Mobile clinic, visiting a village

Continuing from the previous blog.

The staffs of mobile clinic go around the entire village to persuade patients who should be checked up by the doctor to visit the clinic and let villagers noticed the mobile clinic has come.

We went around the village with them.

I found the village was cleaner than other villages, almost of all the houses were made of mud but maintained.  Although there were many mosquito larvae in ditches filled with black water. I understood why the NGO staff had explained about the infectious diseases by mosquito to the patients lately.  There was no cemented ditch but natural one in the village.  Some big ditches looked like ponds with less black water and many mosquito larvae were there.  I saw some ladies were washing dishes beside hand pumps where were surrounded by moss grown by dirty stagnant water.

I talked with the NGO staff about lots of matters while we were walking through the village.   He told me that they have meetings with the committee members of the village frequently, to know the situation of villagers' diseases and what kind of problems they have.  He said that they can't understand the real situation of villagers by visiting the village sometimes.  He said "Well communication with villagers is necessary to understand their real situation.  We always try to listen to their voices.  Though it is impossible to improve something about village, if all the villagers co-operate together to improve it, it will be possible.  Our aim is not only giving medicines but also enhancing villager's awareness on health."  I thought that's the way they explained about the solution of mosquito related problems.

I've been given lots of knowledge this time too.  I appreciate to the NGO staffs for telling me many things gained through their experiences. We will go forward for Mothers & Infants health care project with what we have learned form them.

A training of social workers in a village (visiting mobile clinic)

8th March 2013, we visited a village with a mobile clinic team for a training of the social workers(a lady and a gents) from a village of the Mothers & Infants Health Care Project by NGO Children Aid.

(Mobile Clinic means that doctors and medical staffs go to check up patients in villages where there is no medical facility there. Long experienced NGO Root Institute (Saxena clinic) co-operated us to visit the mobile clinic)

The village we visited this time is in a area of Bankebazar, it took an hour to get there from Bodhgaya by car.  The village is very near to the border of Bihar - Jharkhand States.  This area is very famous of Maoist Guerrilla  activity.  We asked the medical team whether it is safety or not for foreigners to visit there, and the team told us that the village is adjacent to main road and safer, then we decided to visit. 

The building been used for the clinic is a government school in the village.  A staff said to me "we are using this building since last month.  Before then, we used a building as a clinic opposite the main road.  Suddenly, the building was destroyed by explosion and then we had shifted here." 

In these few years, Bihar state has been very peaceful.  I thought the situation became very stable, I have noticed that there are still dangerous areas by hearing what the staff was saying.

Bihar state government fought very hard against the guerrillas and it became very peaceful here.  But, it is easy to hide in jungle, and easy to move between another state for guerrillas, so they are hiding in the areas where it is near the border of both states. 

After many patients gathered in the building, the NGO staff started to explain about the common diseases and sanitary matters to them.  Our project is focusing on health of mothers and infants.  We also have health education class about diseases and sanitary matters. Our aim of bringing our social workers who were selected by village leaders last time is let them learn how to organize and how to explain by seeing the activity by themselves.

The theme was "About prevention against being infected by mosquito bite" this time.  The staff explained the symptoms of malaria and told that person should bring the patients to a government hospital when he have found the patients have been in the symptom immediately. He asked some questions about the prevention, how people can prevent from mosquito bite.  And he explained that using mosquito net is very effective, and adding kerosene oil into puddle around house makes it possible to prevent from breeding of mosquito, and burning neem leaves that has an effect of insecticide is effective for making mosquito death.  

I'm always admiring when the staff explains about the prevention of diseases by using usual and common things for villagers for it, because villagers don't have much money and electricity too.  

The two of social workers were listening to the explanation by the staff seriously.  After that, I asked them what they felt and found, the lady social worker told me that she knows about the Kerosene oil effective and she actually uses it for cleaning her house. I thought she can learn more things in future.

Our students attended "the celebration of second anniversary of Master's visit"

6th March 2013, Our students attended "the celebration of second anniversary of Master's visit" to Bodhgaya organized by Happy Science Bodhgaya.

6th March 2011, Master Okawa who is a founder of Happy Science which supports our school visited our school to see the students.  The celebration was to commemorate the day.

