Our Story
In December 2009, twelve medical students packed their suitcases full of medical supplies, and with eager hearts, left for Ahmedabad, India. Our mission: To provide health care and services to the patients of Civil Hospital and aid with village health programs during our six day stay. We call ourselves ESCape to India: Education*Service*Culture. ESCape to India is composed of medical student volunteers dedicated to bringing health and hope to those who are less fortunate. We are an entirely student-run, and student-founded organization. We currently have twenty members, and continue to expand our presence.
Poverty and lack of medical care are daily obstacles to many of the people of India. Those of working age have left their villages for the cities in pursuit of jobs, leaving a town composed mostly of children and the elderly. As a group of medical students and professionals, we will use our collective knowledge and skills to address the health needs of the communities we serve.
More than just medicine is needed to improve the long-term health of the people we serve, and ESCape to India takes great strides to educate the population regarding the causes of these illnesses and the appropriate measures that can be taken to prevent them. The purpose of our first trip was primarily to make a community assessment, using interviews with villagers and focus group discussions following our stay in the city. In doing so, we collected demographic information to better understand where our efforts are needed most. Assessments showed that reproductive screening and management is an aspect of health that can be improved upon. Therefore, we plan to use monetary donations to purchase equipment and supplies for Pap smear screenings. Additionally, wound infections are commonly seen amongst the villagers; providing supplies and education of wound care will certainly augment community health.
Our vision and commitment is to return every year to the clinic and continue with medical follow-up and further address the health needs of the community by putting even more emphasis on education and long-term preventive medicine. Over the coming year, we will be actively fundraising and creating cultural awareness within our medical community to be able to return to our "adopted" village in Rangpur - a 4 hour journey from Baroda, India - with a physician, an abundance of supplies, and instruments. With these resources, villagers will be able to have access to more comprehensive medical care. Our preventive health measures include recruiting dental health professionals and providing education on dental hygiene, sexual health, and chronic disease prevention.
The Impact
In December 2009, we provided Rangpur village with 0.5 lakh rupees (US $1000) towards medical supplies and surgical costs. We treated 300+ patients with help from local translators and physicians recruited by the Shroff Foundation. This visit enabled us to understand cultural values and resources needed for future planning and development. One-fourth of the donations went to Civil Hospital's Patient Services Department, providing basic needs for patients during their hospitalization.
The remaining three-fourths were given to Rangpur village for surgical operations and measured through patients' pre/post-operative documentation. On our next trip, we will track patients seen with specific management plans using EMR to better tailor supplies and assistance needed, measure the number of medical supplies distributed, quantify health awareness through follow-up surveys, and conduct "training the trainer" workshops so that villagers can continue screening and preventive health education.
For this, we need financial support - most of us are funding our travel and stay in India completely out of pocket, and rely on the generosity of those like you to help provide sustainable health care changes to Rangpur village in Baroda.
What We Need ...
