On 14th August, our team at Seva Mandir embarked on the latest trip to the field. The destination was Undithal village in Badgaon block which is located 52 kms out of Udaipur city. It is a picturesque place with outstanding vistas and an abundance of lush green fields. It is a quite and peaceful hamlet, the complete opposite to the hustle and bustle of Udaipur. However, it is a remote area which is hard to access as a result of the lack of transportation infrastructure. This is a major reason why Seva Mandir was invited to help the villagers with the development of their area.
That day, Seva Mandir was conducting one of the immunization camps which they carry out in various locations across southern Rajasthan. The purpose of the camps is to provide vaccinations for children aged between 12-24 months against diseases such as tuberculosis, tetanus, measles, diphtheria and polio. As well as providing vaccinations the nurse conducting the programme also carries out general health checks for the children and expectant mothers to make sure they are in good health. A traditional birth attendant (TBA) is also in attendance to give further advice to the mothers with regard to nutrition and well-being.
The service that Seva Mandir provides through the immunization programme is extremely important in Badgaon block. The TBA present says that prior to the inception of Seva Mandir’s immunization programme in 1995 the vast majority of villagers were not vaccinated against potentially fatal diseases. Before the camps were created the only place where parents could get their child vaccinated was the hospital located 25kms from the village. A trip to the hospital would cost 35 rupees and there would be no guarantee that the hospital would have the vaccine in stock. People would sometimes have to make multiple trips to the hospital in order to get the vaccinations.
The immunization camps have changed things in Undithal village for the better. Residents now only have to make a 1 km journey in order to get their children immunized and to have a monthly health check-up. The number of children vaccinated has increased significantly since the camps were created and diseases such as tuberculosis and polio are not nearly as prevalent as they once were. The TBA advises up to 120 families in the area now, which has improved antenatal care considerably. The nutritional advice given has also made families more aware of foods they should be feeding their children.
Our immunization programme has yielded positive results across the whole of southern Rajasthan. In 2016, 1,024 immunization camps were held in 108 locations, a total of 8,479 shots were administered, 805 children completed their immunization and 1,181 women completed theirs.
We are immensely proud of the improvements which have been made in southern Rajasthan and with greater support we hope to reach even more people in need.
Thank You,
Atul Lekhra and Seva Mandir Team
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Generally, when we share updates we focus on immunization camps run by Seva Mandir. But this time we would like to share the inputs of Lydia Walker who is from London and joined Seva Mandir as a volunteer. She had always been interested in the social sector and wanted to spend a few months volunteering in India. She recently visited one of the immunization camp run by Seva Mandir in Dabban village.
Here are her views, her insights from the field:
“Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit an immunisation camp at a village in Girwa Block. It’s 10km off the highway and has only recently become accessible by road. Households are dotted across the hilly landscape, surrounded by farmland which at this time of year is rock hard, dry and dusty. Sheep, goats and cows nose the barren ground. It’s over 40 degrees.
Many local people travel daily to the cities in search of work; we see them in crowded jeeps, men and children sitting on the rooftops. The children walk through the hills to reach the government school.
On our way into the village we pick up Lali, who is part of a Seva Mandir programme that trains local women to assist with pregnancy and births. As a Traditional Birth Attendant, Lali was six months ago responsible for the safe delivery of a breech baby. Without her intervention, she is certain the mother and baby would have died.
The local women know and trust Lali, so she is present at the immunisation camp to offer support and guidance. Women and children are already waiting patiently for the nurse when we arrive – a testament to Seva Mandir’s work educating people on the importance of immunisation.
Since the introduction of these camps, immunisation rates have increased from 5% to 37%. That means far fewer children are dying of diseases like tuberculosis, tetanus, measles, and polio.
The nurse changes into her beautiful white sari and lays out her equipment and records on a rug. More women and babies arrive and sit around her, speaking quietly and waiting their turn. The nurse administers immunisations to the babies, and gives the pregnant women a check-up.
The nurse finds that Neha, a pregnant woman in her early thirties, has a dangerously low iron level, putting her and the baby at serious risk. She refers Neha to the free clinic for pregnant women at the local hospital. Without interventions like this, women like Neha and her baby, living in remote areas miles from the nearest hospitals, are at risk of life-threatening complications during or after birth.
It was amazing to see this work in action. What a difference a day makes. Thank you for supporting an organisation that saves lives!”
I hope Lydia’s views have motivated you too to continue to be a part of this journey of providing immunization to these children and women. Last year, with the support from friends like you 3579 children were reached out through our immunization camps.
We are happy to share with you that recently we had participated in the GlobalGiving Photo Contest 2017 and our photo secured 1st position in the Hope category. All thanks to friends like you who had voted for our photo and helped us win the contest.
