August 13, 2009

Greetings from Seva Mandir!

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your continuing support to our programs. I am writing to share with you a bit of news.

Seva Mandir has recently won a Development Marketplace Grant Competition, organized by the Word Bank. The competition was exclusively for grassroots initiatives in South Asia to address the problem of undernutrition.

The Seva Mandir's project on 'Addressing Iron Deficiency Anemia in Rural Rajasthan through Iron Fortification of Flour at Village Level' was one of the 21 projects that won the competition in Development Marketplace.

We are all very excited at this achievement. If you have any queries on this project then please do write to me.

We are very happy to share this news with you. Thank you for all your support and contributions. We really appreciate it.

With warm regards,


Deepti
deepti@sevamandir.org

July 7, 2009

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Seva Mandir, India!

The monsoon has been delayed here. Farmers have made their fields and are waiting for the rains. People grow maize during rains. Also they grow some vegetables in their farms as the water is plenty during monsoon; but only if it rains. Past two years have not been very good in terms of rains. So this year we need the rains badly.

Recently, I had seen two young kids (around 1 and half years old) in the city hospital. Both were suffering from Tuberculous Meningitis. Tuberculous meningitis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection of the meninges—the system of membranes which envelops the central nervous system. It is the most common form of CNS tuberculosis.

Both kids were from village and were born at home. They didn’t receive the BCG shot, which is given at birth in most cases or can be given until the infant is a month and half old to prevent cerebral tuberculosis.

One kid became blind because of the disease and was struggling with high fever. The other kid was severely malnourished and his brain was partly damaged; it is not known what imparity he had developed. Both kids were not able to feed on their own.

I spoke to their care-givers and they both reported of not being aware of the effect of the vaccines. One of them also said “since the place where the Government vaccination does take place, is quite far for me to walk to and also because I have never went out that far on my own”.

A couple of days after my talk to her, I heard that one of the kids died. I was very sad. The vaccination is free from the Government but has a poor reach to many places.

Seva Mandir run immunization camps take place within the village and at a central location where women can walk to, easily holding their children in their arms. Also, the camp takes place at a fix time and date each month.

The birth attendant (traditional birth attendant in the village supported and trained by Seva Madnir) reminds everyone about the camp a day prior. She also explains the community about the immunization and its benefits.

The vaccination is so important. It can save little children from six deadly diseases including Tuberculous Meningitis. These diseases are preventable.

I would like to thank you from all of us here at Seva Mandir, for being there for us in this important mission. Together we are reaching out to many more kids and saving their lives.

Thank you once again. Please do let me know if you have any comments on this feedback or questions.

With warm regards,

Deepti
deepti@sevamandir.org

May 19, 2009

Dear friends,

First of all, thank you for supporting us ever!

I have some quick news to share. In April end (22nd and 23rd) Margaret and John from Global Giving visited Seva Mandir Projects. We took them around and showed them our work in four villages. We exchanged a lot of ideas and learnt a lot about each other.

During their time here we visited our Pre School Center, Rural School, Immunization Camp, Dal Mill Project (Profit for poor), Village Library and Pastureland Development. They both found these programs very interesting but our meeting with one of the Fellows (Fellowship Project) – Jawan Singh in Barawa village was a special highlight for all of us.

We had lunch with Jawan Singh. It was a very hot day but we all were very happy to be able to wash our feet by a dug-well which still has lots of water. The water in this well is a result of our soil and water conservation work in this village. Margaret and John were very impressed to see our efforts and the strong leadership that has emerged over the years. Jawan Singh is a one such leaders. He is currently a Vikas Mitra Fellow (Fellowship Program). He took us around and showed all the activities that took place over the years. He also explained the caste struggle of his village to Margaret and John.

There were two more striking episodes occurred.

One is – when we visited the village library in Medi village – we met the teacher – Ram Lal who runs the library. He told us that he has 6 kids whose names are after countries like – America, Japan, India, and England etc. We were amused to note that ‘America is married now’.

Another incident – when we were interacting with children in our Rural School in Ushan village, the villagers came to meet the guests. The villagers asked several questions to John and Margaret including – what crops do they grow in America, if they also have a hilly terrain, if the rains are frequent and adequate in their country, what is the mean age of marriage in America etc.

Then, an old man asked if they knew – where the Sun goes in the night and that why sometimes the moon is full and sometimes not???

The people in villages were so happy to have guests. But they were so happy to be able to interact with them. Their innocent questions indicate that they have a desire to learn things and that, they are confident to ask questions.

John and Margaret answered to all these questions very patiently and they both appreciated the fact that they were able to interact with villagers other than development issues.

A very big thank you Margaret and John – it was very nice meeting you and learning all the innovating ways of raising funds, you are trying. We all are very happy meeting you and we appreciate all your support and help that you and your entire team provide us time to time.

