Mallappa, a peon who has retired from government service is suffering from cancer and his wife is diabetic. He was being treated at the Kidwai Institute of Oncology in Bangalore until recently, but doctors have now given up hope and stopped treatment.
The couple can now only pray for cure. Their son, who is employed in a faraway place, is not in a position to look after his ailing parents. Manjunath, a resident of Bommanakatte in Mysore taluk, used to drive a mini truck to eke out a living.
But he has now lost his source of livelihood after meeting with an accident which has left him with a broken spinal cord. He was the sole breadwinner for his family of five. Now his wife works as a daily wage labourer. His parents are aged and ailing.
'Viveka Aaraike Kendra', a centre in Mysore, has been helping them with medical facilties and is their only source of hope. Two decades ago, Vivekananda Youth Movement initiated programmes to provide medical care to tribals.
It is the same group which is now trying to help the rural and urban poor by providing good medical care by way of the Mysore centre. A mobile hospital was started back in November, 2011.
This hospital goes around villages providing medical facilities for people. It is the only hope for those who are terminally ill and cannot afford expensive treatment.
The economically marginalised contact this organisation when they need medical care and volunteers of the Vivekananda Youth Movement immediately rush to them and take account of their condition and report it to V-lead, a sister organisation of the Youth Movement.
A medical team comprising a doctor and three nurses treat the ailing and give them medicines worth Rs 500. After ten days, the team attends to these patients again.
Doctors from Mysore's KR Hospital, Preeti Cancer Centre, Bharat Cancer Centre, JSS Hospital and Bangalore's Kidwai Institute of Oncology refer patients to this mobile hospital when they feel the patient is no longer responding to treatment.
"The organisation trains people to nurse the ill. They are taught how to dress wounds, clean the patient's bed, give prescribed pills and sometimes are even taught how to give injections when required. A little care and concern can go a long way in increasing their lifespan. It is precisely this that they lack.
In most cases, their own family members treat them with apathy and it only furthers the deterioration of their condition. We have counsellors now to help patients feel better," says Shruthi, a doctor at the centre.
Free medical care
Because doctors and nurses work for free, and there's no expenditure over transport and medicines, this organisation which co-ordinates and works towards providing medical care does not charge anything either. Final year medical students from Mysore Medical College, a couple of doctors from KR Hospital, Mysore and a few other doctors from private hospitals assist this organisation. Doctors Rekha, Shruthi, Mallikarjun, Manjunath and Chaitra have been providing medical advice and care for long, and attend to patients every weekend.
Those who have been injured and cannot resume their work, widows and the aged are trained in making umbrellas, flower pots, etc thereby helping them earn a livelihood. 'Viveka Aaraike Kendra' works along the lines of Kerala's Palliative Care Centre which is the brainchild of Dr Suresh.
G B Nagaraj
(Translated by Bhumika Rajan)
The couple can now only pray for cure. Their son, who is employed in a faraway place, is not in a position to look after his ailing parents. Manjunath, a resident of Bommanakatte in Mysore taluk, used to drive a mini truck to eke out a living.
But he has now lost his source of livelihood after meeting with an accident which has left him with a broken spinal cord. He was the sole breadwinner for his family of five. Now his wife works as a daily wage labourer. His parents are aged and ailing.
'Viveka Aaraike Kendra', a centre in Mysore, has been helping them with medical facilties and is their only source of hope. Two decades ago, Vivekananda Youth Movement initiated programmes to provide medical care to tribals.
It is the same group which is now trying to help the rural and urban poor by providing good medical care by way of the Mysore centre. A mobile hospital was started back in November, 2011.
This hospital goes around villages providing medical facilities for people. It is the only hope for those who are terminally ill and cannot afford expensive treatment.
The economically marginalised contact this organisation when they need medical care and volunteers of the Vivekananda Youth Movement immediately rush to them and take account of their condition and report it to V-lead, a sister organisation of the Youth Movement.
A medical team comprising a doctor and three nurses treat the ailing and give them medicines worth Rs 500. After ten days, the team attends to these patients again.
Doctors from Mysore's KR Hospital, Preeti Cancer Centre, Bharat Cancer Centre, JSS Hospital and Bangalore's Kidwai Institute of Oncology refer patients to this mobile hospital when they feel the patient is no longer responding to treatment.
"The organisation trains people to nurse the ill. They are taught how to dress wounds, clean the patient's bed, give prescribed pills and sometimes are even taught how to give injections when required. A little care and concern can go a long way in increasing their lifespan. It is precisely this that they lack.
In most cases, their own family members treat them with apathy and it only furthers the deterioration of their condition. We have counsellors now to help patients feel better," says Shruthi, a doctor at the centre.
Free medical care
Because doctors and nurses work for free, and there's no expenditure over transport and medicines, this organisation which co-ordinates and works towards providing medical care does not charge anything either. Final year medical students from Mysore Medical College, a couple of doctors from KR Hospital, Mysore and a few other doctors from private hospitals assist this organisation. Doctors Rekha, Shruthi, Mallikarjun, Manjunath and Chaitra have been providing medical advice and care for long, and attend to patients every weekend.
Those who have been injured and cannot resume their work, widows and the aged are trained in making umbrellas, flower pots, etc thereby helping them earn a livelihood. 'Viveka Aaraike Kendra' works along the lines of Kerala's Palliative Care Centre which is the brainchild of Dr Suresh.
G B Nagaraj
(Translated by Bhumika Rajan)