IHI 2004

The team that formed IHI 2004 consisted of 3 medical students.  Before going to India, we networked with 3 different Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and set up various projects. The focus for IHI 2004 was on two major health issues: HIV/AIDS and physical and mental disability. The NGOs we worked with were Nalamdana in Chennai, Tamil Nadu which is involved in HIV/AIDS awareness building, Teddy Trust in Madurai, Tamil Nadu which runs a free HIV/AIDS clinic and also operates a School for the Mentally Challenged and Amar Seva Sangam in rural South India which works towards rehabilitation and education of the physically and mentally challenged. We prepared materials for the projects, and using the donations we received from you, we purchased or collected equipment or material needed by the NGOs. The funds that were raised by the India Health Initiative also went towards monetary donations to the worthy NGOs we worked with and to partly cover our travel and accommodations expenses.

IHI 2004 Team

The IHI 2004 team consisted of 3 medical students
Left to Right: Azad Mashari (Medicine 1), Rajan Suppiah (PT), Dinesh Krishna (Medicine 2), Lisa Mu (Medicine 1) and Akila Venkatesh (Education)

~ HIV / AIDS ~

One of the major focuses of IHI 2004 was to help prevent the spread of HIV by increasing awareness of HIV/AIDS within India and to gain exposure to the health and social conditions of those ravaged by this ailment. To achieve this objective we set up volunteer projects with the three above NGOs, all located in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India which is the state with 45% of all reported cases of HIV in India.

HIV/AIDS Education Sessions : To achieve our objective, we organized half-day workshops on HIV/AIDS at various high schools and colleges in urban Chennai with Nalamdana and with students in rural areas of Tamil Nadu with Amar Seva Sangam.  Since some of the volunteers did not speak the local language, Tamil, we networked with schools where the students knew English. We prepared surveys to assess students’ knowledge of AIDS and their social attitudes towards HIV positive people. To start off each session, we screened a Tamil movie that Nalamdana had made, which highlighted many health and social issues surrounding AIDS. We then separated the students into small groups and answered any questions they had, cleared any misconceptions and discussed various sexual health topics. Each session took about 3 to 5 hours and following it, we would administer the same survey again to see how their knowledge and attitudes had changed. The education sessions were an immense success – numerous students came forward and told us that no one had ever spoken with them so openly and that they learned so much! Based on the commonly asked questions at these sessions, we created an information brochure and trained a college student committee in Chennai to conduct similar sessions for other students – thus creating a more sustainable AIDS awareness raising project.

We also participated in other health education activities that were quite intense and very educational for us and the target population. At Teddy Trust, we interacted with Truckers at Halt-Points and spoke to them about healthy behavior to prevent the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and we also gave them tips on general hygiene and health. At these Halt-Points, we observed doctors conduct STD diagnosis and treatment as free health camps. We also met with a group of commercial sex workers (CSWs) who were acting as Senior Peer Educators of Teddy Trust to promote safe sex, disease identification and health seeking behavior amongst their colleagues. They were a group of dynamic and vivacious individuals who answered our questions candidly, and had many questions for us about conditions in Canada. We met a second group of CSWs who were much more subdued, and seemed to feel a much greater sense of shame in their profession. We gained an excellent perspective on the social factors such as spousal abuse that had driven them into this profession.

Helping Create a HIV Positive Persons Network in Madurai : At Teddy Trust, we also interacted with a group of HIV Positive people and gained an understanding of the extreme social stigmas they face within their community and within their own families. One heart-wrenching story involved a young women who had contracted HIV from her 1st husband and without realizing it, she had remarried. We met her at a time where she was extremely nervous about breaking the news to her new husband. A week after our meeting with her, we heard the tragic news that upon her husband’s enraged reaction to her story - she committed suicide. Other tragic stories included family members taking away children of HIV positive people, not allowing them to see their own kids. Our interactions with these HIV Positive people made us realize that there was a need for an HIV Positive Persons Network in Madurai where they could act as a support group for each other. After meeting with the Teddy Trust administration, we hammered out some preliminary plans to organize monthly meetings of HIV Positive People in Madurai. We agreed that our organization, the India Health Initiative can use funds we have already collected and funds we hope to raise in the future to sponsor the conducting of these meeting including covering expenses for underprivileged people to travel, renting a meeting hall, food, etc.  We hope to build a sustainable relationship with Teddy Trust so that we can help build this support network for those suffering from this tragic condition.