We are also excited to share with you that, on Wednesday July 12th, GlobalGiving will be matching donations in the GG Rewards Bonus Day. On this day donations will be matched by 50% and new recurring donations will be matched by 100%.
Every small bit, no matter how small helps us reach closer to our goal. We do hope that you will continue to support our project. This matching fund campaign will help your contribution go deeper.
Best Wishes,
Atul Lekhra and Seva Mandir Team
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Dear Friends of Seva Mandir,
Thank you for helping us to provide vaccines to the children from deprived communities. It is because of your support, we are able to organize monthly immunization camp in dozens villages of villages in southern Rajasthan, which is one of the poorest areas in the world.
Due to unavailability of basic health facilities, vast numbers of children in this area either receive no immunization or fail to complete the full course of inoculations to protect them from deadly diseases.
A 2003 study carried out by Seva Mandir with researchers from the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that the rate of full immunization in this area was as low as 2.66%. A more recent study shows that this has risen to 38.3% in areas where Seva Mandir has been running its camps – still much too low, but a significant rise which represents children’s lives saved.
We need your help to continue offering these life-saving vaccinations to small children in these villages. Our health programme trains nurses to give the injections and oral vaccines, and takes them to and from the remote villages they serve. We also train village women to offer advice and care to mothers of children between the ages of 0 and 5.
We couldn’t do this without your help.
With your support last year we have reached to 5101 children, through our immunization camps in 91 hamlets in southern Rajasthan. 6805 pregnant women were also assisted during their most beautiful yet difficult time of delivery through our birth attendants (trained local midwives). We are able to make this progress only because of the support from YOU.
We request you to extend your support during the week of April 3rd to 7th, in which Global Giving will be matching donations in Little by Little Matching Champaign . There will also be a 200% match for new recurring donations started during this week!
We hope to continue our work with your trust. To make a donation, please click the link https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/provide-immunization-india/
Should your travel bring you to this part of the world, please do consider visiting us.
For any feedback / suggestions, please visit me at atul.lekhra@sevamandir.org
Best Wishes,
Atul Lekhra and Team Seva Mandir
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Wishing you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Thank you for your support to our project ‘Provide Life Saving Vaccines in Rural India’.
With your support we began a new year and are excited about the hopes and surprises it will bring. YOUR support is bringing real changes in the lives of these children and women.
With your support last year we have reached to 5101 children, through our immunization camps in 91 hamlets in southern Rajasthan. 6805 pregnant women were also reached through our birth attendants. We are able to make this progress only because of the support from YOU.
We request you to sign up to a monthly donation by clicking on recurring donation of an amount that you want to give and help us to make sustainable progress in coming year.
We look forward to your continued support. Please do consider visiting Seva Mandir when possible. Once again, wish you a very Happy New Year to you and your family.
Best wishes,
Atul Lekhra & Seva Mandir Team
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Dear Friend,
Greetings from Seva Mandir, India!
Recently, I met a lady Kiran (name changed) who got married at a tender age of 17 and after her marriage shifted to Aad Village of Alsigarh in Girwa Block. Her husband Ketan (name changed) used to work for a stone mines, so very often used to stay away from home. During Kiran’s first pregnancy she was neither aware of any vaccination nor anyone to guide resulting in massive deterioration of her health and her child’s health. Her first child a boy was very weak and it was alarming for survival of both. During her second delivery her village members guided her to immunization camp run by Seva Mandir on her village. When she had joined she was extremely pale and was anemic and her weight was also critically low. Even after her delivery her newly born Parul (name changed), underwent complete immunization through the camp run by Seva Mandir. There is considerable change in Kiran's health, she conveyed her thanks to Seva Mandir for organizing such camp so that many such lives could be saved.
First kid remains weak and is still struggling to be physically fit and healthy. On asking her about government run immunization camp she said “since the place where the Government vaccination does take place, is quite far for me to walk to and also because I have never went out that far on my own”. The vaccination is free from the Government but has a poor reach to many places.
Seva Mandir run immunization camps take place within the village and at a central location where women can walk to, easily holding their children in their arms. Also, the camp takes place at a fix time and date each month. With the support from Friends like you, last year:
The birth attendant (traditional birth attendant in the village supported and trained by Seva Mandir) reminds everyone about the camp a day prior. She also explains the community about the immunization and its benefits.
I would like to thank you from all of us here at Seva Mandir, for being there for us in this important mission. Together we are reaching out to many more mothers and kids saving their lives. Your faith and untiring support is very critical to us.
Thank you
Regards
Atul Lekhra and Seva Mandir Team
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