I am also taking the opportunity to thank all our friends who have been supporting us through Global Giving. The appreciation we received from Margaret and John for our work is also a result of support from people like you. Thank you once again for all your support.

Do let us know if you like this feedback.

Thank you,

With warm regards,

Deepti

April 18, 2009

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Seva Mandir, India!

Many thanks for your continuing support. There are a total of 66 camps running and this program continues to save several children and women. This has been possible because of support from people like you. Thank you so much for your support and encouragement.

This month, I am pleased to share a story of one of our GNMs (General Nurse Midwife). The GNM and the assistant as a team deliver the services of immunization in villages. One of our volunteers Ginny who works in Health program visited some immunization camps and spoke to immunization team.

The following story is written by Ginny as she was very impressed with the work these GNMs are doing. We hope that you will enjoy learning a bit about our team.

We will be happy to answer your queries. Once again a very big thank you for all your support.

With warm regards,

Deepti
deepti@sevamandir.org


‘Gauri is a general nurse midwife who along with her team members runs 17 camps in a month in rural areas of Udaipur. Gauri lives with her husband and their 6-year-old fully immunized daughter. She pursued a career in nursing, starting with a three-year general nursing and midwifery (GNM) degree. Gauri has been working with Seva Mandir for five years and has seen the immunization camps in action.

One of the biggest improvements that she has seen is the addition of antenatal check-ups for pregnant women and the general health check-ups of the children receiving immunizations.
In addition to immunizing children and pregnant women, Gauri checks the blood pressure, hemoglobin count and weight of women as they progress through their pregnancy. This allows her to catch early signs of complication—something important for ensuring the health of both mother and child. Gauri feels that the addition of these programs have added to the benefits of the camps, something she is proud of.

17 days out of the month, Gauri is in the field, at immunization camps in the rural areas around Udaipur and this is where she feels most comfortable. She likes the work that she does bringing change to the lives of so many children. When asked to pinpoint a specific example that has moved her during her time as a nurse, she comments, she is moved every time she gives a child a shot. That child, she knows, has a better chance to be health and happy because of it.

The training that Seva Mandir has provided for Gauri has improved both her skills as a nurse, as a counselor and her overall confidence.’

Dear Friend,

Greetings from Seva Mandir!

Thank you for your continuing support to our programs. I am writing to share with you some good news. On 27th March 2009 Seva Mandir was awarded the first prize ‘The CSO partner’s Outstanding Annual Report Award 2009’ for our Annual Report 07-08 in the category of Large Organizations. The criterion to win the prize was to have transparent accounts, its disclosures in the report and its ability to communicate well (i.e. readable and understandable for readers).

Such awards and appreciation of our work is the result of many people’s contribution towards our work and mission. Therefore, your support and guidance is one of main attributes of this appreciation. You can find more details about this our website www.sevamandir.org and to view our annual report please visit the following link - http://www.sevamandir.org/publications.htm

Many thanks once again for all your support and love. I will be soon in touch with updates on programs you are supporting.

With warm regards,


Deepti

Dear Friend,

May the year 2009 bring hope, peace and prosperity to you and yours!

You have with your support helped Seva Mandir sustain its work to enable the poor by improving their health and educational status. We greatly appreciate your contribution and look forward to your continued passion to make the world a better place.

Your support helped us garner about US $9,000 in the Everybody Can Win Challenge for our Immunization Program (including bonus prize of US $2,500). This money will help us do more to save lives of young children and pregnant mothers we are planning to increase the reach of our program to include more villages. Which would mean reaching to more children and expecting mothers.

We will keep you posted on the developments with regular updates.

Thank you once again.

With warm regards,

Deepti Ameta,

In Charge Reporting and Communications.

deepti@sevamandir.org

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Seva Mandir, India!

We are grateful to all our donors for continuing their faith in our work and for standing by us. Through this letter I would like to share the update for our Immunization Program, which you have been supporting.

Seva Mandir has been conducting immunization camps since April 2007. In the month of July 66 immunization camps were held against the targeted 68. We had to cancel two camps due to heavy rains that made these two villages inaccessible. 380 children were given immunization shots and 182 expecting mothers received Tetanus shots in these 66 camps.

From July 2008, we have also been training our nurses who conduct immunization to treat simple ailments in children and conduct full Antenatal check up. This has increased the benefits to both mothers and children, in many cases helped over major fatality as in the case given below.

Gavri who is in her mid twenties lives with her husband in village Bilwan Khetra. She got two tetanus shots in Seva Mandir run immunization camp during her fourth pregnancy. In her eighth month of pregnancy she began to experience lower abdominal pains. She consulted the TBA (the traditional birth attendant trained and supported by Seva Mandir) who brought her to the immunization camp where the nurse conducted the Antenatal check up. The Nurse could not hear the heartbeats of the baby and so referred Gavri immediately to a hospital where she gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

Our model of conducting immunization camps seeks to address both the supply side constraints by ensuring regular supply and also boosting demand through giving incentives to parents. By and large these camps are very successful in benefiting pregnant women and young children yet there are challenges with which we are still grappling. One such is inability to reach out to more children who have not been vaccinated.