All the teachers and students practiced in their performance hard everyday for this day.

They performed with the gratitude.

Happy Science has started the support of our school since Nov.2007, and it helped us to provide everyday meals and uniforms and textbooks for students.

Before starting everyday meals, the health of the students were bad because of malnutrition, and they couldn't concentrate to their study too.

After starting everyday meals, their health were improved with nutrition and they were able to concentrate study and the result became better miraculously.

Last year, all of our ex-students (11th class now) got their marks in the matriculation test higher than the average of the students in private schools.

The children who live in the house made of mud and were afraid of less food, now the same children have their own future dreams and try hard to make their dream come true in future.  They have hopes in their future.  We believe that if the children get a chance to take education, through their efforts, they can make their life in better direction.  

This time, some teachers also participated in a drama, traditional dance, fork dance, and western dance by students were also great performance!

I appreciate all the teachers to spent their time for the preparation of this program.

Health education class in a village (child marriage)

25th Feb.2013, We held a Health education class of Mothers & Infants health care project at a village.

Since the day, we used a room of a public building (that was ex-building of our school before shifting) there and we kept all people outside the room so that we can talk with the mothers about them and their babies in detail by calling them one by one.

Till last time, we called a mother to check up her and her baby in front of all people and asked her surrounded by all in the veranda, so they couldn't say anything, because they felt hesitation to talk about their internal problems in front of many people.

After all, in spite of using the room, it became congested with crowd gradually, and Reika madam scalded them to get out of the room many times, and children run away each time.

That day, two ex-students came there.

One of them was a brilliant student who was top in her class and we had expected her future very much at that time. All of sudden, when she became 13 years old, her parents forced her to marry, and after her marriage, she had some babies dead before birth few times in a few years, now she became a mother of two children.

She brought her children who are 4 years old and 1 year old.

When I saw her children I recognized them as her children because of their faces were similar to herself.

She came to ask me "Please allow my child to study at your school" as a mother.

While we check the babies weight and height, we talk with the mother and her baby to see their situation.

And we recommend them to go to clinic when we find some problems in their health by their growth.

Then, we made a map by hearing them one by one where their houses are so that we can visit their houses in near future.

After checking weight of babies, then we check the blood pressure of pregnant women.

Another ex-student was in the line of them.

Reika madam asked her questions while checking her BP.

She told that her first baby was dead in 4 months after being pregnant.

And this time is second pregnant for her.

I was surprised when her elder sister married early few years ago, and I noticed that I have never seen her these days at our school, and she married too.

She was forced to marry by her parents.

When parents find their child became taller as same as them, then they think the child have to marry.

Actually, the law in India does not allow marriage below 18 years old for girl.

But, the customs of child marriage continue in rural areas still now.

When the girl is small, her parents make her engaged with her future husband, and the girl stays with her parents until her menstruation starts and after that the girl will be sent to her engaged husband's house, this is common in village.

Marriage itself is not a bad thing, but I think that the one's decision when and whom to marry is ignored, and in the child marriage case, the mother's body is not mature to be pregnant so it might be some problems with pregnant and delivery for both of mother and child.

It is very difficult to change the thinking of villagers.

Our power is very small but I'd like to help mothers in village to live better and happier life through this project.

Japanese special class (Parts of Kanji, Map of Japan)

On 23rd Feb., We had a Japanese special class. I taught parts of Kanji form, and map of Japan.

This time, new other students joined the special class. And I explained why do they study Japanese language, and future plan.

I teach students Japanese language not only Hiragana and Katakana which are easier to write but also Kanji.

Kanji are unlimited and very difficult to remember many of them because they have complicated shapes.

For native user of Kanji like me, it is more easier to read the sentences with kanji comparing to without Kanji. Kanji are pictorial form of written style, so if you can understand the meaning of essential Kanji shapes, you will be able to understand complicated Kanji too. Difficult Kanji are made by being jointed with some essential Kanji shapes.

I taught the students parts of Kanji so that they can understand more complicated Kanji in further class.

Having taken much time for teaching the parts of Kanji, time for teaching map of Japan became very short.

And we had a dictation test in Japanese. They did good!