Blogging

If you really want to know what I have been doing all summer, you should check out the team blog. That blog gets updated a lot more than this one. http://india.help-international.org/

P.S. Blog post on its way! The internet has been a little unpredictable, but it is getting better every day!

Cutie Patooties

So, I have fallen in love with two of the cutest little girls. Their names are Celestine (5) and Jessaline (2). I want to take them home with me.

Here they are learning about mascara.

Lip Gloss

Seriously, are they not the cutest girls?

Hysterectomy Pt. 2

Namaste-

I know it has been a while since I last updated my blog. However, I do have a good excuse for not responding to emails and updating my blog. I have been working like a mad woman creating presentation materials, holding health groups, lectures, and other project related things. The next few posts will be a bit boring, but they will update you on what I have been doing. As mentioned below, one of the projects I have been working on is raising awareness and educating rural women about unnecessary hysterectomies. Yesterday, Julie (one of the HELP volunteers) and I went to Sangareddy to meet with the District Collector of Medak. The purpose of this meeting was to raise awareness about the issue and ask the District Collector to release one of CARPED’s posters. Unfortunately, Julie and I did not bring a camera to the meeting, but I must say that the District Collector was incredibly intimidating. I am not sure if it was the lighting, the format of the room, or his personality that made me and Julie very nervous. Don’t worry, the presentation went well and the District Collector is planning to release the poster within the next few days. In addition to releasing the poster, the District Collector wants CARPED (the NGO that HELP is partnering with) to develop a health plan for women who have undergone an unnecessary hysterectomy. Victory! I know, this post is very short and is probably missing a few important details. Perhaps in the future I will fill in the blanks. Tomorrow I will post about the women's health group.

P.S. I love India, but the monkeys are a bit out of control. There are a couple of monkeys who come visit our house every so often and create havoc. Posted above is a picture of the monkey who keeps biting off the installation of one of the A/C units. She may look harmless in that photo, but she is vicious!

Tippy Tap Pt.2

The Tippy Tap Health Education Project

After building our first tippy tap as a pilot study to assess the best way to educate the residents in the slums in response to reducing deadly diarrheal diseases, our team realized that we needed to go beyond just building the tippy taps to educating these individuals and families on the basic healthy hygiene practices.

For the remainder of our time here, we will be partnering with SAPED, a local NGO, in conducting health education classes for the residents within the slums. Some of the educational material includes, germs, germ transmission, proper hand washing techniques, how to build and maintain a tippy tap and diarrheal as well as other infectious easily transmitted diseases.

During the process of holding these education classes we will be training local health leaders to hold theses health education classes to the point that they are able to confidently carry the remaining classes out while we are there supporting and evaluating the progress and needs of our project.

By the end of this project our goal is to have SAPED to be able to sustain and continue to train health educators on this project and who will then have the skills necessary to educate other rural areas throughout India in building Tippy Taps and holding the health education classes.

Diarrheal and other infectious diseases are completely preventable by simply washing hands with soap and water. Let’s make a difference one tippy tap at a time through Public Health work.

-JS and MC