sense, this is the holy grail as access to affordable energy could transform the education, economic development and social inclusion of large parts of the developing world. Will Auroville solve this problem before the big commercial beasts? If so, could Auroville's philosophy for life ensure that the discovery of a solution to this problem, isn't hijacked for commercial gain? Well it's too early to tell I guess, although it would be great to think this could happen.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
A visit to DROPSS 5th March - Laura's entry
How does one blog about an experience that one has not yet fully processed? Despite the fact that this blog is 5 days late and I have Jim tapping me on the shoulder and wondering where it is and why I haven’t uploaded it yet, I have struggled to put to ‘paper’ my experience of last Friday. Has the experience, the lessons that were there to be learnt, been properly digested, swallowed or even tasted? Ummm... a sense of going about this in completely the wrong order!
Last Friday we visited an organisation called Dropss (Development for rural oppressed people’s service society). Dropss offers women a practical way to gain independence and confidence. Again I think I may have dived into the wrong order of things. These are the outcomes after all, the impact of the work being done. Dropss works with mainly Muslim women whose husbands (and indeed as we discovered, others in the community) would rather they stay at home then do something other than marry and produce children. Mallika, the founder of Dropss set up the organisation to offer viable livelihoods option to women in the community. So every day a group of women come to this building and sit around sewing machines or on the floor and weave and embroider and sew. They are making saris that they can sell to the market, they are proud of their work and keen to show us chubby slow-fingered westerners how to sew these minute and intricate patterns that they weave into the material.
On entering their building, two of us immediately admired the square roofless space in the centre, where the sun light scorches through and which two of us thought such a lovely and thoughtful structure. It was only to be later when we visited one of the women’s houses who had set up an independent business making sari’s, and whose house had the same structure, that we learnt that this design had been intended to offer home-bound Muslim women a little experience of the outside. This little square place for the women’s great-grandmother had been both her garden and her street. It was something of a cruel taunt, a slag in a tight leash. A chance to smell what freedom might feel like. Now whilst I am not sure if I am tiptoeing dangerously close to a volatile subject, when you are literally standing on it, it is hard not to be moved. Not just as a woman, but as a human. It made me wonder how many women dreamt of more.
The beauty of what Mallika has created is a workable, scalable model for women to take control of their future. And the women that we met and spoke with are hungry for more. Impatient to learn and develop their skills so that they can spread their model to the next generation.
When I asked one of the women, Noor Asmah, who is the same age as with me, 26, except married with two children, both boys, a 6 year old and a 2 year old, if she missed her husband when he went away for work, it was with a laugh that she responded. Which in turn, made me laugh as well.
‘No!’ she emphasised with a wave of her hand. And the other two women we were sitting with all laughed as well. And yet a deeper current ran under this light-hearted exchange between women laughing at having some space without men in their life. It was that here in this centre that Mallika has created with Dropss, one had the sense that these women could be themselves. Asmah could be the intelligent, driven and ambitious woman I could see in front of me. As opposed to being subjected to a role that perhaps inhibited that.
Her friend, Noor Fathima was keen to show me her embroidery book. Pages of embroidered flowers and birds. One sensed this was a gentle soul, keen to have encouragement that her work was of value. We swapped note pads and wrote our ‘autographs’ in each other’s, before the meeting was called.
To illustrate the level of engagement in the room, the burning curiosity there was one example that stood out to me. As is the custom with each organisation we visit, we go around the circle and introduce ourselves. After we had gone through, Vanu went on to speak in general as two other members of the group stood on the outside. Sonia and Reece are recording the journey for Unltd via film and camera, this means that of course quite often they stand on the periperhery so they have the freedom to move around. Seeing that they hadn’t been included in the introductions, there was a very pointed turn in their direction, a sort of no, we do not proceed until everyone has been introduced. It felt not that we were dictating the order of the day, but quite correctly that the leadership was coming from them. Sonia and Reece were called over and they did their introductions as well and we continued. But watching this small little moment just fascinated me. Watching the tidal movement of the women having their say, being present to the truth and wanting more than us, who for a moment were sort of oh okay lets just proceed. It made me feel like I was watching something, however small, that was deeply significant. These women were in control and not afraid to show it.
Later one of the questions we asked them was how their lives had changed as a result of the work they did. The answer from a young women sitting near the front was that before they had been a culture of dependency. Before they would never have the courage to come to a meeting like this. They spoke of how there was a growing respect in the community about the work that they did and how their goal is to teach the next generation. I say goal and not dream, as dreams can sometimes feel as if they exist in other worlds. Goals happen in this world. And I think that there was unanimous agreement amongst us that this model, this project was one that had every chance of success, as long as they are able to focus on their market, gain some support from design and marketing experts and thus grow. But more than this, these women are committed to this project. This vital factor I would say is the life blood of any successful development project. It highlighted to me the importance of something a Cambodian professor I met in Phnom Penh recently said, that ‘until you have happy humans, you cannot have happy projects.’ Projects imposed from the outside can shrivel to a halt if the people you are working with are not engaged. With Dropss the women’s spirit, commitment, skills and utter conviction in their work is what will propel them forward. I found this inspiring and indeed a deep lesson to sink into for any work I may do in the future.
