Nurses Deepa and Darshana and their children on either side of me. |
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Farewell
Monday, July 18, 2011
Another Reunion Trip
Social worker Suresh Lukose (right) assists patient to identify location of his home village. |
On the road with social worker Vikram Shelar. |
The next morning, thanks to Vikram's sleuthing, we located all three patients' families and witnessed emotional reunions. Most moving was Muhloo's reunion with his mother and sister. Muhloo (name and photo used with his permission) had been living on the roads of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh for eight years and his mother had given him up for dead. At first sight of Muhloo, she seemed frightened and Vikram translated that she thought she was seeing a ghost or a demon. Vikram's reassurance was enough to soften her from fear into tears of joy....
I say my farewell to Muhloo at his family's home in Hyderabad |
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Current Events
The staff at Shraddha have been talking about one thing today: the people of Mumbai are once again the victims of a brutal bomb attack. Three near-simultaneous explosions hit Mumbai at rush-hour on Wednesday and killed 21 people and injured 141. One blast hit the crowded
neighborhood of Dadar in central Mumbai, another the Zaveri
Bazaar, a famous jewelry market, and the third the Opera House, a busy business district. These blasts are the
first major attack on Mumbai since November 26, 2008 violence, when 10
terrorists held the city hostage for 60 hours, targeting two luxury
hotels, a Jewish center, a cafe and a busy train station.This attack killed 166 people.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Recovery
A decade-long study by the World Health Organization that followed 3,300
patients found that people with schizophrenia do far better in poorer
nations such
as India, Nigeria and Colombia than in Denmark, the U.K., and the U.S.
Patients in poorer
countries spent fewer days in hospitals, were more likely to be employed
and were more socially connected. Between half and two-thirds became
symptom-free compared to only about a third of patients from rich
countries. This calls into question modern psychiatry's belief that
schizophrenia is a organic brain disorder and best
treated through medication and hospitalization.
The researchers concluded that the stronger family
ties in poorer countries have a major impact on recovery. In Dr.
Vatwani's view, in addition to medication, an active family and village
life contribute to recovery from schizophrenia. This is why he places
such emphasis on reuniting patients with their families and communities.
Pushpa personifies how social context supports recovery. She suffered a psychotic break after the death of her mother ("my best friend") and wandered the streets of Borivli for six months. When she was found by Shraddha social workers, she was arguing with an internal voice as she lay in filth. Declining being reunited with an abusive family, she has remained at Shraddha for eight years. Pushpa (name and photo used with permission) has found her family here at Shraddha. She feels safe here and says, "They treat me with respect."
Pushpa serves Shraddha by preparing food for patients and staff. |
Pushpa personifies how social context supports recovery. She suffered a psychotic break after the death of her mother ("my best friend") and wandered the streets of Borivli for six months. When she was found by Shraddha social workers, she was arguing with an internal voice as she lay in filth. Declining being reunited with an abusive family, she has remained at Shraddha for eight years. Pushpa (name and photo used with permission) has found her family here at Shraddha. She feels safe here and says, "They treat me with respect."
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Perceptions of Mental Illness in India
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Doc
Dr. Bharat Vatwani is the founder and guiding light of Shraddha. Starting in 1988 with a two-room tenement in Mumbai, Dr. Vatwani treated a few homeless mentally ill at a time. In 1997, the proceeds of an art exhibition of leading Indian artists and the contributions of several donors led to the opening of a 20 bed psychiatric facility in Mumbai. Unfortunately neighbors took Shraddha to court for housing "roadside, psychiatrically disturbing elements" that were perceived to be a threat to their community. In a landmark finding, the Mumbai High Court found that “mentally–ill, roadside destitutes are as much entitled to medical help as any physically indisposed person.”
In 2006, Dr. Vatwani was able to acquire 6.5 acres 90 kilometers southeast of Mumbai. The Karjat center provides a rehabilitation model that includes agriculture for up to 70 patients at a time. Over 1900 of the mentally ill homeless have been helped off the roads, treated, rehabilitated and reunited with their families throughout India.
In this clip Dr. Vatwani discusses how he was inspired to commit his life to serving homeless people with mental illness.
In 2006, Dr. Vatwani was able to acquire 6.5 acres 90 kilometers southeast of Mumbai. The Karjat center provides a rehabilitation model that includes agriculture for up to 70 patients at a time. Over 1900 of the mentally ill homeless have been helped off the roads, treated, rehabilitated and reunited with their families throughout India.
In this clip Dr. Vatwani discusses how he was inspired to commit his life to serving homeless people with mental illness.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Reunion
Kamala returns home (photo used with permission). |
Kamala's mother with grandchild. |
I was up front in the ambulance with social worker Vikram Shelar and driver Manaram Choudhary and had an excellent front row seat view of the extreme sport that is Indian driving. There were no seat belts. Glad we survived the road trip....
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Life at Shraddha
A patient milks a cow (top); another prepares a paddy for planting rice. |
Posting here will be challenging given the very limited access to the internet at Shraddha or Karjat. I'm grateful to social worker Mansoor Rizvi for the use of his internet stick.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Inspiration
The mission of Shraddha is inspired by Anandwan (आनंदवन in Marathi), an ashram and community rehabilitation center for people with leprosy founded in 1948 by social activist Baba Amte (1918-2008). Influenced by Gandhi’s ideals of simplicity and truth and his fight against injustice, Amte was active in the Indian independence struggle and organized lawyers to defend the Indian freedom movement’s jailed leaders. He was arrested and imprisoned by British authorities in 1942. Baba Amte envisioned Anandwan, literally Forest of Joy, as a model of social and environmental justice. Using organic farming techniques and micro-water management, residents are self-sufficient in terms of basic subsistence through agriculture. Anandwan generates income to sustain the community through home-based, small-scale industry run by the residents. Anandwan today is spread over 200 hectares and has two hospitals, a university, an orphanage and schools for the blind and the deaf; more than 5,000 people are dependent on it for their livelihood.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Amitabh and Johnny coming to Karjat?
Bollywood rumor has it that Johnny Depp will be in India in June to continue shooting Mira Nair's Shantaram, inspired by Gregory David Roberts' amazing book. Near the end of 2009, Johnny and Amitabh Bachchan, the Bollywood legend, started shooting in secret at ND Studios on the outskirts of Karjat. Shooting stopped after 18 days because the team wasn't happy with how the movie was turning out. Now they've reworked the script and will start production in June. Maybe they'll be back in Karjat....
Friday, April 29, 2011
Senate bills passed!
I got an email at 3:30 this morning from Olivia Seppi, a hard-working senator from the NMSU student senate. She wrote that she had pushed all 13 of her bills through tonight's final senate session of the semester. Of course, I'm especially excited about the passing of bills 226 and 227 which fund my work at Shraddha in Karjat, India. I'm very grateful to Olivia for the time and effort she put into getting my bills through the student senate. Grateful too for the support being offered by the Associated Students of NMSU.
The senate was still in session when Olivia wrote at 3:30 this morning. I hope she doesn't have a pressing academic deadline today. . . .
The senate was still in session when Olivia wrote at 3:30 this morning. I hope she doesn't have a pressing academic deadline today. . . .
Friday, March 25, 2011
The journey begins
Oh, yeah, in Sanskrit, Shraddha (श्रद्धा) means faith.
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