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

Tippytap

Every day in India almost a thousand children die from diarrhea. The sad part about this statistic is that nearly all of these diseases could have been prevented by one thing: soap. HELP International is hoping to reduce the number of these deaths by building the Tippytap in the slums. The Tippytap is a revolutionary, simple idea that promotes hand washing in rural communities. The best part about this product is that anyone can make it because it is made of sticks, string, a plastic container, a nail, and a match. If you would like to learn more, please watch the video posted below. This is public health!

Soilets

One of the projects the HELP International India team is extremely excited about is the soilet project. Currently in India more people have access to a cell phone than they do a toilet. As a result, you have houses in slums or rural villages that have cell phone towers or satellite dishes but no toilet. As a result, many women, men, and children use the streets as their own personal toilet (See video posted below). If you need more proof, I will happily post pictures of people urinating on the street. No, I am not actively looking to take pictures of people urinating, they are photo bombing my photos.

As you can imagine, the open defecation and urination have made traveling and running through the city a complete pleasure. However, one does get use to the smell…eventually. Luckily, HELP International has a solution to this problem, which is the soilet!

According to Sean (the team lead), a soilet is a toilet system that eliminates disease-causing waste disposal. These innovative toilet systems separate solid from liquid waste, composting the two elements into clean and nutrient enriched dirt. These systems—appropriately named “Soilets”—will significantly improve the poor sanitation conditions that contaminate the water supply. The possibility for these toilets is endless! They can significantly reduce the exposure of children to diarrheal diseases, and therefore reduce the number of preventable deaths. This project is what public health is all about, which is prevention of illnesses. HELP International India is hoping to start building the first soilet in a few days. The location will be posted later, but I can tell you that the locals are ecstatic!

Well, I promise to post soon. Namaste.

Twisty Bobcat Pretzel

Happy Sunday!

So, I have decided that my posts have been a little too serious. I decided that I would lighten up the blog by posting about my yoga master class. A few days ago I posted a very attractive photo of a yoga workshop class (See Picture 1). Well, I was so inspired by this poster that I convinced Melissa and Seth to go to the workshop with me.



Here are some of the highlights of this class...please do not be intimidated by our expert yoga poses. Caution: This class started at 5:00 am...therefore, makeup was not a possibility.



And this is what our poses should have looked like....

On the bright side...Melissa, Seth, and I were able to take a picture with the yoga master and met a cute little girl.

Well, I have all summer to work on these poses. By the time I come home I will have truly earned the title of "Twisty, bobcat pretzel."