Joe and Lotte at the Sambhavna clinic in Bhopal, India - Blog number 5

Blog 5

A community alive!..

We have had a really fun couple of days focusing farther a field from just the clinic.

First was our day in the garden. Although we have been enjoying Sambhavna’s beautiful medicinal garden during all our time here, we hadn’t managed to do any work with the staff there as yet. Also as it is wet season and it will rain at least a bit everyday, the plants are transforming at an impressive rate! When we came they were brown, dry stems in cracked dusty earth wheras now what you see are rows of lush green leaves, each area a different shade and form, with their brightly coloured flowers busting into life. It was definatly the time to learn a bit more about them!

Initially the chosen plant has to be cut, not only the leaves but even large stems were also collected. We roughly cut the big bundle (about 6 full armfulls) into small enough pieces to fit in what looks like a huge wok. The wok had water poured into it as well and there was a gas burner underneath which heated the whole concoction. The plant browned and stewed, slowly bubbling down. Later several plants are added togther with a a black sticky base also made from other plants. This way the essences are bound together and through further drying and processesing a browny/ black substance is formed. This can be made into long sausages, small segments of these sausages are then broken off and pressed round and round between you thumb and forefingers – Pillrolling takes a long time and is very repetive so we investigated some plant powers while we twiddled..

Plant: Azadirachta indica (Neem)

Use: Antiseptic, burns, eczema, worms, gingivitis, measles, diabetes, rheumatism.

Plant: Vitex nergundo (Nirgundi)

Uses: Analgesic, lumbago, aphrodisiac, greying of hair

Plant: Tinospora cordifolia (Giloy)

Use: Aphrodisiac, rejuvenator, anti-pyretic, immuno-modulator, asthma, rheumatism, stimulant, diuretic, Vitamin C

We also saddled up with the community outreach workers this week. The 7 strong team had been a mystery to us until we approached them asking to visit a colony with them. Covering 14 communities (or bastis locally speaking) the team works in male/female pairs each visiting 4/5 bastis per day. These are all gas explosion or water contaminated areas and from the photos you can see are also very poor. The Basti we visited is sited by the Union Carbide solar evaporation ponds an area where chemicals from the plant were piped for storage or concentration. In addition one of the cities main railway lines runs through the centre of the housing and perpendicular to this a fly-over is being constructed carving a path through peoples homes and livelihoods.

This location really highlights the lives of many in India who struggling to find shelter where they can are so easily pushed around by those with more power.

The silver lining however is the community spirit. The outreach team now have a network of volunteers located all across the area who are trained up to provide various forms of health promotion. We met one lady whos role was to educate the locals about malaria risks at monsoon season. A spot map we were shown highlighted the stagnant water locations in the Basti and the relevant volunteer locations adjacent to them who warned residents to take precautions during this season.

These workers also provide acute medical screening for those in the community unsure, worried or physically unable to seek treatment at Sambhavna clinic. We visited what we were told was a 14 year old boy but it soon transpired he was infact a 20 year old man whos growth had been compromised by a polio infection as a child. A recent turn for the worst had left him with what seemed to be agonizing neuropathic pain but, unable to even leave his bed, it was proving difficult to seek effective treatment.

Its clear help does not finish when the community team leaves at the end of the day. Long term projects such as community herb gardens help cement the people’s trust in Sambhavna and further build the local cohesion. Donations were being collected for the next planned garden and in a wonderful gesture of trust the key for the donations box is left with a member of the community. This seems symbolic of the empowerment of locals in taking responsibility for the health of themselves and future generations.

So keeping with the themes of beauty and nature we spent the weekend in Pachmarhi. This hill-station is famous amongst Indian families, in particular honeymoon couples, for the mesmerizing beauty and cool relief it provides from the heat of the flat plains in summer. The location was discovered in 1857 by Captain James Forsyth of the British Army which lead to the formation of the hill station and a sanatorium there. The state of Madya Pradesh itself is probably the least visited by Western tourists in India. This holds true for Pachmarhi also and this can be frustrating when at some points 5 minutes struggles to pass without a request for a photograph. This seemed hilariously ironic that in such a photogenic location people were more interested in a pair a sunburnt students but c’est la vie! Besides this though we were swept away by the lush jungle valleys, waterfalls and temple caves.

We headed down the long stone pathway as sunset and reached the shrine in near darkness. Imagine if you can stepping down into the jet black water by the shrine to wash with invisible fish nibbling your ankles as frogs croak eerie songs somewhere beyond your vision.

Love as always

Joe and Lotte

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