The Non-Government Organizations (NGOs)

The NGOs are the reason we go to India and the reason the IHI is in existence. There is mutual benefit for both us and the NGOs. While we are there we are volunteering at each agency as well as providing education and resources to the staff and volunteers. Also while we are there we have the opportunity to learn about the culture in India, observe how things are done and hopefully become better, more well-rounded and culturally sensitive health professionals.
For this summer of 2012 we will be visiting three NGOs in India (click the name of each to be directed to their website).

1 – Families for Children

Families for Children (FFC) is a private, non-profit, non-sectarian agency operating homes that care for hundreds of destitute children and women in India and Bangladesh. FFC was founded in 1971 by Sandra Simpson, of Montreal, Canada, when she became aware the plight of children in Vietnam. There, she facilitated many adoptions of mixed race and handicapped kids to the USA and Canada, and helped raise funds and supplies for homes run by Rosemary Taylor in Saigon. Today, Sandra still supervises all the organization's activities, and runs the sponsorship program. Her work for children has received official recognition in recent years by the award of the Ontario Medal, and the Order of Canada.

This year we will be assisting by donating school and childcare supplies to the organization. While there we will provide classes and workshops on pain management, feeding techniques and wound care (all needs for information and resources are self-identified by the agency). There is also an opportunity for the OT students and the nursing student to assist in providing care to the children and mothers in need.

2- Amar Seva Sangam

Located in a beautiful valley in the state of Tamil Nadu, Amar Seva Sangam (ASSA) is literally a haven for the underprivileged and disabled to excel. SSA is dedicated to providing, rehabilitation and education to Indian Youths on its 26-acre campus which contains clinical, primary school and vocational training facilities.
This year we will be involved in a sensory integration unit in the school as well as working with the physiotherapist in the development of a training program for parents of children with special needs. We will also continue with projects that past IHI teams have started in this organization.

3 – Comprehensive Rural Health Project Jamkhed

The Comprehensive Rural Health Project in Jamkhed, Maharashtra, is an innovative community-based model of health care delivery focused on extending care to the rural, poor, and marginalized populations of the area. The project consists of a 50 bed secondary care hospital in Jamkhed, which annually treats about 20 000 outpatients, as well as many projects extended to the smaller villages around. These include mobile health teams, training village health workers, and providing various education and public health initiatives. There is a large focus on community-based care based on the principles of equity, integration, and empowerment. 

This year, the team will be volunteering at the Jamkhed hospital and where ever we can with the mobile health teams. This is the first year IHI has worked with the Comprehensive Rural Health Project, and we hope to build some strong relationships that future teams can build on.

NGO affliated with 2011 team - Lifeline Express

Lifeline Express is a mobile train “hospital” run by the Impact India foundation; it has been specifically created to address the growing numbers of undiagnosed and untreated persons with epilepsy living in rural India. The team of volunteer physicians, nurses, elders, and family members from each region participate in the running of free clinics and provision of free therapy. In addition, there is a large counselling and educative component to this project, for patients and families (removing stigmas, addressing faith healing, etc.) and also for local doctors to increase their proficiency in treatment and recognition of epilepsy. Their goal is to build up local networks of epilepsy caregivers that can provide support and relief to the many patients in need.