Each year in late January or early February, Imagine India
sends a medical/dental team to India to provide otherwise inaccessible
medical and dental care to the Dalits - the poorest of the poor.
The team conducts clinics in rural villages and usually
treat thousands of patients. They get up at dawn, leave at 8 a.m. and
are conducting the clinics by 9 a.m. The team works all day until 6
p.m. and then returns to the hotel for dinner, devotions and repacking
medical supplies.
While
this information explains what the team does, it doesn't give an
understanding of what the team actually accomplishes. This trip is not
about numbers, it's about the people and the lost and forgotten nation
of India. It's about trying to enter their world, if only for a moment,
and somehow make it easier for them. It's about hearing health
complaints all day long and working to solve them, yet understanding
that their real struggle is with their spiritual life. It's about
working with a great team of people coming together for the same cause.
It's about understanding God's omniscience, omnipresence and
omnipotence as well as his grace, mercy and love for the people of
India.
Who are the Dalits?
Dalit
is a self-designation for a South Asian group of people traditionally
regarded as untouchables (outcastes) or of low caste. Dalits are a
mixed population of numerous caste groups all over South Asia and speak
various languages. It is impossible to differentiate between Dalits and
the various caste groups on the basis of phenotypes or genetics alone.
While
the caste system has been formally abolished under the Indian
constitution, there is still discrimination and prejudice against
Dalits in South Asia. Since independence, significant steps have been
taken to provide opportunities in jobs and education. Other governments
in South Asia such as Nepal and Bangladesh have also implemented
policies to improve the living standards of their Dalit population.
-Wikipedia
Who is needed
- Medical doctors
- Dentists
- Nurses
- Physical Therapists
- Physician's Assistants
- Health Professionals
- EMT
- General staff to sanitize instruments, help with crowd control and help with the camps as needed.
Who is the Team Leader?
Helen Parton.