Home > Tribal Health
We are delighted to reflect on and compile this yearbook for you all to read. The yearbook has briefly enlisted the ongoing programs at Sirumalai Health Center, and we have chosen a few of the many impact narrativesthat Sirumalai has created on itstarget community.
SITHARA in collaboration with PEAK Trust has extended its community medical outreach services to 10 more tribal hamlets in the Lower Palanis. The focus in these outreach shall be towards anemia and chronic disease care .
A holistic development of the community is possible and meaningful only when its stakeholders are empowered.
To ensure this the SITHARA Team has been holding multiple dialogues with the tribal communities to understand the needs of the communities . The pressing needs of the community identified by the communities were in spheres of
1. LIVELIHOOD
2. EDUCATION
The tribal communities of the Palanis who are essentially gatherers and marginal farmers often find it hard to receive a fair price for their gathered forest goods or produce making it hard for them to make their ends meet especially during the lean periods.
SITHARA encourages the communities to actively participate and come up with solutions for sustainable development of their communities.By involving the communities in the decision-making process, they can leverage their unique insights and experiences to address challenges effectively. This approach not only fosters a sense of ownership but also helps ensure that solutions are tailored to the specific needs of the community. SITHARA facilitates these discussions among the communities and helps them implement the feasible solutions .
Many from the indigenous communities drop out from schooling post matriculation and do not pursue higher education due to lack of caste certificates . With the help of our community volunteer Ms Sangeeta we have made our maiden attempt to apply for community certificates for 8 folks from the tribal hamlets out of which 2 have received their certicificates.
That’s Otchammal from Pethuparai village. She often brings her peran(grandson) for cough- cold to our village clinics. She, herself is a hypertensive who recieves NCD (non communicable.disease )care from us. While checking her blood pressure this time. I asked her to show her mouth.
Otachmmal became shy and kept covering up her mouth.” The tobacco stain is visible , please put your shawl down Amma ” She started laughing as I confronted her.
Tobacco chewing amongst women is very common in this region. Many of them have caries teeth and the argument is tobacco helps to numb the pain. The pain is so severe that I need to keep a krambu(clove) along with tobacco. I have heard it all.
It’s been a while since the center facilitated a single time camp. Usually we avoid it until we know we can bring in continuity of care. However, this time we made an exception and decided to do it when Pushpanjali seva group approached us. The camp was conducted in Poombarai village.
It was a general medical camp with eye screening as well. Screening for Diabetes and Hypertension was done. Those who needed Ecg and other blood work such as haemoglobin and creatitine, for them those were done. Demography wise Poombarai is a big village. Total of 150 people visited. No of elderly was high and so was the number of those with CAD. We hope in future we will be able to cater to this region as well.
Let me take through a visual imagery of one fine morning when a young lady walked in with her father with a kattapai (bag)in her hand. Her father was limping and she remarked he has been in pain and walking around. She asked if we could help him with his pain. Her father , an old man, Mr yugu (name changed) was made to lie down on the examination cot. His left knee was tied with a dirty looking yellow cloth. What happened I asked pointing to it? There is a wound which he developed 6month back. Treated it in the local GH from where was referred to the bigger GH and then no avail so some alternative treatment was taken. He was healing but he fell down and again the wound has started discharging. I opened the wound and two minutes I was stupified
I could not take that sight. The knee joint was open! Patella bone detached and hanging to the lower end, almost redundant…
On asking again how this happened? She mentioned Yugu one day drank so much so that he slept by the fire unaware and burnt his knee and since then the knee appears so.
We took pus culture and xray to rule out osteomyelitis and have been focusing on his wound healing. The daughter has been a caregiver, works at construction site and says if the wound heals it’s sufficient. I can’t take him to other hospital if you suggest for any further surgery and move around. So understanding the family’s expectation and background.
Anyone who has climbed to the Bodhi zendo in kodi would know what a steep climb it is to his home in Kamman natrajar nagar and it is unlikely this man would turn up for dressing at all. So he has also been recruited for our #communitybasedrehabilitation program where our first focus is wound healing in his case. Sr Padmavati each day diligenty dresses his wound and reports. Each week once the doctor visits him for a review.The last review that we have had shows granulation tissue and signs of wound healing… We hope he heals soon.
That’s Otchammal from Pethuparai village. She often brings her peran(grandson) for cough- cold to our village clinics. She, herself is a hypertensive who recieves NCD (non communicable.disease )care from us. While checking her blood pressure this time. I asked her to show her mouth.
Otachmmal became shy and kept covering up her mouth.” The tobacco stain is visible , please put your shawl down Amma ” She started laughing as I confronted her.
Tobacco chewing amongst women is very common in this region. Many of them have caries teeth and the argument is tobacco helps to numb the pain. The pain is so severe that I need to keep a krambu(clove) along with tobacco. I have heard it all.
This reminded me of Dr Milini from CHD who would do the Dental screening and tobacco awareness program during our Arogya grama camps in my alma -mater, Bangalore Baptist Hospital.
The initiatives of SITHARA are currently focused on providing high-quality responsive and dignified primary care to the rural mountain communities as well in creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for the tribal communities
Feel free to reach us through below medium