Thank you again for your support. For queries and suggestions please do write to me at priyanka.singh@sevamandir.org

With regards,

Sincerely,

Priyanka Singh
In Charge Health Program
Seva Mandir, India

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Seva Mandir!

We would like to communicate our heartfelt thanks to all our donors for their continuing support and faith in our work. The immunization by the Government is not adequately reaching to all poor people. In addition, the awareness with regards to immunization for little children is negligible in the communities Seva Mandir works with. Hence holding regular immunization camps within people’s reach becomes imperative.

In the month of June 2008 a total of 68 immunization camps were held. As many as 541 children and 257 expecting mothers were registered for immunization

At this point I would also like to communicate the challenges that we face while running the immunization camps. One of the many challenges is – when the children are given BCG (for tuberculosis) the vaccine creates a boil on the skin and it also gives fever to the child for a few days. Often mothers are afraid of this and so they do not bring their children to the camp next time.

The Nurse in our camps informs the mothers about the boil, fever and the reason behind it. In addition, the nurse gives pills for fever with instructions to the mothers. Also, the Birth Attendants (Trained and supported by Seva Mandir) help in the process by spreading the awareness about immunization and by following up with the mothers whose children are given shots in order to ensure that everything is okay with them and that they bring their children to the camp for next shots. The birth attendants (are the residents of the same village) thus play a significant role in supporting the mothers in this whole process because the community has a lot of faith in them.

We have learnt a lot by theses camps and we hope to build upon our experiences over time.

I would like to thank once again to all our donors, partners and my team for making this program a huge success. Through this program we are reaching out to the least advantaged in our society. I very much hope that you will continue your supporting this program. Thank you.

If you have any questions then please do contact me at priyanka.singh@sevamandir.org

With regards,

Sincerely,

Priyanka Singh
In Charge Health Program
Seva Mandir, India

During holding the immunization camps it was experienced that many little children suffer from various diseases like diarrhea, cold, cough etc. The General Nurse and Midwife (GNM) who are appointed to give vaccinations in Seva Mandir-run immunization camps are skilled caregivers. In order to refresh their skills and to strengthen their capacity for the treatment of diseases like Diarrhea, Bronchitis, Cough and Cold training was organized in March end for these GNMs.


In the last quarter (January to March 2008) over 1200 children and over 600 expecting mothers have been immunized.

Birth Attendants in the villages have been trained by Seva Mandir to conduct safe and aseptic deliveries. In addition, these attendants also spread awareness about the importance of complete immunization in the village. Read the story to find out how they are of additional help to these expecting mothers and little children...

Attachments:

• Jamna learns the importance of immunization... (PDF)
  

In the last quarter from October to December 2007 we have been able to get over 1200 children completely immunized. Over 500 expecting mothers have also been immunized in over 600 immunization camps...

Sauli lives in village Badanga, Rajasthan in India:

Sauli lives with her husband Kamal Lal and two daughters in village Badanga. Kamal has migrated to Udaipur City (22 kms from his village) for wage-labor. Sauli stays at home to look after her daughters and works on her agriculture farm when needed.

Her elder daughter Pushpa is now three years old and Bharti is three months.
In Seva Mandir-run Immunization Camps Bharti has received three shots so far. When the camp started Pushpa’s immunization was incomplete and so Pushpa was given rest of the shots at Seva Mandir-run Camps. Sauli is very happy to be able to get her daughters
immunized because the Government health care facilities are quite far from her village.

Sauli says –“ I come to the Immunization Camps and all my other friends in the village also come to these camps for getting their children immunized. Earlier the Government Nurse used to come to our village. But she was very irregular and her visits were uncertain. I like Seva Mandir Camps. Because the camps
are regular and are held close to our homes.”

Attachments:

• sauli_bai_Village_Badanga.pdf (PDF)
  

Kamala has witnessed her friend having convulsions. Her friend was not given the Tetanus shots when she was pregnant. The incident imprinted fear on Kamala's mind and so she wanted to stay safe. Kamal has got two shots for tetanus and she is happy....

Attachments:

• Kamala is expecting (DOC)

Vardi would have to go to the city 35 kms away from her village to get her children immunized. And sometimes it did not take place due to no transporation or rains or so. The Government run Immunization camps are irregular in her village. It is now eaiser for her to get her children immunized in Seva Mandir run immunization camps.

Attachments:

• Vardi getting her child immunized (PDF)
  

The two success stories from the villages where Seva Mandir works...
Read these stories that will fill your heart with joy as it did ours...

Attachments:

• Getting my daughter immunized is easy (DOC)
• Now I know the importance of Vaccinations (DOC)