Saturday, June 7, 2008

Yusuf Meherally (Sunday, June 1)

We started our morning early as we gathered for the buses at 8 AM. We met Mr. Shah, director of Yusuf Meherally, for breakfast that specialized in dosas, sheera, and masala chai tea. The team members ate well to ensure our energy for the day. We hopped back onto the bus for a 45-minute ride to the Yusuf Meherally - Mumbai site. Mr. Shah explained to us about the healthcare that they provided. Medical doctors and healthcare professionals that work at various nearby hospitals, such as KEM and Saifee Hospital, would volunteer on the weekends to provide service for this underserved population. A variety of healthcare is provided at different times of the month for general surgery, dentistry, radiology, opthamology, etc. It appeared that facilities were clean and supplied well. They perform nearly 40 surgeries per weekend every weekend of the year depending on the type of specialist available that weekend. After a short tour of the medical village, we were lead to a large auditorium. A large community audience (>100 participants) gathered in this room for the Duke DPT presentation on "Protecting Your Back with Proper Biomechanics" in lifting and gardening. We had an age range of 12 - 90 year olds, with the majority of participants being teenagers. Although it was a challenge to teach, due a language barrier, a translator was available. Groups were broken up into smaller groups so we could assess proper biomechanics and provide practice in different situations. We felt that each person benefited and rewarding to see students utilizing proper technique with lifting of chairs during clean-up. After an 1.5 hours of presentation, Mr. Shah continued the tour of the Yusuf Meherally plantation. We took a walk in their organic gardens to see pineapple and mango trees, vegetables, gourds, okra, and various mint herbs. We also saw the supported work operations, like the bakery (mmmm, fresh bread and biscuits), soap makers, and pottery barn.

Yusuf Meherally was a great place to visit and the relationship we have now established will benefit our program greatly. We look forward to our continued work with them over the next few years, possibly even at their other sites across India.

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