Clinical Exposure to HIV/AIDS : We also had broad-ranging clinical exposure to HIV/AIDS in India. We spent time in the Government Hospital for Thoracic Medicine in Chennai and the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai which has the most and 2nd most HIV Positive patients in India respectively. We also interacted with AIDS patients in a free charitable ward at Mother Therea’s ward in Madurai Meenakshi Mission Hospital, gained exposure to the Voluntary Testing and Counseling Centre in Madurai and saw the operations of the only free Anti-Retroviral Therapy disbursement program in India at the Government Hospital in Chennai. We got an excellent perspective of the severity of AIDS in India, the common opportunistic infections that arise and how doctors treat these infections. 

We also gained clinical exposure in other areas. We spent time in Teddy Trust’s Free Clinic, where poor patients received free primary care. We also assisted with the general health checkups for the children who attend the Teddy Trust School as well as participated in free medical camps for the poor in specialties such as pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology. We also learned from an endocrinologist in a private clinic, a neurologist and orthopedic surgeon at a private hospital and observed an open heart surgery in a government hospital

~ Physical and Mental Disability ~

The other focus of IHI 2004 was to help in the education and rehabilitation of physically and mentally challenged youth and children in India. To achieve this, we set up other projects with Amar Seva Sangam and Teddy Trust.

~ Education and Rehabilitation for Mentally Challenged ~

A major focus of ASSA’s activities is the rehabilitation and education of mentally challenged children. Teddy Trust also runs a School for the Mentally Challenged. We decided to assist their efforts by collecting educational and play therapy materials for this population in Canada using money that you generously donated. We visited Amar Seva Sangam’s Center for the Mentally Challenged and 5 associated respite centers and Teddy Trust’s  School for the Mentally Challenged. Student needs were assessed and donations of toys and learning materials were given accordingly.

We interacted with these special students for about 3 hours at each visit and introduced and showed the correct use of the teaching materials and play therapy toys that were brought from Canada to the teachers at these centers. The teachers were shown how the donated items can be used to improve hand-eye coordination, as well as fine/gross motor skills, in addition to general education (ie counting, colour differentiation, etc.).  It was an excellent learning experience for us, the teachers and the mentally challenged students.

~ English class for Disabled Youth Trainees ~

Amar Seva Sangam identified teaching English to the Disabled Youth Trainees (DYTs) as one of their greatest needs. The DYTs are physically disabled students who have completed different levels of education and who are currently receiving vocational training in various trades such as tailoring, computers, typing, etc. at ASSA. In order for these disabled students to be competitive in the workforce and get jobs in their trades, most people feel it is essential for them to learn English. Keeping in mind the important correlation between health and employment, we endeavored to teach the DYTs English.

Books and materials to teach English were collected or purchased through donations in Canada. During our teaching sessions, we focused on spoken English, in addition to grammar and vocabulary. Seeing the improvement in the spoken English of the DYTs over this short period, the ASSA management wanted this effort to continue. A teacher was appointed for this purpose and we worked with this teacher introducing him to our material and our teaching methods. He sat in on a few of our classes and at the end of our stay, he conducted classes and we observed and provided him with feedback. Using all the books and teaching material we brought, we created a small English library at ASSA, to which the new teacher will have full access to. 

~ Physical Education for Physically Disabled Children ~

A need that was identified by ASSA, was the necessity for more physical education and play-time activities for the physically disabled children under their care. Therefore, we organized 2 consecutive weekends of full-day games and activities with the physically disabled children who were housed at ASSA (ages 6-13), using donated physical education equipment and games we bought from donations in Canada.

Support IHI

For donations please contact indiahealth@gmail.com. If donating by cheque please make cheques payable to "UWO Global Health IHI". Cheques can be mailed to

India Health Initiative

16 Essex Street

London, ON

N6G 1B2

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Tax reciepts will be issued to donations of $40 or more, and will be sent out as soon as possible.

IHI 2004 Budget

Contact IHI

India Health Initiative

16 Essex Street

London, ON

N6G 1B2

indiahealth@gmail.com