Lunch was served on banana skins. We ate in silence: the sound of a good meal. Afterwards we drove in tuk-tuk’s to visit another woman’s house for some sprite, biscuits and fruit and a mini sari fashion show where I found myself being dressed in a sari of my favourite colour – a deep purple. It is always interesting how clothes can have a different effect on you. A flowing skirt can make me just want to twirl and twirl and a high necked top makes me feel very straight, serious. The sari ensemble made me feel so shy. Inhibited. Unsure and timid. It was a relief to get it off if I am honest.
On the journey to Naggapattinum we stopped off at a Temple. I wandered (or wondered?) off by myself and met a Brahmin monk called Ganesh. He sort of came up in a manner that made me think of the word ‘jaunty.’ Like a Ghandi figure who had gone a bit sqew wiffy. When I had circled the temple, we bumped into each other again and he asked if he could take the flower I had brought for 20rps at the entrance. I said of course and handed it to him and he walked off quickly and beckoned for me to follow him. By the time I had caught up with him to the shrine he seemed to guard, I saw that he had fashioned my flower into a beautiful eccentric hat for the Ganesh statue from which he took his namesake. It was wonderfully wacky and made me smile. He then came up and shared his Bob Marley philosophy of ‘Don’t worry, Be Happy.’ This is my philosophy he said. And then more seriously and quietly he went on to repeat the words of my favourite mantra. Om Namah Shivaya, which means I bow to Shiva, who represents the supreme reality, the inner self. It is the name given to the consciousness that dwells in us all. And in the way he spoke the mantra, his eyes still, his face quite serious and calm I felt a more real connection to him then when he was quoting Mr. Marley. This came from within.
From the temple we then had a four hour journey to our next hotel. I have always loved long traveling times as they provide such golden moments to sit beside someone and really get to talk. To share. I spent most of this journey chatting to Heather and our conversation was just another testament to me of the power of this Learning Journey. I think most of us on this trip feel that our hearts are completely interlinked with our heads in our careers. Our jobs are the stuff that make our hearts beat and yet at the same time, utterly engage and engross our heads. Indeed this was pretty much the answer that Sue gave to one of the young women who asked us at Dropss if we were happy in our jobs. Yes Sue had answered, yes we are. Our heads and our hearts are very much together. So on the long road jourmeys we have been making, sitting next to someone else whose own journey has been very much led by their heart, it is but a joy to exchange stories, and be open to wherever that may take you.
I am aware that this is a whopping blog. My apologies. And I am perhaps even more aware that the next part of this blog no doubt sounds trite and superficial. But it is a memory in my mind and so it is one I will share to round off this blurbish about last Friday. Arriving at our hotel The Bungalow on the Beach in Tranquebar, there was an almost childlike gallop of excitement as Sue, Cath, Will and I rushed to each other’s giant big whopping rainbow coloured rooms. Built in the 17th Century, each of our cave like rooms was painted in colours you see in a Chagall or Matisse painting. Vibrant, full of spirit and soul. Pinks, greens, burnt copper reds and turquoise. The colour of the sea we dream about. Suffice to say when I spoke on the phone to one of my colleagues back in London attempting to give a brief summary of the trip with the sound of the crashing waves and laughter of the table in the background, I think it was a moment when the line between the heart and the head, the sense of freedom and happiness and duty seemed very blurred indeed.
Last Friday we visited an organisation called Dropss (Development for rural oppressed people’s service society). Dropss offers women a practical way to gain independence and confidence. Again I think I may have dived into the wrong order of things. These are the outcomes after all, the impact of the work being done. Dropss works with mainly Muslim women whose husbands (and indeed as we discovered, others in the community) would rather they stay at home then do something other than marry and produce children. Mallika, the founder of Dropss set up the organisation to offer viable livelihoods option to women in the community. So every day a group of women come to this building and sit around sewing machines or on the floor and weave and embroider and sew. They are making saris that they can sell to the market, they are proud of their work and keen to show us chubby slow-fingered westerners how to sew these minute and intricate patterns that they weave into the material.
