Ganiyari, Chattisgarh

Ganiyari, Bilaspur district, Chattisgarh

I am an impressionable person. And the impact the experience here has had is something that I will remember for a lifetime. I came as a volunteer to Jan Swasthya Sahyog, Ganiyari.( http://www.jssbilaspur.org/) A  rural hospital in the midst of tribal areas caters to the health needs of the extremely deprived and neglected population of India. Been wanting to visit this place for long, and it finally materialises now and am I not thankful!

 A red brick cottage like structure houses a 100 bedded hospital catering to the complex healthcare needs of close to 250 villages in the vicinity. People commit to travelling long distances once and for all to get treated for their ailments and they are not disappointed. People wait patiently for 4-7 days awaiting their turn in the OPD queue. Yes, that’s the average waiting time unless its dire emergency. And once they are seen by the team of doctors which comprises of around 10-12 residents, 4-6 professors, the treatment is ensured in every way – medically, economically and socially. His follow up is  tailored to the distances and hardships he has to face and to the seriousness of this medical condition. If he is from Shahdol, the follow up can’t be very frequent, so ensure things are sorted for once before you recall him after a long gap. If a guy with bad cellulitis/ necrotising fasciitis comes from Annupur district, you better ensure the wound is finally healthy and granulating and preferable sutured secondarily or grafted before he goes back home. And the emphasis is on completing the entire treatment by hook/ crook. He may be asked to lie in the dharamshala or the hospital parapet walls (lined with stone slabs) to ensure that.

Nobody is shooed away from OPD. The sense of duty and responsibility is imbibed by everybody who works here. The amazingly high load of tuberculosis raises debates of social injustice, right to nutrition and the systematic violence of neglect in the so called infrastructure of the nation. The Mckeown principle talks about the idea of social conditions being the fundamental causes of diseases; and this I learnt via discussions amongst the people here. A book that I started reading here (borrowed from someone who works at this place) is called ‘Freedom of Want’; it mentions the art of recognising genesis of social conditions as one of the most important quality to serve the larger masses and purposes in a community.

‘Gar firdaus bar – rue zamin ast,

Hamin asto, hamin ast’

When Amir Khusrau said that, he meant Kashmir (which is no way close to that condition presently), but as a medical practitioner I believe, I believe this place is a heaven for the patients being protected under the wings of this place.

I get enamoured easily by things but might hesitate to advocate for it, but not in this case.

More in next.