A 'busman's holiday' for Dr Anne!
23rd June 2011

Anne, a paediatrician from the UK and a good friend of Cat and Mary travelled out in June to experience life in Podia... here's what she thought of her trip!

“In June I was fortunate enough to get to travel out to India and catch up with Cat and Mary in Podia. It was an amazing trip and I was amazed to see how much they have done in such a short time. When I first arrived we had a holiday so I could acclimatise and while we waited for the fantastic medical students (Jo and Jenny) to arrive! It was so hot, but Cat and Mary reassured me it was cooling down!!!

The journey from Hyderabad to Podia was spectacular and fun, we encountered Indian trains and then a long bumpy car journey before jumping into a small wooden boat to cross the river. The boat trip was interesting  and I was amazed how many people and motorbikes could squeeze onto a small boat! Apparently when it starts to fill with water that is normal! After another short drive we arrived in Podia itself.

In Podia I got to see first-hand the beautiful sheep shed clinic and the shiny toilet block! I saw patients come and go with smiles on their faces when they realised it wasn’t that scary and they even got a toy. And I even had the privilege of seeing the first inpatient who was too sick to go home the same day, but thankfully with the correct care and medicine he went home a couple of days later.

I had an opportunity to walk through Podia itself. It is a very rural place with poor housing and extreme poverty, child death is common and there are lots of public health issues like rubbish, poor sanitation and standing water which leads  to the large number of cases of infection including malaria. 

As part of the trip I was also able to go to some of the other children’s centres and help with some screening medicals to identify needs and medical issues. It was a great chance to meet local people and to see the difference that Love The One is making.

In the time I was in Podia word was spreading quickly and every day there were more patients needing to be seen.

Everywhere we went we were met with an amazing Indian welcome and brilliant hospitality. The food was awesome and thank goodness they made a milder curry version for the visitors in most places!

Thank you so much to all my new friends in India for looking after me, I can’t wait to come out and visit again!”