On entering their building, two of us immediately admired the square roofless space in the centre, where the sun light scorches through and which two of us thought such a lovely and thoughtful structure. It was only to be later when we visited one of the women’s houses who had set up an independent business making sari’s, and whose house had the same structure, that we learnt that this design had been intended to offer home-bound Muslim women a little experience of the outside. This little square place for the women’s great-grandmother had been both her garden and her street. It was something of a cruel taunt, a slag in a tight leash. A chance to smell what freedom might feel like. Now whilst I am not sure if I am tiptoeing dangerously close to a volatile subject, when you are literally standing on it, it is hard not to be moved. Not just as a woman, but as a human. It made me wonder how many women dreamt of more.
The beauty of what Mallika has created is a workable, scalable model for women to take control of their future. And the women that we met and spoke with are hungry for more. Impatient to learn and develop their skills so that they can spread their model to the next generation.
When I asked one of the women, Noor Asmah, who is the same age as with me, 26, except married with two children, both boys, a 6 year old and a 2 year old, if she missed her husband when he went away for work, it was with a laugh that she responded. Which in turn, made me laugh as well.
‘No!’ she emphasised with a wave of her hand. And the other two women we were sitting with all laughed as well. And yet a deeper current ran under this light-hearted exchange between women laughing at having some space without men in their life. It was that here in this centre that Mallika has created with Dropss, one had the sense that these women could be themselves. Asmah could be the intelligent, driven and ambitious woman I could see in front of me. As opposed to being subjected to a role that perhaps inhibited that.
Her friend, Noor Fathima was keen to show me her embroidery book. Pages of embroidered flowers and birds. One sensed this was a gentle soul, keen to have encouragement that her work was of value. We swapped note pads and wrote our ‘autographs’ in each other’s, before the meeting was called.
To illustrate the level of engagement in the room, the burning curiosity there was one example that stood out to me. As is the custom with each organisation we visit, we go around the circle and introduce ourselves. After we had gone through, Vanu went on to speak in general as two other members of the group stood on the outside. Sonia and Reece are recording the journey for Unltd via film and camera, this means that of course quite often they stand on the periperhery so they have the freedom to move around. Seeing that they hadn’t been included in the introductions, there was a very pointed turn in their direction, a sort of no, we do not proceed until everyone has been introduced. It felt not that we were dictating the order of the day, but quite correctly that the leadership was coming from them. Sonia and Reece were called over and they did their introductions as well and we continued. But watching this small little moment just fascinated me. Watching the tidal movement of the women having their say, being present to the truth and wanting more than us, who for a moment were sort of oh okay lets just proceed. It made me feel like I was watching something, however small, that was deeply significant. These women were in control and not afraid to show it.
Later one of the questions we asked them was how their lives had changed as a result of the work they did. The answer from a young women sitting near the front was that before they had been a culture of dependency. Before they would never have the courage to come to a meeting like this. They spoke of how there was a growing respect in the community about the work that they did and how their goal is to teach the next generation. I say goal and not dream, as dreams can sometimes feel as if they exist in other worlds. Goals happen in this world. And I think that there was unanimous agreement amongst us that this model, this project was one that had every chance of success, as long as they are able to focus on their market, gain some support from design and marketing experts and thus grow. But more than this, these women are committed to this project. This vital factor I would say is the life blood of any successful development project. It highlighted to me the importance of something a Cambodian professor I met in Phnom Penh recently said, that ‘until you have happy humans, you cannot have happy projects.’ Projects imposed from the outside can shrivel to a halt if the people you are working with are not engaged. With Dropss the women’s spirit, commitment, skills and utter conviction in their work is what will propel them forward. I found this inspiring and indeed a deep lesson to sink into for any work I may do in the future.
Lunch was served on banana skins. We ate in silence: the sound of a good meal. Afterwards we drove in tuk-tuk’s to visit another woman’s house for some sprite, biscuits and fruit and a mini sari fashion show where I found myself being dressed in a sari of my favourite colour – a deep purple. It is always interesting how clothes can have a different effect on you. A flowing skirt can make me just want to twirl and twirl and a high necked top makes me feel very straight, serious. The sari ensemble made me feel so shy. Inhibited. Unsure and timid. It was a relief to get it off if I am honest.
On the journey to Naggapattinum we stopped off at a Temple. I wandered (or wondered?) off by myself and met a Brahmin monk called Ganesh. He sort of came up in a manner that made me think of the word ‘jaunty.’ Like a Ghandi figure who had gone a bit sqew wiffy. When I had circled the temple, we bumped into each other again and he asked if he could take the flower I had brought for 20rps at the entrance. I said of course and handed it to him and he walked off quickly and beckoned for me to follow him. By the time I had caught up with him to the shrine he seemed to guard, I saw that he had fashioned my flower into a beautiful eccentric hat for the Ganesh statue from which he took his namesake. It was wonderfully wacky and made me smile. He then came up and shared his Bob Marley philosophy of ‘Don’t worry, Be Happy.’ This is my philosophy he said. And then more seriously and quietly he went on to repeat the words of my favourite mantra. Om Namah Shivaya, which means I bow to Shiva, who represents the supreme reality, the inner self. It is the name given to the consciousness that dwells in us all. And in the way he spoke the mantra, his eyes still, his face quite serious and calm I felt a more real connection to him then when he was quoting Mr. Marley. This came from within.
