Do you know what seed-balls are all about? Let our students show you.

 

The hottest part of the Summer holidays in Maharashtra, India is in May. Some days the temperature reaches 46C/115F! While the academic year for our students has ended, Gabriel Project Mumbai runs a four-week summer camp that we call ‘Summer Club’.

Hundreds of children of all ages from the Kalwa slums and the rural villages of Mokhada get together in the relative cool of the mornings and late afternoons for fun activities, a nutritious meal and creative learning from Gabriel Project Mumbai teachers. One of the most interesting activities is learning how to make seed-balls (also known as seed-bombs). GPM teachers explain the importance of trees in life and how urbanization and the depletion of forests adversely effect all our lives. So, how can we look after our environment? Well, one way is by making seed-balls! The seed-ball technique was created by Japanese farmer, Masanobu Fukuoka as a way to increase vegetable and tree production.

At Summer Club, children gather over a large metal dish and mix soil, clay, cow-dung and tree seeds and a little water, rolling out balls that are then dried for a few days in the sun. Later the children release the seed balls in areas where reforestation is required and when the rains come down in mid-July, the seeds germinate from their comfy and nutritious seed-ball! "This is very innovative for the children because usually small children are disempowered in planting trees as seedlings are costly and it is too hard for them to dig deep holes in the hard earth," says Sanket Kadu, GPM agriculture officer. "The seed-ball technique is effective in tree propagation and easy for children to feel part of looking after their homes and their planet." Such a fun activity and what a wonderful lesson that teaches us all that no matter how old we are and no matter where we live, we can all be activists for our environment. To donate to GPM:https://www.gabrielprojectmumbai.org/donate

Free oral cancer screening program for thousands of people by GPM and the Indian Dental Association

A free oral cancer screening program for thousands of people living in underserved villages in Maharashtra took place in March. As part of the state-wide Maharashtra Oral Cancer Campaign (MOCC), Gabriel Project Mumbai and the Indian Dental Association (IDA), provided life-saving oral health awareness and treatment in 40 remote underserved hamlets in the Mokhada sub-district. 

As part of the MOCC, specialist dentists and doctors provided services free of cost and additional referrals for specific complex treatments. Of the 2000 people participating in the program, 84 patients with signs of oral cancer were given cancer biopsies. These biopsies were sent to laboratories for analysis. Additional dental care activities based at the GPM ‘Mokhada Community Health Center’ included home visits, blood samples, scaling, extractions, and GIC restoration (filling of cavities and fixing tooth deformities).

“The ongoing oral health care program spearheaded by GPM and the IDA is saving many lives from oral cancer by treating the cancers at an early stage and, most importantly, through education and community awareness, said GPM India Director Kenneth Dsouza. “Preventive health care is the key to long-term health of our community service participants.”

The first phase in this program, which took place in July 2022, was the “Oral Health Screening Camp”

in which over 2000 patients from 40 hamlets Mokhada were screened for oral cancer and provided with individualized follow-up treatment plans.

The second phase that took place in March 2023 focused on the people in need of treatment or those showing symptoms of oral cancer. Patients from the North and the South will be brought to the health center for counselling, blood tests, biopsy, and basic treatment. 

Phase three will focus on the treatment of those based in south Mokhada along with counselling of patients.

GPM medical staff and Indian Dental Association dental staff go over logistics of the oral healthcare screenings 

GPM Rural Emergency Response Program Saves Lives!

Residents of the rural villages of Mokhada that GPM serves are currently facing drastic life or death emergency situations as a result of extreme weather. Seasons of long drought are now being followed by intense monsoons that have ushered in harsh flooding, destruction of property, animal attacks, health care shortfalls, and relentless food insecurity.

Severe flooding is ravaging the community. This has had many devastating impacts over the past few weeks:

• A pregnant woman with complications could not reach a hospital to give birth because her village was cut off from the main road due to surging flooding.
• A child playing in a field was bitten by a poisonous snake and only had a few hours to get to the hospital to receive the antivenom to save his life.
• The entire Botoshi village of 560 individuals experienced food scarcity of essential food items

The community of Mokhada desperately needs tools at their disposal to deal with ongoing emergencies and save lives. Mokhada, a tribal district that has hundreds of village hamlets located in remote jungles or mountainsides in almost isolated conditions. The absence of roads and bridges and other transportation services due to monsoon flooding results in life-threatening situations. This leads to severe anxiety, hardships, stress and extreme danger for the villagers.

In response to this urgent life-threatening situation, GPM has launched the Rural Emergency Response Program aimed at providing crucial life-saving equipment and resources.

The Rural Emergency Response Program, designed in collaboration with members of the community and the support of local government, includes:

• Ambulances. Emergency all-terrain medical vehicles to transport people to hospitals. The
  community currently has none.
• Local emergency medical training. Training local volunteers in emergency logistic response and medical first aid
• Emergency medical supplies. Mobilization of basic health devices, safety equipment and medical supplies including essential medicines.
• 
  
  Urgent food rations. Deployment, transportation and delivery of emergency food rations in cases of natural disasters (severe draught, climate-related crops damage)
• Home damage repair. Fixing homes damaged in natural disasters (ie flooding, monsoon rains, cyclones etc)
• Emergency helpline. The creation of emergency 24/7 helpline services for urgent transportation for treatment at nearest health clinics and hospitals.
• Continuity of services. Long-term follow-up and supervision of cases

GPM must immediately raise $100,000 for its Rural Emergency Response Program to provide emergency services to the tribal district of Mokhada serving 180,000 people!

