Rural Jharkand
Peace Bird Society USA / Peace Bird Society India
Registration Number (Public Trust Act): In AZ: 0846266-6 In India: S28376 of 1995_
Tax Exemption Certificate Number: In USA 86-0926613
Exemption
Valid Dates: ___________________________________________________________
The organization was created for the medical and
educational upliftment of the tribal people (Adivasi) and for the protection of
their culture.
Our mission: To provide education, health care and
social services to destitute and disabled children, their families and orphans
in parts of the world which have an undeveloped social infrastructure, are
experiencing emergency medical needs or catastrophic disasters.
Our vision: To improve human and environmental
health in developing countries by breaking the cycle of poverty, poor health
and environmental degradation one community at a time.
In USA: 3 Directors, 4 Board Members plus
volunteers.
In
India: 7 Board Members and local Staff which consists of 25 people; 1
orthopedic technician, 1 orthopedic assistant, 2 teachers, 5
acupuncturists, 4 TCM, 1 midwife, 1
nurse, 1 dental assistant, 1 cook, 1 helper, 2 night guards, 1 driver, 1
livestock caretaker, 2 assistants, 1 office manager
Project
Asha Vihar, in rural Jharkand on the Chotanagpur Plateau, is a multi-therapy
clinic and hospital together with a vocational training program surrounded by
more than 100 villages with a population of approximately 200,000 tribal people
(adivasi).
The goals of the project are:
1.
Basic medical cares for the tribal people (adivasi) and the poor of the
region.
2.
Prevention of infectious diseases, concentrating on the elimination of
polio.
3.
Rehabilitation of the handicapped.
4.
Educating the villagers on hygiene, disease prevention, first aid,
recognition and treatment of diarrhea and dehydration.
5.
To create a network of health care workers to work with the villages.
6.
To be a model for the implementation of various different therapies.
7.
To have a special teams of volunteer surgeons perform corrective surgery
on disabled people.
8.
To train healthcare people to continue the health programs and
propagate it in a form of a network throughout the villages.
9.
To build an orphanage for the children to ensure them a loving
environment and the possibility of an education.
10.
Veterinary care for the livestock of the surrounding area.
11.
To implement an illiteracy program and basic education system for the
surrounding population.
12.
Reforestation of the
surrounding areas.
13.
The use and propagation of renewable energies.
14.
The cultivation of medicinal plants.
15.
To build an artificial limbs workshop.(completed in 1999)
See attachments ( audited
financial statements from Peace Bird India available upon request).
In USA: funds from private
donors, grant for childrens orphanage from the Jack Deloss Foundation and the
American Foundation
In India: funds from private
donors, grant from the German Consulate in Calcutta
Other funding was obtained
through slide shows in USA, Germany and Singapore.
Kristina Okuda –
P.O. Box 18626 Fountain Hills,
AZ 85269
Ph:
480-816-9131 – fax: 480-816-0823 – email:krisokuda@uswest.net or peacebird@uswest.net
Peace
Bird Society USA Kristina
Okuda –
P.O. Box 18626 Fountain
Hills, AZ 85269
Ph: 480-816-9131 – fax: 480-816-0823 – email:krisokuda@uswest.net or
peacebird@uswest.net
Yes, we have 1 small
building where we provide primary education for 10 children. It consists of
only 1 classroom. We have hired 2 teachers. We use the same facility in the evenings, for
our vocational medical training. We have at AV 9 students, (8 men and 1 woman between the ages of 16 and 22). We have one vocational teacher.
Due to
the projected increase in amount of children living at Asha Vihar in the near
future, we need to expand the existing
school building by at least one more classroom.
1.
Primary education followed by vocational education (nurse, homeopathic
doctor, midwives etc)
2.
Medical Training (on village health care, TCM, midwifery) for outlets
in the surrounding rural areas. Our goal is to establish various mini clinics
in the surrounding villages once the next group of students completes their
studies at Asha Vihar. Currently, many people come from far away for treatment.
This would help reduce the amount of travel time for them.
Most of our children are
orphans, girls from very poor families who requested us to take them and
physically handicapped children. We have currently living with us 6 boys and 4
girls. Most of these children come from tribal families.
The rural area in the Bokaro district has approximately a 75%
illiteracy rate.
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
Dr K.K. Das M.D., D.G.O.,
F.I.C.S., Sonologist in obstetrics
Gynecology – 225, Co-operative Cololy, Bokaro Steel City 827001 – Ph:
6542 40517 (telefax) email: kkdas@bokaro,index-com Ram Majhi – tribal village leader – Majhi
Tolla in Chilgadda – Bokaro District
Mr. Parameswar Giri – AV orthopedics technician.
