While doing vaccines, three members of our team were invited by Mr. S.K. Kaushik, the person responsible for polio in the area, to visit the home of the latest polio case in this area. Joanne & Jerry Larson and Shirley McCaughey were taken there.
At the home, they met 14 year old IGBAL BUSERI, son of Zahid Hussin and Hussan Buseri. Joanne says they must have known for years that this boys was stricken with this horrible disease. She gave him a tube (package) of crayons which he just rolled in his hands.
They asked if they could take the boy's picture and the Muslim parents said yes - removing the blanket from his legs to show the deformed and twisted legs of this poor child.
Quietly, one of the group said they need a wheelchair for this young boy. Immediately, the polio workers said he really needs a commode. Whenever he needs to use the bathroom, he has to be carried to the street. On the spot, our team members agreed to give him the commode.
In the villages, people use the washroom and the material is dumped into drains running along both sides of the street - just like they did in the old world. There are no sewage systems here.
As Connie Larson said when her mom told her the story, "This will give the boy his dignity back".
It was quite difficult for team members to tell if the boy has any learning difficulties because he has never experienced any stimulation.
Then someone said the other boy - the latest case - is a younger son of the same family. He is 2 years old - SAKIL KHAN. A man carried him into the house and he immediately started crying because of the strangers there. The parents showed the boy's leg - deformed by polio.
The family said the community really needs more medical visits. The doctor does not live in the village and has 15,000 patients to care for so he can only come once a week. The village needs great medical care - Rotary could help if they could change this.
The family wants an operation to help their young child - but they are very very poor and cannot afford treatment. Our team told the family that a doctor has to say that an operation is appropriate - if the doctor says "Yes" - Rotary will see that the surgery gets done.
Before leaving, team members promised to provide a commode and a wheelchair. The family said that would allow him to be wheeled out, see the village, see the shops, and see other people. All he does now is sit in his chair - all day.
Back on the bus, Shirley McCaughey tells the story to the others who were not there to see and people started giving her money. At last count, Shirley collected 9,000 rupee and Jerry has 12,000 rupee - that's about $900 dollars.
The group has already requested the Rotary Club of Delhi-West purchase the commode and wheelchair and if we can, it will be delivered before we leave India.
We are also asking for a medical assessment of the children to determine what should be done.
THIS TRULY IS ROTARY IN ACTION - as next year's theme says, Make Dreams Happen.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
A Message from Connie
Hi from India! This country is more than I could ever have imagined. The most humbling and amazing experience of my life.
Love to Brad, kisses for Valentines. Miss you all - Amanda, Bradley and a special hello to Mom and Dad in Mesa Arizona.
PS - kisses from Baba & Grandpa
Love to Brad, kisses for Valentines. Miss you all - Amanda, Bradley and a special hello to Mom and Dad in Mesa Arizona.
PS - kisses from Baba & Grandpa
International Membership Challenge
Karen Teichman PDG of District 7370 (Pennsylvania) her District currently has the highest percentage of new members of any District in North America.
Today, she met and challenged Mukesh Arneja, District Governor D3010 who says he will be the highest in the world - to a membership challenge.
RI Director Kjell-Ake Akesson of Sweden will act as the judge.
The District with the highest percentage on June 30, 2008 will present a Paul Harris Fellowship to the other.
Today, she met and challenged Mukesh Arneja, District Governor D3010 who says he will be the highest in the world - to a membership challenge.
RI Director Kjell-Ake Akesson of Sweden will act as the judge.
The District with the highest percentage on June 30, 2008 will present a Paul Harris Fellowship to the other.
Polio Day - Feb 10
If ever you thought you didn't have enough of the next toy or the newest car or the nice dress in the window - experience a Polio Immunization Day. It is the most amazingly exhilarating and dramatically humbling experience of this person's life. Children with little if anything, dirty hands, dirty feet, runny noses in the arms of mother's with deep concern for the health of their child hurrying to put their child in front of you for those life saving two drops of vaccine.
Our first stop today was in the streets of a village. Polio stations were set up and already children had been vaccinated prior to us getting there. Immediately we were poured on by people wanting their children vaccinated. No time to ponder. Just two drops in each child's mouth and a permanent marker on the finger to show they'd been done - an then a treat for each child. Many were things my fellow workers at OCIO donated. The mothers were so happy their child was treated.
One father came back we figure at least 7 to 8 times with children - all under five.
We visited four other stations before finishing at 1250 and heading back to the farm to meet the various teams.
From here I cannot upload pictures but I've taken lots to put up when we find a suitable stations to download so you can see. Many with actual drops being given and more with pictures of the hundreds of children.