From the temple we then had a four hour journey to our next hotel. I have always loved long traveling times as they provide such golden moments to sit beside someone and really get to talk. To share. I spent most of this journey chatting to Heather and our conversation was just another testament to me of the power of this Learning Journey. I think most of us on this trip feel that our hearts are completely interlinked with our heads in our careers. Our jobs are the stuff that make our hearts beat and yet at the same time, utterly engage and engross our heads. Indeed this was pretty much the answer that Sue gave to one of the young women who asked us at Dropss if we were happy in our jobs. Yes Sue had answered, yes we are. Our heads and our hearts are very much together. So on the long road jourmeys we have been making, sitting next to someone else whose own journey has been very much led by their heart, it is but a joy to exchange stories, and be open to wherever that may take you.
I am aware that this is a whopping blog. My apologies. And I am perhaps even more aware that the next part of this blog no doubt sounds trite and superficial. But it is a memory in my mind and so it is one I will share to round off this blurbish about last Friday. Arriving at our hotel The Bungalow on the Beach in Tranquebar, there was an almost childlike gallop of excitement as Sue, Cath, Will and I rushed to each other’s giant big whopping rainbow coloured rooms. Built in the 17th Century, each of our cave like rooms was painted in colours you see in a Chagall or Matisse painting. Vibrant, full of spirit and soul. Pinks, greens, burnt copper reds and turquoise. The colour of the sea we dream about. Suffice to say when I spoke on the phone to one of my colleagues back in London attempting to give a brief summary of the trip with the sound of the crashing waves and laughter of the table in the background, I think it was a moment when the line between the heart and the head, the sense of freedom and happiness and duty seemed very blurred indeed.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
9th March Aravind Eye Hospital. Jim's entry
It is an early start this morning.We are expected to arrive at the internationally acclaimed Aravind Eye Hospital at 0830 and we need to allow enough time to negotiate our way through heavy traffic. It was our first breakfast at the L’Orient Hotel and we were all enjoying the best meal of the day before 0715. The food was excellent with a wide choice of European and South Indian cuisine. We sat in an open court-yard and the accompanying warm breeze made the surroundings special. Our Wi-Fi Internet connection at the Hotel was not working – which was frustrating - but not crucial to our survival. Internet connections are a bonus and not a necessity – who needs e-mails everyday anyway?
Our small convoy of cars arrived spot on time at the Aravind Eye Hospital. It was located in pleasant well kept grounds and it looked like a substantial Hospital with several interlinked buildings very much in the Indian style of construction. We were met by The Head of HR who kindly invited us to a smart Board Room, where we left our personal belongings before embarking on the tour of the main administrative block, outpatients’ area - treatment and waiting areas - and some of the hospital wards – both private and public.
The hospital was founded in 1976 and has now become one the largest Social Enterprises in the world. There were just 11 beds then– now there are 4000 - in Tamil Nadu alone – treating just under half a million people per year, operating on over 100,00 patients annually and holding nearly 1500 eye camps per year. These are staggering statistics by any standard.
The hospital’s mission is to “Eradicate needless blindness by providing appropriate compassion and quality eye care for all” Here they treat all aspects of eye problems from the most basic to the most complex eye surgery. In Tamil Nadu State they a cluster of five major managed hospitals in Theni, Tirunelveli, Madurai, Coimbatore and Pondicherry that support “eye camps” – i.e. taking treatment to the people of the local area. Every week fifteen separate eye camps are held – all seeing around 300 patients per session. Many people are treated in situ – others are taken to the nearest eye hospital for in- patient treatment.
India has the highest number of blind people in the world; much of the blindness is totally unnecessary; many of these cases can be cured. India’s blind population amounts to one fifth that of the whole world. Aravind Eye Hospital has reduced the cost of cataract surgery down from \$80 to $4 per eye. Patient Care is the raison d’être of the hospital’s best practice. Effectiveness, Value for Money, Financial Sustainability and Reaching people in need constitute the core aims that must be achieved.
