May 2007 (Volume 4, Issue 2)

Giving Back...

In February of this year I spent a month working with Developing Indigenous Resources (DIR), a non-governmental health care organization (NGO), operating at the Janata Colony. Janata Colony is an urban slum of about 2000 households. It comes under the jurisdiction of Punjab and borders the northwestern fringes of Chandigarh, ironically enough just some distance behind the PGIMER. The colony faces the typical problems one would expect: high rates of childhood malnutrition, a huge burden of preventable diseases, severe overcrowding, and poor hygiene and sanitation. Under the stewardship of Dr W. Frederick Shaw (see editorial), the NGO has been working at the ‘bustee’ for the last 2 years and has gradually made a significant impact on the health of the colony. The NGO aims to gradually expand into surrounding villages and slums in Haryana and Punjab and is frequently in the news these days for their good work. For details on the modus operandi of the NGO and their unique and sustainable approach to tackle health problems of a community, visit their website (www.dir-help.org).

My hope in making this trip was to develop a partnership between our college and the NGO, and in particular, to encourage medical students to move out of the boundaries of the medical school and engage in ‘hands-on’ clinical and research projects in the community which they serve. I felt that not only would working with a new genre of healthcare i.e. of a NGO broaden their range of experiences, but that they could learn immensely from Dr Shaw who has spent the last 35-40 years of his doing public health related work in various developing countries including India, Pakistan, Philippines and in Africa. Irish but settled in California, Dr Shaw is a spry individual and despite being in his 70’s, has a demanding work ethic, discipline and commitment to his work that is very motivating and sometimes awe-inspiring.

I was able to achieve a few of my objectives during my visit. It is unclear at this time how much of these will eventually bear results, but it was a good starting point.

1. After meeting and interviewing several students at the college, candidates interested in community-based research were encouraged to come and meet Dr Shaw at the main office of DIR in sector 8. About 15-20 odd students eventually had an hour-long meeting with Dr Shaw. A few students also visited the colony to get a lay of the land.

2. On the basis of the above and their interest in specific areas, the following students proposed specific ideas for research projects, including:

a) Supreet and Neha: ‘Anemia in adolescent males in an urban slum’,

b) Jaskaran and Aakash: ‘Prevalence of vitamin A deficiency in under-5 children at an urban slum’,

c) Tribhav Goel: ‘Natural history of parasitic infections in children under 5 years of age in an urban slum’.

3. A meeting was arranged between Dr Shaw and the Director Principal of the college, Dr H. M. Swami. There was a discussion on how there might be future collaborations between the Medical College and DIR and if it would be feasible for medical students to visit field sites of DIR and engaged in research projects.

4. There was a meeting with the core group of people involved with Koshish led by Krishan Sawhney. The most pressing issues were  registration of Koshish as a non-profit; whether or not, and if, just how much to involve faculty; making sure Koshish funds were not misused; and make a database of alumni, especially in India, to encourage fundraisers and increase awareness of Koshish. A pleasant interlude was an article on the Koshish group and their efforts in the Times of Chandigarh in the ‘Campus Buzz’ section (February 27, 2007).

5. Thanks to our donors, funds for Koshish are still coming in even though our annual fund collection drive has long been over. We have now collected about Rs. 1.3 lakhs ($3200); Approximately Rs. 70,000 has been used by the Koshish team for helping several patients and another Rs. 10,000 has been earmarked for ‘Koshish Research Funds’.

The month would not have been possible without the ‘three musketeers’- Divyanshoo Kohli, Harshabad Singh, and Krishan Sawhney. They went out of the way on numerous occasions to arrange meetings with students and accommodate my schedule, and most importantly, provided valuable constructive input. Many thanks!

Sandeep Kochar

’93 batch

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