We urgently need your help. We cannot do this without your support: https://rootfunding.com/campaigns/emergency_response

Oh...and by the way, as part of GPM’s Rural Emergency Response Program, the child that was bitten by a snake received the anti-venom in time to save his life, the entire village of Botoshi
received emergency rations and the pregnant woman delivered healthy…twins...a boy and a girl!

GPM Launches Infant Malnutrition Program in Remote Villages

 GPM delivered 17 large boxes of medicines and vitamins this week to treat 256 severely malnourished children in the tribal district of Mokhada. The delivery to the Integrated Child Development Services for the first month of malnutrition treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) infants in remote rural Maharashtra marks the launch of the GPM ‘Bal Balwan – Healthy Child Mission’.

The program was devised in collaboration between GPM and local authorities in response to the COVID-19 lockdown and food crisis that ensued in remote areas of Maharashtra.

Mokhada Government Project Officer Kuldip Jadhav, District Health Officer Doctor Kishor Desale and Local Health Officers Suvarna Patil and Uma Chaudhari were very pleased to receive the life-sustaining medicines that will be delivered to the seven division ‘beats’ of the Mokhada District (Taluka) and prepared for the medicine’s immediate distribution.

"We are most grateful to Gabriel Project for donating these vitamins for 250 SAM and MAM children in the entire Mokhada taluk," said ICDS Project Officer Kuldeep Jadhav. "This will help save the children's lives." 

GPM staff Kenneth Dsouza, Thaiza Dias, and Hemant Pawar joined village ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) worker Maya Gade in the first two home visits and treated two moderately malnourished babies. ASHA workers gave a small nutrition training to the children’s parents directing them on the use of the monthly medicine regimen.

GPM will be monitoring and evaluating the malnutrition program along with government health officials for the upcoming year to treat the 259 children in the district and, hopefully eradicate infant malnutrition in the area.

This life-saving program relies on the generosity of donors like you. Please consider supporting this program! 

To support the GPM Emergency COVID-19 Response Fund, please click here: https://www.gabrielprojectmumbai.org/donate

First Ever Medical Student Internship at GPM

Standing inside the Sharvan Health Clinic

For the first time ever, GPM welcomes three fourth year medical students from the United Kingdom. Lucy Lewis, Sally Maryosh and Elkie Ben Hur have arrived in India and their work has already begun. During their four weeks in India they will be working at the GPM Sharvan Health Center  in the Kalwa slums, in the villages with the GPM mobile clinic and with  Doctors for You, in Mankhurd - central Mumbai. 

Sally and Lucy are completing their medical studies at the University of East Anglia while Elkie is attending the medical school at Liverpool University.

Sally says she is excited to learn more about how the health care system works in developing countries, “It is amazing work that the doctors and volunteers do here and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to truly understand India’s culture and health system and the diversity of life here.” 

Students learn about health

The medical interns learn about the differences between urban slum health and rural village health and the challenges that Indian doctors face on a daily basis.  They will be working to establish protocols for various infections and sicknesses that will greatly benefit the Sharvan Health Center and Doctors for You. They also get the privilege of working alongside Dr. Pravin Rathod during their time in the villages.  

Lucy Lewis explains how she knew she wanted to have an enriching medical experience for her internship, “ I was really hoping to go to India; I wanted to do something different, and I did not want to spend my month in a hospital. I wanted to throw myself in at the deep end and have a once in a lifetime opportunity to utilize my medical skills in a helpful and productive way. I am also particularly interested in community medicine, especially the care of women and children.”

The three interns have just completed teaching several classes of children in kalwa about good health and hygiene.  

"We feel very fortunate that Lucy, Elkie, and Sally chose GPM as their elective internship, says Samantha Klazkin, GPM Associate Director, "and we hope that this experience stays with them throughout their medical careers."

Performing health-checkups for pre-school children at GPM pre-school

Samantha Klazkin joins GPM as Associate Director

We are so excited that Samantha Klazkin, 25, has joined GPM as its Associate Director. Currently living in Jerusalem, Samantha graduated from the University of Florida in 2014 with a degree in International Studies and Communications and later was a volunteer with GPM during the summer of 2013, and as she says, “loved every moment of it.”

Samantha in 2013 as a GPM Fellow

After graduating from University, Samantha moved back to South Florida to work for AIPAC and then followed in her parents’ footsteps by moving to Israel.

At GPM Samantha’s role is in programming, communications, partner relations and supporting innovative development work in the field.

Samantha’s favorite memories from volunteering are: “walking into the classrooms each morning and being greeted by so many smiling children, exploring India, and being immersed in Indian culture. “

Speaking about her new role at GPM, Samantha says, “I am so happy that I am part of this incredible organization.”