Disha opens its doors .....a memorable day!

Disha Hospital has officially opened its doors in Lio ka Guda near Udaipur Rajasthan. On Sunday 31st October, Disha was inaugurated by Maharaj Kunwar Sb. Shri Laksharaj Singh ji Mewar (the Prince of Udaipur, above left with Dr Deepak Babel) and several hundred guests attended the ceremony.

Now we are open, we can provide high standards of medical care to villagers in the area, and we are arranging walk-in clinics staffed by Dr C.S. Babel (below left with the Prince), Dr Deepak Babel and Dr Meetu Mehta.But providing medical care is only the start of our work. The long-term success of this project lies in our ability to educate the people of rural Rajasthan about the value of healthcare at the most basic level, so they will be sufficiently motivated to make decisions for themselves.

The Raven Charitable Trust will be working with other NGOs in the area to enable us to access the rural villages and we have incorporated a conference/teaching room and accommodation for visiting doctors at the hospital.

We are embarking on a Disha Health Literacy programme, involving medical experts and educationalists, who will work together to ensure that the basic healthcare needs of rural communities are met.

By working together, the Disha team can evaluate which medical facilities need to be provided in local communities, and the Health Literacy programme can be developed to meet specific needs.It is already agreed that there are key areas that need specialist input:

• General healthcare and hygiene

• Nutrition

• Women’s healthcare (Gynaecology/Obstetrics)

• Children’s healthcare (Paediatrics)

• Healthcare education

RCT is also committed to setting up a research programme and evaluating the data it collects through interaction with patients and their families. At present there is little or no data available on rural communities in Rajasthan. RCT recognises that reliable statistics and information will form a significant role in bringing change to rural India, particularly when outside support, both in terms of manpower and finance becomes available in the future.

Dr Deepak Babel is heading the innovative part of our programme involving Thalassemia and other children’s blood cancers in Udaipur District.Charlotte Raven, founder of the Trust (above right), is working with Dr Meetu Babel (above left) on a Women’s Healthcare programme to provide better healthcare for women and children in outlying communities.

With construction completed, the first part of the RCT project is finished. Now our real work begins!