We met some amazing Indian Rotarians today - some totally committed citizens of India who are working so hard to improve conditions for the people here. I cannot wait to write more.
I will write more but for now - this has been the trip of a lifetime and one I will speak about for a long long time.
Mark Brown
Our first stop today was in the streets of a village. Polio stations were set up and already children had been vaccinated prior to us getting there. Immediately we were poured on by people wanting their children vaccinated. No time to ponder. Just two drops in each child's mouth and a permanent marker on the finger to show they'd been done - an then a treat for each child. Many were things my fellow workers at OCIO donated. The mothers were so happy their child was treated.
One father came back we figure at least 7 to 8 times with children - all under five.
We visited four other stations before finishing at 1250 and heading back to the farm to meet the various teams.
From here I cannot upload pictures but I've taken lots to put up when we find a suitable stations to download so you can see. Many with actual drops being given and more with pictures of the hundreds of children.
We met some amazing Indian Rotarians today - some totally committed citizens of India who are working so hard to improve conditions for the people here. I cannot wait to write more.
I will write more but for now - this has been the trip of a lifetime and one I will speak about for a long long time.
Mark Brown
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
T-MINUS 25 and counting!!!
In approximately twenty-five hours, I will join three others from my Rotary Club - Dick Bergeron (president), Lawrence Furbish and Shawn Sullivan, at the location of our regular weekly meetings, and pack up the van to drive to Newark, New Jersey. Hopefully, several members of our Rotary Club and family and friends will be there to "Flag off our group" as they say in India. Each of us, along with all of the other members of our team from the US and Canada will plan to meet in Newark at the Continental Airlines ticket counter mid-afternoon tomorrow.
Over the past two weeks, I have been amazed and humbled by the outpouring of generosity exhibited not only by the members of the ROTARY DREAM TEAM - INDIA 2008, but also from family, friends and total strangers who have heard about our mission and have donated funds or gifts for children, and more. If one were to count up individual gifts, including pencils, pens, note pads, Frisbees, stuffed toys, solar calculators, tee-shirts, book bags, whistles, yo-yos, tiny plastic farm animals and dinosaurs, stickers with smiley faces, stickers with lobsters, pins with lobsters and pine trees and blueberries and apples, and so many more too numerous to list, we would have a total nearing 20,000!!! Once in India, members of the team will gather all of the gifts and sort through them to separate gifts for the little ones, gifts for teenagers, gifts for the women of the village, and make up packets to be distributed later on. I think each of us is taking one suitcase filled with nothing more than gifts!
This morning, I opened an Email from a dear friend, which was entitled, Where He wants me to be. It was a slide show set to the music by ENYA (one of my favorite singing artists) and was very moving. It brought back memories of a previous trip to India, when I was there for six weeks. After the third week, I found I was a bit lonely and began questioning whether or not this was where I was "supposed" to be. I paused a moment or two and prayed that somehow God would show me some kind of sign that I was, in fact, where I was supposed to be right then. A short while later, I arrived at a Rotary district-wide cricket match. As I stepped from the car, and began walking on the grass, a white butterfly with sort of a purplish-blue edge to its wings flew up from the grass and circled my head three times. I looked up and it was gone, but I simply said, "Thanks!" If there is such a thing as coincidence, and I do not think there is, the fact that a friend shared the particular Email with me this morning, reinforces that where I am going and where all of my teammates are going is WHERE HE WANTS US TO GO. There is absollutely no question in my mind that as Rotarians, we ARE doing God's work throughout the world - that one step at a time, and one hand-shake ar a time, and one smile at a time, we WILL achieve better understanding person to person, thereby making the possibility of achieving world peace stronger.
Over the past two weeks, I have been amazed and humbled by the outpouring of generosity exhibited not only by the members of the ROTARY DREAM TEAM - INDIA 2008, but also from family, friends and total strangers who have heard about our mission and have donated funds or gifts for children, and more. If one were to count up individual gifts, including pencils, pens, note pads, Frisbees, stuffed toys, solar calculators, tee-shirts, book bags, whistles, yo-yos, tiny plastic farm animals and dinosaurs, stickers with smiley faces, stickers with lobsters, pins with lobsters and pine trees and blueberries and apples, and so many more too numerous to list, we would have a total nearing 20,000!!! Once in India, members of the team will gather all of the gifts and sort through them to separate gifts for the little ones, gifts for teenagers, gifts for the women of the village, and make up packets to be distributed later on. I think each of us is taking one suitcase filled with nothing more than gifts!
