Weekend with Aim Abroad

This weekend the volunteers with Aim Abroad mostly stayed in the Delhi NCR area. Some volunteers went to Delhi for shopping visits, bringing back beautiful pearl necklaces and pashmina shawls. Other volunteers went to see some sights in Delhi rather than shopping visits, and had an equally entertaining experience. The photo was taken at the famous Iskcon Temple in Delhi: The women were preparing the flowers for a Hindu tradition. After a person prays to God, she or he should take some of the flowers, with which they prayed, and toss them in water to complete the prayer. 

The rest of the volunteers stayed with the host families and visited a few projects which were having weekend programs, like the hospitals and clinics. As for the ones who just rested with the host families, some of them went to the local markets and spent a lot of time learning the tricks of bargaining with the locals: they wanted to test out bargaining skills with cheaper items, so that when they do make more expensive purchases, they will be "trained" in the skill! Another volunteer went to a local massage area for women. She brought back a booklet with all of the different services and massages the place offered: We couldn't believe just how many different massages one place offered! She also described that there were four women who worked at the place, and each worker focused on a different are on her body! One woman was massaging her head, one each on either foot, and one for her body and arms. Although she had never had a massage before in her life, she thought that it was a bit different from what she would expect! As the massage was affordable and incredibly soothing, we have a feeling that several of the volunteers will soon go together to the massage place again!

Ultrasound Clinic

Medical volunteers with Aim Abroad went to the ultrasound clinic today for their volunteering project. At the clinic, the volunteers mostly observed how to diagnose kidney stones and gall bladder stones. The doctor explained that when the stone is very small, she prescribes an Ayurvedic medicine that breaks down and dissolves the stone so that it can pass. If the stone is too large for the Ayurvedic medicine though, then the doctor suggests surgery for extraction of the stone. The volunteers described that they could see very clearly on the ultrasound machine the kidney and gall bladder stones, and even saw two cases where the kidney stone has left the kidney and could see the damage the stone had made in the kidney. Also, in one patient, a bladder stone was starting to pass through the patient's system, and the damage to the body was very clear and visible to the volunteers. The volunteers learned a lot about the ultrasound technique, and they look forward to learning more useful medical techniques while they volunteer with Aim Abroad!

Volunteers with Aim Abroad went to the street children project today. The day was filled with laughter, fun, and games between the volunteers and the kids, as the volunteers described on their way back from the project. When they arrived at the project, they distributed medicines to the children, and some volunteers even provided first aid for the children. Afterwards, the volunteers split into teams and went around the different classrooms as they taught different subjects: Some volunteers taught art classes, others practiced counting with emphasis on English pronunciation, and others still taught more advanced English reading (they read children's stories like "The Gingerbread Man" and reviewed the comprehension of the story). During lunch time, the volunteers played frisbee, volleyball, and tag with the children, who were smiling ear to ear with the volunteers! Afterwards, the volunteers returned to the host family homes, where they ate lunch and rested after the event-filled day.

Maternity Hospital

The medical volunteers with Aim Abroad went to the maternity hospital today. They had the opportunity to observe a C-Section delivery in the operating room, which they described was quite an interesting experience. They arrived just as the patient was entering the operating room, and were able to learn from the entire procedure, from the beginning to the delivery. Once the baby was born, the doctors ran some tests on the baby to check for its health. After they left the operating room, the volunteers went on rounds with the doctors at the medical facility. They finished their volunteer work for the day with the gynecologist in the hospital, and they spoke to her for a few hours to learn about the Indian health care system and to observe a few patients who came into the office. The doctor who runs the ultrasound clinic also came to the gynecologist's office and worked with the volunteers and patients, as she takes the ultrasound of the patients at the hospital. The volunteers then came back to the host family home, where they spent time with the families.

Eye Ambulance

Some of our volunteers went to work with the Eye Ambulance today! In the morning, the cook made some upma, a traditional South Indian breakfast or light snack, and the volunteers learned how to make the dish. After he made the upma, he made lunch for the volunteers, a few cooked and seasoned vegetables with some paranthas, traditional North Indian bread, all which the volunteers observed how to prepare as well. Once they finished eating breakfast and having chai, the volunteers went to the Eye Ambulance project. They describe that the Eye Ambulance, much like the other ambulance for the elderly, goes to rural areas to provide services for the poor who are otherwise unable to receive such medical services. The doctors and volunteers took eye exams from the volunteers, and the doctors prescribed the appropriate lenses for the patients. The workers in the ambulance described that they will come back with the glasses for the patients when their prescriptions are ready. The volunteers mostly helped out at the ambulance by measuring the blood pressure of the patients. One volunteer, from the US, learned how to measure blood pressure for the first time. Once the volunteers returned from the Eye Ambulance project, they ate the lunch they had prepared in the morning, and then went to the local markets in the neighborhood.

Agra and Host Families

This weekend two volunteers with Aim Abroad went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, while the other volunteers stayed in the host family houses for the weekend. The pair who went to Agra came back to their host family a few hours ago, and they sent me two pictures which particularly interested them. The photo shows the inlaid marble design that is quite common in India. Many tourist sites, like Red Fort, Amber Fort, and the Taj Mahal use this design, but the volunteers were very impressed by he artwork. The Taj Mahal is filled with inlaid marble all around the building, but the volunteers took two pictures of just the flowery design around the structure's walls. They describe that they really enjoyed their time in Agra, and were able to have an extremely affordable trip, especially considering they went to see one of the wonders of the world! In the mean time, back in Delhi NCR, our volunteers spent a lot of time with the host families. My family spent time with the volunteers staying at our house by going to the mall together, walking around the markets, and some volunteers even went with my daughter to her dance classes! The volunteers learn a lot about Indian culture when they stay with our host families, and we are always eager to learn equally as much from our guests. Tomorrow, the volunteers decided they would like to visit the Eye Ambulance project, and so I will update tomorrow about the project after they return.

Ambulance Project

Some of the volunteers with Aim Abroad went to the ambulance project today! They first visited the headquarters of the ambulance area, where the offices and management of the ambulance program is run. After meeting with the workers at the facility, the volunteers went in the ambulance with the driver and workers, and then visited some rural places in Delhi NCR. The first neighborhood they visited was an area that is mostly populated by refugees from Pakistan, who moved after the partition between India and Pakistan. This charity ambulance particularly offers free services to elderly people, and all of the patients coming to the ambulance were around sixty years old, but some were older still. The patients had a really enriching experience spending time with the volunteers, as they helped them with sitting, standing, taking blood pressures (which they learned how to measure today for the first time), and just sharing some kind words between each other. Some patients had very limited English communication, while others greatly impressed the volunteers with their skill with the language! After they visited this neighborhood, they went to two other neighborhoods in the area, but didn't know the neighborhoods in particular to describe to me, as they are not very familiar with Delhi NCR. The patients in these neighborhoods though were very similar, with respect to demographics and age, as the patients they encountered at the refugee area. The volunteers describe that they had a very eventful day, and look forward to visiting other volunteering projects while they are volunteering here in Delhi NCR!