The Kolhapur Medical & Healthcare Camp 2018

The Kolhapur Medical & Healthcare Camp, a brainchild of Dr. Aniruddha Dhairyadhar Joshi, M.D. (Medicine) is in its 15^th year. This year it was held on 4^th & 5^th February 2018 at Pendakhale village of Shahuwadi taluka in the district of Kolhapur, Maharashtra.

One may think of this to be just a 2-day affair but in fact, it is an on-going activity being performed round the year that culminates into the Camp. It is actually a holistic rural upliftment program for the community as a whole. 

Under this, our Organization conducts surveys to gauge the requirements of the local families with respect to medical, hygiene and clothing needs and simultaneously monitors the impact on their lifestyle of the programs implemented by it. Every 3 months the volunteers from the districts of Kolhapur, Sangli, and Satara are involved in this exercise. The volunteers are also in touch with the local schools and periodically check on the development of the students. The gathered data is updated every year to cater to the requirements of students and villagers.

Like every year, the first-day of this year’s Camp (4^th February 2018) too, was shaped entirely on the year-long surveys and their analyses thereof. Accordingly, 9018 families from 93 villages received clothes under the ‘Juney te soney’ (‘Old is Gold’) program. They were also provided with hygiene material, enough to take care of their requirements for 3 months. The ‘Hygiene Kits’ distributed consisted of toothpowder, bathing soaps, cleaning soaps, combs (general and lice), water purifying solution, anti-scabies lotion, etc. The Organisation also makes all the arrangements for the transport of this material along with volunteers to the villages for distribution.

The second-day, the 5^th February 2018, focussed on the medical aspects and distribution to school children. 14,214 patients were diagnosed by a team of 148 doctors which included Ophthalmic, Orthopaedic, pediatric specialists, surgeons and consultants who were assisted by 185 paramedical staffers. For the 2-days, the part of the Camp was converted into a ‘Super Speciality Facility’, where needy locals from 557 villages and hamlets were facilitated with x-rays, ECGs, tooth extraction, skin treatment and special OPDs for ENT, cardiac, surgery, etc. A team of 70 optometrists checked the eyesight of 3079 villagers out of which 2500 were provided with spectacles.

The vastness of the Camp can be gauged from the very fact that apart from the medical facilities provided to the villagers, 8073 students from 130 schools were also provided at the same time with school uniforms, caps, footwear, sports material like frisbee, cricket kits, candles to study at night, etc. Proper care of children is also taken by providing them with biscuits, dry fruits and water which sustain them during the Camp till a sumptuous and a nutritive lunch is served to them at the Camp site.

The touch of love and warmth of Sadguru Aniruddha and his compassion for the needy can be felt at every moment and in every activity at the Camp. Bapu’s perfect guidance has been instrumental in making the Camp cross all the qualitative and quantitive levels known to be associated with medical camps. Over the years more and more people are getting sustained benefit from the Camp making their life better as Bapu’s promise – “I shall fill this world with happiness and abound with joy all that be!”

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