This morning, I opened an Email from a dear friend, which was entitled, Where He wants me to be. It was a slide show set to the music by ENYA (one of my favorite singing artists) and was very moving. It brought back memories of a previous trip to India, when I was there for six weeks. After the third week, I found I was a bit lonely and began questioning whether or not this was where I was "supposed" to be. I paused a moment or two and prayed that somehow God would show me some kind of sign that I was, in fact, where I was supposed to be right then. A short while later, I arrived at a Rotary district-wide cricket match. As I stepped from the car, and began walking on the grass, a white butterfly with sort of a purplish-blue edge to its wings flew up from the grass and circled my head three times. I looked up and it was gone, but I simply said, "Thanks!" If there is such a thing as coincidence, and I do not think there is, the fact that a friend shared the particular Email with me this morning, reinforces that where I am going and where all of my teammates are going is WHERE HE WANTS US TO GO. There is absollutely no question in my mind that as Rotarians, we ARE doing God's work throughout the world - that one step at a time, and one hand-shake ar a time, and one smile at a time, we WILL achieve better understanding person to person, thereby making the possibility of achieving world peace stronger.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Media publicity for our trip!!!
As mentioned, there are three Rotarians from District 6400 going on this NID/Chahalka trip. We are from three different Clubs, all on the Canadian side of the border (District 6400 is a dynamic group of 51 Clubs, 10 on the Canadian side - Windsor & Essex County - and the rest on the American side - Detroit, Michigan).
Ann Marie Athavale is from the Rotary Club of Windsor St.Clair; Aruna Koushik is the President of the Rotary Club of Windsor Roseland; and I am the Past President of the Rotary Club of LaSalle-Centennial.
Ann Marie's Club sent out a Press Release to the Windsor Star, giving them information about our trip. The newspaper, in turn, called Aruna for some details. The January 31st. edition of the Windsor Star carried a a six inch, one-column, length piece on the details of the trip, highlighting the positive aspect of the near-eradication of polio. The heading was 'Anti-polio campaign takes Rotarians to India'.
Then, on February 2nd., earlier this afternoon, the local radio station, AM800, called Aruna at home to discuss the impact of the trip. This piece will likely air sometime tomorrow, Sunday. Both these avenues of PR are terrific for Rotary locally, and I'm sure we can build on it when we return after a month with pictures and stories to fill much more than the six inch column!! I look forward to this.
Ann Marie Athavale is from the Rotary Club of Windsor St.Clair; Aruna Koushik is the President of the Rotary Club of Windsor Roseland; and I am the Past President of the Rotary Club of LaSalle-Centennial.
Ann Marie's Club sent out a Press Release to the Windsor Star, giving them information about our trip. The newspaper, in turn, called Aruna for some details. The January 31st. edition of the Windsor Star carried a a six inch, one-column, length piece on the details of the trip, highlighting the positive aspect of the near-eradication of polio. The heading was 'Anti-polio campaign takes Rotarians to India'.
Then, on February 2nd., earlier this afternoon, the local radio station, AM800, called Aruna at home to discuss the impact of the trip. This piece will likely air sometime tomorrow, Sunday. Both these avenues of PR are terrific for Rotary locally, and I'm sure we can build on it when we return after a month with pictures and stories to fill much more than the six inch column!! I look forward to this.
Friday, February 1, 2008
FIVE DAYS AND COUNTING...
It is hard to believe that in just a few short days, those of us from the USA and Canada will be traveling toward Newark, New Jersey, where most of us will meet for the very first time at the waiting area near the Continental Airlines ticket counter. Some will have checked bags all the way through from their original points of departure to Delhi, while the majority of us will be checking our luggage through from Newark.
When we meet, we will each get a name tag from Past District Governor Kelly Wike, a team member, who volunteered to make them for us. We will then each get our official shirt and then try to spread out the remaining shirts we will take with us to our counterparts in India, so that nobody will be over the limit for weight of checked bags. Each of us already has bulging suitcases and duffel bags - filled with toys and goodies, educational gifts, bottles of bubbles, Frisbees, pens, pencils, coloring books, and the list goes on and on. How will we EVER cram all of this stuff into the alloted space?
We will then check in and board the aircraft which will be our home for about 17 hours - nearly 15 of which will be in the air! Although we are seated scattered throughout the plane, I am confident that the other passengers on board will know our ROTARY DREAM TEAM - INDIA 2008, within a few hours of our departure!
