Yesterday proved to be a long but special day for the group. Our friend Ann Witchalls very kindly volunteered to take our group around the CMC Hospital in Vellore - she has been working with the Hospital since the sixties, and even at a time when others are thinking of taking things easy, she and Brian are still getting out here for six months of the year What an energetic couple they are!
We met in the Chapel, the first place to which you come when you enter the hospital. It was being prayed in by many people of all faiths. Al over the hospital there were pertinent texts from the Bible, even on one of the laundry trolleys we espied the text "The Lord does not change" (even if the laundry does). We learnt that the staff pray every morning before, during and after their shift. We saw how every person's contribution to hospital life is valued, from the Director to the Cleaners.
The place is unashamedly Christian.And yet people of all faiths and none are welcomed to receive care here. We learnt that, thanks to word of mouth, people come from as far as Nepal and Bangladesh to receive treatment here, so good it is, and it is affordable (and if it can't be afforded, the treatment is paid for). In fact, about 60% of their admissions seem to come from the north -eastern areas. No-one is turned away. Everyone is valued.
They have a throughput of some 20,000 patients a day. The hospital seems to have something to cover every eventuality- and is particularly "hot" on helping those in various stages of leprosy overcome difficulties from the physical, psychiatric and practical point of view.
But what is most striking about the place is the way in which people work here. They seem to be able to mgive only their very best, and are happy to put in the long hours that are necessary to keep this enormous show on the road. There are 8000 people working here - they could do with more. Those who DO work here are paid lower than most in a similar position. That doesn't mean that the quality of care is sub-standard. These are people who put the patient first, and see that what they do is serving God. Every person, every worker, every patient, is valued, and all are served as serving God.
I will write more on our visit when we reach Pondicherry at the weekend. I've only got a limited amount of time here at the Internet Browser Centre here, and I'm using a keyboard where morst of the letters have worn away, so if this is accurate it must be an accident! The power came on here in Katpadi just twenty minutes ago, and will be on for another hour, so not much time for much news tonight.
Do click on to this piece on youtube - it gives a good overview of what makes CMC tick. I'm bringing the DVD home with me to show folk who might be interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YlvYhKdR6Y
We met in the Chapel, the first place to which you come when you enter the hospital. It was being prayed in by many people of all faiths. Al over the hospital there were pertinent texts from the Bible, even on one of the laundry trolleys we espied the text "The Lord does not change" (even if the laundry does). We learnt that the staff pray every morning before, during and after their shift. We saw how every person's contribution to hospital life is valued, from the Director to the Cleaners.
The place is unashamedly Christian.And yet people of all faiths and none are welcomed to receive care here. We learnt that, thanks to word of mouth, people come from as far as Nepal and Bangladesh to receive treatment here, so good it is, and it is affordable (and if it can't be afforded, the treatment is paid for). In fact, about 60% of their admissions seem to come from the north -eastern areas. No-one is turned away. Everyone is valued.
They have a throughput of some 20,000 patients a day. The hospital seems to have something to cover every eventuality- and is particularly "hot" on helping those in various stages of leprosy overcome difficulties from the physical, psychiatric and practical point of view.
But what is most striking about the place is the way in which people work here. They seem to be able to mgive only their very best, and are happy to put in the long hours that are necessary to keep this enormous show on the road. There are 8000 people working here - they could do with more. Those who DO work here are paid lower than most in a similar position. That doesn't mean that the quality of care is sub-standard. These are people who put the patient first, and see that what they do is serving God. Every person, every worker, every patient, is valued, and all are served as serving God.
I will write more on our visit when we reach Pondicherry at the weekend. I've only got a limited amount of time here at the Internet Browser Centre here, and I'm using a keyboard where morst of the letters have worn away, so if this is accurate it must be an accident! The power came on here in Katpadi just twenty minutes ago, and will be on for another hour, so not much time for much news tonight.
Do click on to this piece on youtube - it gives a good overview of what makes CMC tick. I'm bringing the DVD home with me to show folk who might be interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YlvYhKdR6Y
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