The Hospital treats both self paying clients and those who cannot pay anything but a token contribution. 55% of out-patients pay, 45% do not. For surgery 43% pay but 57% do not. About 12 percent of patients are insured through a private or work place schemes – producing 20% of the income to the hospital. Other contributory income is produced from surplus income profits from the hospital’s five divisions that produce and manufacture: lenses, blades, sutures, instruments and pharmaceuticals. Other income is derived from the hospital selling assistance to other providers of in the form of teaching, training, consulting, research, publications and advocacy. There is a belief that “Sharing makes you stronger” – something which we all endorsed.. The Aravind Hospital Medical Research Council works in the areas of microbiology, community based research, epidemiological surveys, clinical trials and genetics. The Hospital is involved in managing four other major eye hospitals in Northern India which are large and substantial and adopt the same social entrepreneurial philosophy.
We visited the main open public wards and typically 18 beds were in one very large room,less than two feet apart. The individual private rooms vary from a small single room at 250 rupees per day and increase to 450 / 600 / 1000 rupees a day according to the size and facilities of the room. A room costing1000 Rupees per day would include a small living room, separate bed room with two beds (one for support person) and an en suite toilet / washing facilities.
The methodology used in outreach work has been developed with creativity. Teachers have been trained to screen local problems, Satellite Medical Centres have been created, and WI-FI Centres have been constructed thanks to the help of University of Berkley in California. Vision Centres are located throughout the state and partnerships exist with local Physicians. Diabetes and Glaucoma awareness and treatment campaigns are co-ordinated throughout the year.
Extensive further information can be obtained from the Medical Directorate at the Aravind Hospital who will co-operate with anyone in the furtherance of their social and medical mission.
I was totally amazed by the scale of the operation. I felt privileged to be shown such amazing facilities. The care, support and technical competence of the staff was evident to be seen by all of us. The dedication of every one was a credit to the management of the services. It is their ambition to become the biggest provider of eye care in the world – and it will not be long before they reach their target. What is sure is that they are keeping to the principles of Dr G Venkataswamy, (1918 – 2006), the Founder of the Aravind Eye Hospital.
The Trustees of the Hospital delegate all day to day professional work to the Medical Directors and their staff. This is a model that works well and can be replicated elsewhere in other medical fields. From a personal point of view I liked the paying according to means practice and I wonder how this can be used elsewhere?
We spent about four hours on the site visit. A colleague who proposed a vote of thanks to the Medical Director and his senior staff said in her thank you speech that “Seeing is Believing”.... How I echo that phrase. I am grateful to the Learning Journey Team for facilitating this instructive visit – it was very valuable to me.
We arrived back at the Hotel L’Orient in Pondicherry just before 1.00 pm and in time for a tasty lunch. This is a hotel with a great record of cooking and serving delicious French food and I enjoyed a bowl of their French Onion soup with French bread. That will set me up for the next adventure here in India which will be described by another of my social enterprise colleagues tomorrow.
Our small convoy of cars arrived spot on time at the Aravind Eye Hospital. It was located in pleasant well kept grounds and it looked like a substantial Hospital with several interlinked buildings very much in the Indian style of construction. We were met by The Head of HR who kindly invited us to a smart Board Room, where we left our personal belongings before embarking on the tour of the main administrative block, outpatients’ area - treatment and waiting areas - and some of the hospital wards – both private and public.
The hospital was founded in 1976 and has now become one the largest Social Enterprises in the world. There were just 11 beds then– now there are 4000 - in Tamil Nadu alone – treating just under half a million people per year, operating on over 100,00 patients annually and holding nearly 1500 eye camps per year. These are staggering statistics by any standard.
The hospital’s mission is to “Eradicate needless blindness by providing appropriate compassion and quality eye care for all” Here they treat all aspects of eye problems from the most basic to the most complex eye surgery. In Tamil Nadu State they a cluster of five major managed hospitals in Theni, Tirunelveli, Madurai, Coimbatore and Pondicherry that support “eye camps” – i.e. taking treatment to the people of the local area. Every week fifteen separate eye camps are held – all seeing around 300 patients per session. Many people are treated in situ – others are taken to the nearest eye hospital for in- patient treatment.
India has the highest number of blind people in the world; much of the blindness is totally unnecessary; many of these cases can be cured. India’s blind population amounts to one fifth that of the whole world. Aravind Eye Hospital has reduced the cost of cataract surgery down from \$80 to $4 per eye. Patient Care is the raison d’être of the hospital’s best practice. Effectiveness, Value for Money, Financial Sustainability and Reaching people in need constitute the core aims that must be achieved.
The Hospital treats both self paying clients and those who cannot pay anything but a token contribution. 55% of out-patients pay, 45% do not. For surgery 43% pay but 57% do not. About 12 percent of patients are insured through a private or work place schemes – producing 20% of the income to the hospital. Other contributory income is produced from surplus income profits from the hospital’s five divisions that produce and manufacture: lenses, blades, sutures, instruments and pharmaceuticals. Other income is derived from the hospital selling assistance to other providers of in the form of teaching, training, consulting, research, publications and advocacy. There is a belief that “Sharing makes you stronger” – something which we all endorsed.. The Aravind Hospital Medical Research Council works in the areas of microbiology, community based research, epidemiological surveys, clinical trials and genetics. The Hospital is involved in managing four other major eye hospitals in Northern India which are large and substantial and adopt the same social entrepreneurial philosophy.
