Health

Medicine, we have found, reaches farthest when it is carried by care — by doctors who ask for nothing, and by friends who give up their Sundays so that distance no longer decides who gets treated.

Uddyom started out by organising health camps in rural and semi-urban areas near Kolkata. These camps were attended by specialist doctors, dental surgeons and fresh medical graduates, all dedicated to the cause. Most of them did not accept any kind of honorarium thus joining us in our endeavour.

For this, after the camp site is selected by a small team beforehand, members and their families reach the site early in the morning and personally look after the logistics of the camp, being thoroughly involved in its smooth functioning throughout the day. Medicines, collected and bought, are distributed to the attendees as per their prescriptions.

Later on, we entered into an arrangement wherein Susrut Eye Foundation and Research Centre (www.susrut.org) would send their ophthalmologically well-equipped bus to the health camp sites. This worked well and elevated the camps to more all-encompassing ones.

However, the utility of the camps has been debated from the angle of repeat treatments to improve the health of the target population. Currently Uddyom is not hosting regular health camps — only on-request health camps are being organised occasionally.