Amount
of money required: $4345.50 for children/yr , $1000 construction of additional classroom,
$681.81/yr for vocational training (for teachers)
Duration
for which funds are requested: 3 years
Detailed
breakup of the costs involved along with details of money received from other
sources, if any:
___________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
We would like to request a one time construction
funding for an additional classroom. We have children of different ages and
levels of education and this would enable us to divide the group and be more
efficient in our educational efforts. The cost is approximately $1,000 US or
44,000 RS.
The current cost per child per month:
for living expenses (food,
lodging, medical etc) Annual
Costs
$30 per child per month or1320 rupees –
$300 or 13,200 rupees. $3600.00 or 158,400
RS
The total approximate annual cost for school
supplies: $90.90 or 4000 RS
2 teachers salaries at $54.55 monthly or 2400 RS
(2 x 1200)
at an annual cost of $
654.60 or 28,800 RS
Total cost $4345.50
or 191,200 RS
One time funding for additional classroom of $1000.00 or 44,000 RS
For primary education
Vocational training for 2 teachers $ 681.81 or 30,000 RS
For more information about
Peace Bird and our Asha Vihar project please visit our website www.peacebird.org
2000 Peace Bird Annual Report:
At the beginning of this year
2001, we want to share the developments and state of the project at Asha Vihar
during the year 2000, with you:
INDIA:
Children and Personnel:
The number of children we are
raising and who are permanently living with us has now reached 10. Four of our seven student interns have
successfully completed their final exams in Chinese Acupuncture and public
health. They will continue to live and
work at the project. In addition, we have nine new students and one new
registered nurse. Altogether, 35 people
now live and work at Asha Vihar.
The Work:
Day Clinic: The
expansion of the building, which was completed in January of 2000, has enabled
us to treat over 100 ambulatory patients daily. The daily cost of treating
these patients amounts to $148.00/day.
The total ambulatory area includes 5 exam rooms, 1 classroom, 1 delivery
room, a small laboratory, 2 pharmaceutical storage rooms, 2 large treatment
rooms with 25 beds each, 1 emergency room and an inner courtyard with benches,
can be used as waiting area.
Due to the work of the orthopedic
team from Stenum and a reduction of the number of invasive surgical procedures
we were able to correct less severe forms of joint deformities by utilizing
traction and plaster casts. With these
methods we have helped 70 additional children with knee deformities in the
second half of the year.
Our Physical Therapy department
has been improved and is permanently managed and staffed by Physical Therapists
from Germany who are also training Indian Physical Therapy assistants.
Our work in the villages has been
expanded. The care of pregnant women
and midwifery has become a permanent institution in the villages. We have been able to accomplish this because
of the increased trust the women of the villages have placed in our work there.
Education in Public health and Hygiene (infection prevention, water treatment
etc) has also been expanded to include many more villages. We still utilize presentations at schools
and village plays as educational forums.
Project Stenum: This year
our 19-surgeon team operated on 113 children.
The total cost for these surgeries came to $9,029.00 = the cost of 1 hip
surgery in Germany. The cost per child was $79.90!
Orthopedic treatment area: The
number of children treated in our orthopedic treatment area has increased
significantly and so has the necessary workload. We are now able to produce 3 complete braces a day. We continue to make them with rounded steel
and leather, both obtainable locally at a cost of $13.00.
Buildings: Currently
we are in the process of building a second operating room and adding a second
story to the hospital above both surgical tracts. This will be a huge patient dormitory - 50 beds. The children
love to recover and live together - the more, the better!
Also, with funds received from
Peace Bird USA, the first orphanage house is being built in the children’s
village. We have planned to build 11
houses for 11 children each and one supervising adult for: orphans, children
from poverty stricken families and children with disabilities. We have changed the use of building
materials from cement to adobe.
Presentations and
Publications Abroad:
Our project is being supported by
Peace Bird USA and Peace Bird Germany.
They make it possible for us to give presentations about our work at
Asha Vihar, which help raise the funds so vital for the work to continue. This year we also did 60 presentations in
Germany, 15 in Singapore and 10 in the US.
A German studio developed a video about our work free of
charge, which we use in our presentations.
At the University of Durham,
England, a dissertation was held about the many exemplary, complementary
medical procedures performed at Asha Vihar.
(A copy can be obtained through email: annegret.zechel@Ishtm.ac.uk)
The vintners in the Palatinate in
Germany, who donate $1.00 of every bottle of a certain white wine sold, have
provided a big help.
We thank all of you for your
continued support in our efforts at Asha Vihar.