We visited the main open public wards and typically 18 beds were in one very large room,less than two feet apart. The individual private rooms vary from a small single room at 250 rupees per day and increase to 450 / 600 / 1000 rupees a day according to the size and facilities of the room. A room costing1000 Rupees per day would include a small living room, separate bed room with two beds (one for support person) and an en suite toilet / washing facilities.
The methodology used in outreach work has been developed with creativity. Teachers have been trained to screen local problems, Satellite Medical Centres have been created, and WI-FI Centres have been constructed thanks to the help of University of Berkley in California. Vision Centres are located throughout the state and partnerships exist with local Physicians. Diabetes and Glaucoma awareness and treatment campaigns are co-ordinated throughout the year.
Extensive further information can be obtained from the Medical Directorate at the Aravind Hospital who will co-operate with anyone in the furtherance of their social and medical mission.
I was totally amazed by the scale of the operation. I felt privileged to be shown such amazing facilities. The care, support and technical competence of the staff was evident to be seen by all of us. The dedication of every one was a credit to the management of the services. It is their ambition to become the biggest provider of eye care in the world – and it will not be long before they reach their target. What is sure is that they are keeping to the principles of Dr G Venkataswamy, (1918 – 2006), the Founder of the Aravind Eye Hospital.
The Trustees of the Hospital delegate all day to day professional work to the Medical Directors and their staff. This is a model that works well and can be replicated elsewhere in other medical fields. From a personal point of view I liked the paying according to means practice and I wonder how this can be used elsewhere?
We spent about four hours on the site visit. A colleague who proposed a vote of thanks to the Medical Director and his senior staff said in her thank you speech that “Seeing is Believing”.... How I echo that phrase. I am grateful to the Learning Journey Team for facilitating this instructive visit – it was very valuable to me.
We arrived back at the Hotel L’Orient in Pondicherry just before 1.00 pm and in time for a tasty lunch. This is a hotel with a great record of cooking and serving delicious French food and I enjoyed a bowl of their French Onion soup with French bread. That will set me up for the next adventure here in India which will be described by another of my social enterprise colleagues tomorrow.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Thursday 5th March - Dorothy's entry
I felt good today after the retail therapy in FabIndia yesterday. Others had gone for a massage or an Astanga Yoga class or followed up contacts made earlier.
So today we're up early to get away from Chennai and get to Kuvatar by coach and the Grassroots Foundation on our way to Tranquebar.
First stop is with Dalit fisherwomen who catch prawns and crabs by diving down to the bottom of the river when they feel them brushing by their feet. The Tsunami caused huge problems for their livelihoods. They have no choice about making a living for themselves, the price for prawns varies between R100 and R200 a kilo. One woman we met has been working all her life fishing - she's 50. They get no government help at all. There are new houses being built by the river but they seem to be for other fisherfolk.
Seemingly the Grassroots Foundation www.grassrootsindia.org previously worked in urban areas but since the tsunami moved to help Dalit (lower caste)children in 15 coastal villages.
The staff we meet are great upstairs where there is a cool breeze which helps me with the incredible heat ( and the odd hot flush), many of them working with Children's Rights group, helping them with homework clubs,re-registering for school if they've dropped out and they've formed a children's parliament which discuss concerns like early marriage and human rights.The Fullstop campaign they've started is great - a card is sold for a rupee round the houses stating that this family disapproves of early marriage ( the girls would like the age raised to 21) is placed on the front door to spread the word of the campaign. Some interesting questions come up - they wanted to know the average age of marriage in UK. The younger generation are being offered skills to allow them choice in the future - they recycle unused newspapers to make pretty containers by rolling the sheets up finely and weaving to make baskets. Some make disposable plates by sewing some leaves together and with paper mould them into a plate with a lip - much preferable to polystyrene. Others are involved with making chutneys for the local market using prawn, ginger,mango, and lime. A refreshing drink of coconut milk is gratefully accepted - it's full of electrolytes don't you know. They are such a happy crowd of people and the village is quite picturesque I could feel the positivity for the future that Grassroots Foundation have brought to the community.
We lunch at a roadside cafe and carry on for 4.5 hours down the coast to Tranquebar or Tharangambadi and the magical place that is Bungalow on the Beach.
So today we're up early to get away from Chennai and get to Kuvatar by coach and the Grassroots Foundation on our way to Tranquebar.
