• Table of Contents
  • How to Pray for Someone by Swami Veda Bharati
  • ‘Last Words of the Rishi’ by Dirk Gysels
  • Himalayan Neem Nursery by Sunil Trikha
  • Challenges on the Spiritual Path by Pandit Hari Shankar Dabral
  • Highlights from Korea
  • The Himalayan Tradition in Italy by Sabina Cesaroni
  • Surrender to the Wave of Silence by Jim Whiting
  • Lithuania Silence Retreat by Darius Plikynas, PhD
  • Health Camp for Virpur Khurd
  • A Contemplation on the GURU-Gita by Swami Nityamuktananda
  • Life’s Twists and Turns by Marylou P. Nunamaker
  • New Magazine Announcement
  • 2011 Events and Beyond
  • Full Moon Meditation Dates
  • Location of our SRSG ashram
• AHYMSIN Newsletter Archive

Health Camp for Virpur Khurd

A Joint Effort of SRSG and RDI

Virpur Khurd is a small village, of about 3 to 4 thousand population, around our SWAMI RAMA SADHAKA GRAMA Ashram. It was felt that we should serve the local people in whatever way we can. As it happened, the Managing Directors of the Ashram are Dr. Manju Talekar and Dr. Shirin Venkat. Both belong to the medical faculty and thus it was decided to hold a Health Camp. This was done on 30th May 2011 at the local Government Mother and Child Center.

The Rural Development Insitute (RDI) of the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust (HIHT) in Jolly Grant, India supported the initiative and joined with their pharmacist and health workers. Even the local Grama Panchayat (village governing body) and midwife and Asha workers all gave a helping hand.

The health camp was organized for women and children in view of the fact that Dr. Shirin Venkat is a well qualified Obstetrician and Gynecologist and her husband Dr. V. Venkat similarly is a well qualified Pediatrician.

In India women always take a back seat in the family and often neglect their medical problems until late. As it turned out, 70 women and 66 children turned up, and a great variety of problems was addressed most common being anemia, worm infestation in children, menstrual disorders in women and usually backache and headache! Medicines were dispensed free of cost and simultaneously education on nutrition, hygiene, contraception, AIDS and cancer was carried out via DVDs and one to one counseling.

The most significant aspect of this initiative is that the RDI (Rural Development Institute) will do a follow up every month and a year later we shall assess how successful we have been in helping the population.

Mr. Bhupendra, who is the Ashram Accountant, was the chief organizer of this camp; along with him all the ashramites worked towards making it a success.

Editor’s note:

Rural Development Institute (RDI), a rural outreach division of Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust (HIHT), was created by Swami Rama in 1991, with an intention for not only providing the people of underdeveloped area with quality health care, but also to ensure overall development of the people focusing on quality of life issues.

To read more about their work, please go to http://www.hihtindia.org/  and then go to the heading “Rural Development.”  They also have a Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/hihtrdi?sk=wall