A few acknowledgments: First - to all those individuals, Clubs and Districts who have contributed funds toward our project, our heartfelt thanks. We have raised well over $50,000 to fund the creation of the ROTARY VOCATIONAL AND COMPUTER TRAINING CENTRE OF CHAHALKA, as well as the ROTARY DAY-CARE CENTRE OF CHAHALKA. (don't try to find it on a map - the closest area nearby is Sohna). Second: to Marge Barker and TD BankNorth of Portland, Maine, thank you for the most generous contribution which paid for our official shirts - they are fantastic and each of us will not only wear them with pride while working on the National Immunization Day against polio in India, but also will cherish the shirt as a reminder for years to come of the wonderful experience we have shared. Third: to Bruce Lamb and Springvale (Maine) Hardware - as in years past, has contributed fifty pair of work gloves for our team to wear to protect our hands from the cuts caused by sand, rocks, and the burning from the toxic concrete mix and the paints we will be using. Fourth: to Ghisaline Berube of Casco Bay Gardens of South Portland, Maine who donated over fifty tubes of LOBSTERMAN'S BALM, which each team member will use and enjoy to take care of chapped and cracked hands. Fifth: to Ray Richardson and Ted Talbott of FOX NEWS 23 - the local affiliate in Portland, Maine for inviting me to join them a few days ago on their morning news show, to share with their viewers and listeners information about our trip. Sixth: to our family, friends, Clubs and Districts - thank you for your support. Each of us has paid for his or her own way on this trip. Each of us will be leaving family for two weeks. Each of us will be absent from work or school for two weeks. We could not do this without the help and support of others.
Finally, to Rotary International for being the most wonderful service organization in the entire world. We have no political or religious agenda. We have one purpose, only, and that is SERVICE TO OTHERS. Thanks to Rotary, millions and millions of children have been immunized against polio throughout the world, and the campaign continues until polio is eradicated from the face of the earth. From Bill and Melinda Gates with their gift of $100 million to the poorest of the poor who can neither read nor write - all have one thing in common and that is the TRUST OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL to do what is right and to bring about greater understanding among the peoples of the world, one step at a time, so that we will have an impact, we will make a positive difference, and we WILL ACHIEVE WORLD PEACE.
When we meet, we will each get a name tag from Past District Governor Kelly Wike, a team member, who volunteered to make them for us. We will then each get our official shirt and then try to spread out the remaining shirts we will take with us to our counterparts in India, so that nobody will be over the limit for weight of checked bags. Each of us already has bulging suitcases and duffel bags - filled with toys and goodies, educational gifts, bottles of bubbles, Frisbees, pens, pencils, coloring books, and the list goes on and on. How will we EVER cram all of this stuff into the alloted space?
We will then check in and board the aircraft which will be our home for about 17 hours - nearly 15 of which will be in the air! Although we are seated scattered throughout the plane, I am confident that the other passengers on board will know our ROTARY DREAM TEAM - INDIA 2008, within a few hours of our departure!
A few acknowledgments: First - to all those individuals, Clubs and Districts who have contributed funds toward our project, our heartfelt thanks. We have raised well over $50,000 to fund the creation of the ROTARY VOCATIONAL AND COMPUTER TRAINING CENTRE OF CHAHALKA, as well as the ROTARY DAY-CARE CENTRE OF CHAHALKA. (don't try to find it on a map - the closest area nearby is Sohna). Second: to Marge Barker and TD BankNorth of Portland, Maine, thank you for the most generous contribution which paid for our official shirts - they are fantastic and each of us will not only wear them with pride while working on the National Immunization Day against polio in India, but also will cherish the shirt as a reminder for years to come of the wonderful experience we have shared. Third: to Bruce Lamb and Springvale (Maine) Hardware - as in years past, has contributed fifty pair of work gloves for our team to wear to protect our hands from the cuts caused by sand, rocks, and the burning from the toxic concrete mix and the paints we will be using. Fourth: to Ghisaline Berube of Casco Bay Gardens of South Portland, Maine who donated over fifty tubes of LOBSTERMAN'S BALM, which each team member will use and enjoy to take care of chapped and cracked hands. Fifth: to Ray Richardson and Ted Talbott of FOX NEWS 23 - the local affiliate in Portland, Maine for inviting me to join them a few days ago on their morning news show, to share with their viewers and listeners information about our trip. Sixth: to our family, friends, Clubs and Districts - thank you for your support. Each of us has paid for his or her own way on this trip. Each of us will be leaving family for two weeks. Each of us will be absent from work or school for two weeks. We could not do this without the help and support of others.
Finally, to Rotary International for being the most wonderful service organization in the entire world. We have no political or religious agenda. We have one purpose, only, and that is SERVICE TO OTHERS. Thanks to Rotary, millions and millions of children have been immunized against polio throughout the world, and the campaign continues until polio is eradicated from the face of the earth. From Bill and Melinda Gates with their gift of $100 million to the poorest of the poor who can neither read nor write - all have one thing in common and that is the TRUST OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL to do what is right and to bring about greater understanding among the peoples of the world, one step at a time, so that we will have an impact, we will make a positive difference, and we WILL ACHIEVE WORLD PEACE.
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