First stop is with Dalit fisherwomen who catch prawns and crabs by diving down to the bottom of the river when they feel them brushing by their feet. The Tsunami caused huge problems for their livelihoods. They have no choice about making a living for themselves, the price for prawns varies between R100 and R200 a kilo. One woman we met has been working all her life fishing - she's 50. They get no government help at all. There are new houses being built by the river but they seem to be for other fisherfolk.
Seemingly the Grassroots Foundation www.grassrootsindia.org previously worked in urban areas but since the tsunami moved to help Dalit (lower caste)children in 15 coastal villages.
The staff we meet are great upstairs where there is a cool breeze which helps me with the incredible heat ( and the odd hot flush), many of them working with Children's Rights group, helping them with homework clubs,re-registering for school if they've dropped out and they've formed a children's parliament which discuss concerns like early marriage and human rights.The Fullstop campaign they've started is great - a card is sold for a rupee round the houses stating that this family disapproves of early marriage ( the girls would like the age raised to 21) is placed on the front door to spread the word of the campaign. Some interesting questions come up - they wanted to know the average age of marriage in UK. The younger generation are being offered skills to allow them choice in the future - they recycle unused newspapers to make pretty containers by rolling the sheets up finely and weaving to make baskets. Some make disposable plates by sewing some leaves together and with paper mould them into a plate with a lip - much preferable to polystyrene. Others are involved with making chutneys for the local market using prawn, ginger,mango, and lime. A refreshing drink of coconut milk is gratefully accepted - it's full of electrolytes don't you know. They are such a happy crowd of people and the village is quite picturesque I could feel the positivity for the future that Grassroots Foundation have brought to the community.
We lunch at a roadside cafe and carry on for 4.5 hours down the coast to Tranquebar or Tharangambadi and the magical place that is Bungalow on the Beach.
Tuesday 3rd March - Heather's entry
Tuesday – I’m excited this morning as today we are to leave Chennai and head out along the coast which was affected by the Tsunami in 2004 (how strange it is to realise how that disaster affected us as no other event as we watched and saw the death rate rise and the devastation to so many places) to visit the Irula tribal village near Mamallapuram.
But first we are to meet the founder of the Irula Tribal Women’s Welfare society Krishnan in the hotel and what an inspiration he turns out to be! His commitment to making a difference to the tribal people of India began , when as a young man, he was staying with some ‘tribals’ for his studies and following an accident he arranged to take a seriously injured woman to hospital and ended up giving his blood as a transfusion to save her life and in return the family sold their cow to give him their life savings in return for his humanity. He went on to found the organisation to encourage the tribal people to use their knowledge of the forest and its creatures to earn an income – today we will visit the snake catchers who milk the snakes they catch to sell the venom as an antidote to the hospitals.
But first the village – on arrival we are greeted by the women leaders and a gang of children all of whom recognise Alix and shout cheerful greetings! The people here were gathered together into a village after the Tsunami and have created their own community but not without difficulty – there is a local disagreement over the access road to the village and they still walk a fair distance to collect drinking water. But one woman proudly shows me the rose bushes and herbal plants she has managed to grow in the village and each of us is given a large marigold (from her garden) as our welcome gift.
They appear quite settled into the houses and the village they have created and I wonder how quickly the hunter gather tradition is gradually disappearing in the world. The challenge will be I guess to create a sustainable income for the families – many of the men are away from the village working on a construction project. There are still fishing nets and I ask if they catch many fish – less now than before the Tsunami as the freshwater was turned to salt.
But first we are to meet the founder of the Irula Tribal Women’s Welfare society Krishnan in the hotel and what an inspiration he turns out to be! His commitment to making a difference to the tribal people of India began , when as a young man, he was staying with some ‘tribals’ for his studies and following an accident he arranged to take a seriously injured woman to hospital and ended up giving his blood as a transfusion to save her life and in return the family sold their cow to give him their life savings in return for his humanity. He went on to found the organisation to encourage the tribal people to use their knowledge of the forest and its creatures to earn an income – today we will visit the snake catchers who milk the snakes they catch to sell the venom as an antidote to the hospitals.
But first the village – on arrival we are greeted by the women leaders and a gang of children all of whom recognise Alix and shout cheerful greetings! The people here were gathered together into a village after the Tsunami and have created their own community but not without difficulty – there is a local disagreement over the access road to the village and they still walk a fair distance to collect drinking water. But one woman proudly shows me the rose bushes and herbal plants she has managed to grow in the village and each of us is given a large marigold (from her garden) as our welcome gift.
