The ‘Love the One’ team have restarted their Mercy Home clinics and have been travelling all over Kerala to see the children in seven Mercy Homes. Mary and Cat saw the children with the help of their trusted translators, Nimmy, Shalil and Preslin. Andy did an excellent job of entertaining the children through play and basic child health demonstrations whilst the children were being seen.

   

During just one clinic, there were many heartbreaking stories that the children had to tell. Many of the children have experienced all kinds of abuse before arriving at their Mercy Homes, including sexual abuse. A recent report by UNICEF and Save the Children found that at least 53% of all children in India experience sexual abuse, which probably means the rate is higher amongst the Mercy Home children. The needs were very great and there were a lot of medical problems to treat including scabies and other skin infections as well as undiagnosed asthma and eye problems.

Each child was counselled and received free medical treatment and the Mercy Home parents were encouraged to keep going in the amazing work they are doing. Over the following few weeks the team are continuing to travelling across Kerala to do weekly clinics for these needy children.

On arriving back in August (2009) Ben, a medical student from Nottingham, joined the team for a month to lend a hand in any way he could. During the last week of his trip, the ‘Love the One’ team visited a tribal mission hospital in the hills along the border of Tamil Nadu and Kerala states. The tribal hospital has been running for 20 years, providing health care to the local tribal people. Over the years, the work has expanded to also provide schooling for the local tribal children as well as meeting the needs of the local tribal village including well digging and electric fences to prevent elephants from trampling their homes.

The lead doctor at the hospital has asked for ‘Love the One’’s help in setting up a small neonatal unit and paediatric ward. Many of the tribal women have very small babies that need extra care at birth, so the hospital is very keen to develop this area to help more children.

The team had time to see the hospital, children’s hostel and school. The school is in the process of expansion, to accommodate the increasing number of children from the tribal areas who now receive an education. The hospital is very busy with four dedicated doctors running it who have backgrounds in general medicine and cardiology, obstetrics and surgery. They also run a nursing college to train community health workers. Many of the students this year are former pupils from the school.

The team then travelled into the mountainous tribal areas to visit a couple of tribal villages. The first village the team visited was overshadowed by a massive wind turbine at the head of the village. Surrounding the village was a electric fence, to keep out wild elephants, which are a real nuisance to the villagers. The houses were fairly simple, made out of thatch, and there was an outdoor bathroom with a cauldron on bricks for heating up some water. We later found out that despite the massive turbine, the village relied on a single solar panel for their own electricity.

The following day we all attended a ward round. Ben was tested on his knowledge of all things tropical and Mary and Cat had a chance to review the needs of the hospital for a prospective neonatal unit. They are both very excited about helping to develop this work in the future.

After two months back in the UK, the Love the One Team arrived back in India (August 2009) refreshed and ready to continue their work with Mercy Homes. With one day between getting back and another team of three volunteers arriving from the UK, there was a rush on to get the house back up to speed and cleaned after two months of absence.

The new team (2nd year medical students) arrived from all over India, Ben arrived via Chennai after a 6 week tour of India, and Becky and Philippa had arrived from Mumbai after flying in from the UK. Straight away the guys were put to the task of painting the office and clinic. Instead of providing them with the details, Cat and Mary left the guys to their own devices and to their own tastes in terms of colour. When word started leaking out that the scheme was 'paediatric,' both Cat and Mary looked worried, however, at the unveiling, their reaction was undoubtedly positive.

The volunteers also spent time helping to reorganise the house, and prepare Love the One for the influx of visitors expected over the next few months. They also managed to tidy up the 'Treasure Chest,' and added a number of items that had been brought over from the UK.

In the last couple of days the volunteers have also been visiting a few Mercy Homes, carrying out checks on children that have been brought with medical complaints, and were even able to attend an Indian wedding next to one of the homes, as well as spend a night on a house boat down in Allepey.

With so many keen and enthusiastic volunteers coming out here, Love the One is looking ahead to a fruitful and positive new phase. Permission has come through for the first phase of building on 'Kidz Haven' to begin, and more Parenting and Healthcourses are planned for Mercy Home parents. With your support and kindness, Love the One is making headway – one child at a time.