They appear quite settled into the houses and the village they have created and I wonder how quickly the hunter gather tradition is gradually disappearing in the world. The challenge will be I guess to create a sustainable income for the families – many of the men are away from the village working on a construction project. There are still fishing nets and I ask if they catch many fish – less now than before the Tsunami as the freshwater was turned to salt.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Monday 2nd March - Sue's entry
Feeling extremely sluggish I stumbled into the hotel pool for an early morning swim before the delights of breakfast. Its amazing how quickly eating curry for breakfast not only seems normal – but just what you fancy. On the way in I picked up the hotel ‘Message of the Day’ which was reflecting on the ‘path to happiness’. Without copying out the whole A4 text there were some elements that sprung out about the role that the act of giving imparts. This idea stayed with me for the day as different aspects brought me back to the value base of social enterprise and the question of what defines a really effective social enterprise from less effective or possibly damaging structures and processes.
Vana led a short session at breakfast that built on the night before and gave more context to the situation here in Tamil Nadu. From a modest and quiet start Vana’s knowledge, involvement and passion started to become more apparent and it was good to start to see what a lot we had to learn from others in the group and how initiatives were developing in such an environment
Then off to visit Sri Arunodayam and to meet the young founder, Iyyappan. A project which he set up because of his own personal experiences, for children with mental disabilities found abandoned on the streets. For us this was our first real journey into urban Chennai and our first chance to engage in a small way with a group of people facing life and death gaps in basic care provision. Also the first real chance to see optimism, mutual support and simple pleasures of being and sharing together expressed.
Of all the visits this one proved to have probably the most profound effect on much of the group - at least up until the 2nd Reflection period. We had discussions long afterwards about aspects of the morning based around our emotional responses, our inabilities to do much more really than observe the work and activities for a few hours - just playing, holding and praising the children. There was an enormity about the challenges that the staff were facing, how this was just the tip of a largely unseen iceberg that left us feeling pretty insignificant - also a realisation for me that I had slipped from my comfort zone of being the expert with most of the solutions.
Vana led a short session at breakfast that built on the night before and gave more context to the situation here in Tamil Nadu. From a modest and quiet start Vana’s knowledge, involvement and passion started to become more apparent and it was good to start to see what a lot we had to learn from others in the group and how initiatives were developing in such an environment
Then off to visit Sri Arunodayam and to meet the young founder, Iyyappan. A project which he set up because of his own personal experiences, for children with mental disabilities found abandoned on the streets. For us this was our first real journey into urban Chennai and our first chance to engage in a small way with a group of people facing life and death gaps in basic care provision. Also the first real chance to see optimism, mutual support and simple pleasures of being and sharing together expressed.
Of all the visits this one proved to have probably the most profound effect on much of the group - at least up until the 2nd Reflection period. We had discussions long afterwards about aspects of the morning based around our emotional responses, our inabilities to do much more really than observe the work and activities for a few hours - just playing, holding and praising the children. There was an enormity about the challenges that the staff were facing, how this was just the tip of a largely unseen iceberg that left us feeling pretty insignificant - also a realisation for me that I had slipped from my comfort zone of being the expert with most of the solutions.
We were provided with a fantastic lunch where the art of eating with our right hand suddenly became an essential skill. One which I have to say we did get more efficient at as the week progressed.
Then onto the Rural Innovations Network. This was a real contrast to the morning, within the setting of a University institution - board room, power point etc. After introductions the two representatives from the Network present gave a run down of 2 quite different projects that they were leading on, one that was dealing with manufacturing work outsourced to villages and the other, ROPE which linked rural artisans with designers so that an improved quality product could be produced that could be marketed through international companies such a IKEA.
Paul, the founder of RIN, then summarised the overall work of RIN which provides seed funding, mentoring, scaling up of projects, developing partnerships and giving marketing help to new products. In the time available it was impossible to get more than a flavour of the initiatives. As always a few comments struck me personally. He suggested that in his work he felt that few investors understood the ‘markets for the poor’. He went on to talk about how the poor use their wealth – and suggested that a role of rural innovators should be to see how this could be better used for their benefit – but in a sustainable economic model for the social entrepreneur. The image on the screen was of a rural shop providing what farmers and village people needed – not what a traditional ‘for profit’ retailer might select to supply. And I have to say that the social entrepreneur in me loved that shop! I remembered in the early years when my business was a project, that we had played around with some of those ideas and piloted some approaches on our own estate- but these were wound down because at the time we hadn’t developed our own asset base or core business that now provides us with some stability. Definitely time to revisit some of these ideas on my return. However Paul also pointed out that only about 20% of innovators are also entrepreneurs … perhaps a personal message for me there as well?
The evening out again to dinner at a fabulous old palace meeting with a number of invited guests. Conversations ranging from climate change research to the problems looming for India with the credit crunch to a micro finance operation linking retailers with investment monies with emerging small social enterprises. Head now seriously starting to explode and the comfort of the hotel room a welcome retreat at the end of the day.
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