1995
$ 2,615.00
1996
$ 9,500.00
1997
$12,500.00
1998
$24,000.00
1999
$30,000.00
2000
$43,308.00
|
cOST |
aMOUNT rUPPES/month |
aMOUNT us$/month |
Total Annual cost RS |
Total Annual Cost in US$ |
|
Administrative |
43,000.00
|
1,075.00 |
516,000.00 |
12,900.00 |
|
Medications |
25,000.00 |
625.00 |
300,000.00 |
7,500.00 |
|
Patient Aid * |
10,000.00 |
250.00 |
120,000.00 |
3,000.00 |
|
TB Treatments |
6,000.00 |
150.00 |
72,000.00 |
1,800.00 |
|
Plaster for Casts ** |
6,000.00 |
150.00 |
72,000.00 |
1,800.00 |
|
Orthopedic Lab *** |
8,000.00 |
200.00 |
96,000.00 |
2,400.00 |
|
Generator
& Vehicles |
11,000.00 |
275.00 |
132,000.00 |
3,300.00 |
|
Electricity & Repairs |
1,000.00 |
25.00 |
12,000.00 |
300.00 |
|
Phone, Fax, Mail |
9,000.00 |
225.00 |
108,000.00 |
2,700.00 |
|
Travel within India |
7,000.00 |
175.00 |
84,000.00 |
2,100.00 |
|
Bokaro Office Rent |
700.00 |
18.00 |
8,400.00 |
216.00 |
|
Paid employees salaries |
17,632.00 |
441.00 |
211,584.00 |
5,292.00 |
|
Total Operating Costs for 2000 |
144,332.00 |
3,609.00 |
1,731,984 |
43,308.00 |
Please Note: Exchange rate 40 RS /
1 US$
* For emergency surgeries etc.
** For 5 Clubfoot casts, 5 leg casts/month.
*** 30 App/month
2000 - Annual Orthopedic Surgeries
Costs
For children with Polio, Clubfoot and other orthopedic disabilities
|
Costs |
Amount in Rupees |
Amount in US $ |
|
Fuel, Vehicles, Generator |
33,290.00 |
833.00 |
|
Trains, Hotel |
21,428.00 |
536.00 |
|
Food |
24,561.00 |
614.00 |
|
Oxygen, Nitrous Oxide |
34,803.00 |
870.00 |
|
Medications, Infusions |
5,000.00 |
125.00 |
|
Plaster of Paris |
118,442.00 |
2,961.00 |
|
Trucks/Containers w/medical supplies |
66,000.00 |
1,650.00 |
|
Steinman Pins (orthopedic pins) |
35,800.00 |
895.00 |
|
Anesthetists |
21,825.00 |
545.00 |
Total
Costs for orthopedic surgeries
|
361,149.00
|
9,029.00 |
* A total of 11 children
had surgeries in February 2000. Total costs of $9,029 /113 children = $79.90
average cost per child.
2000 - Budget Including Orthopedic Surgeries Costs
|
cOST |
aMOUNT rUPeES/month |
aMOUNT us$/month |
Total Annual cost Rupees |
Total Annual Cost in US$ |
|
Total Operating Costs for 2000 |
144,332.00 |
3,609.00 |
1,731,984.00 |
43,308.00 |
|
Total Costs for orthopedic surgeries (Final costs for 2000) |
|
|
361,149.00
|
9,029.00 |
|
Total Budget Costs year 2000 |
144,332.00 |
3609.00 |
2,093,133.00 |
52,337.00 |
The
Orthopedic Hospital Stenum In India,
A Model Developmental Aid Project
The Southeast of the state of Bihar is the least developed
area of India. Massive deforestation during the past 50 years has turned the
original jungle into desert. The area is so dry now that only one annual
harvest is possible. The population
living there consists primarily of casteless tribal people, Adivasi, who as a
minority are neglected and ignored by the government and society. 10% of the
children are suffering from Polio, creature comforts of civilization such as
electricity, running water, education, medical care and a basic infrastructure
are non-existent and not even planned for by the regional government. The climate is extreme and makes daily life
a hardship. Springtime temperatures run
122 degrees F in the shade, June brings monsoon like rains which turn the land into a swamp. During that season infectious diseases such
as Malaria, Cholera and Typhus take on epidemic proportions.
The Project - Asha Vihar
In 1995 Claudia Stauss purchased
approximately 14 acres of land in Bihar, two hours driving distance from the
town of Bokaro. From 1990 to 1996 she
had already established a similar project in Ananda Nagar, West Bengal. Prior to this she spent 3 years in China
studying and earning her diploma in Acupuncture.
She named her new project Asha
Vihar, which means “Place of Hope”. The
newly purchased land is on a plateau next to a river. Initially with her own
hands, later with the help of villagers, she erected simple buildings. She trained a team of Indian students and
provides basic health care and public health education for these poorest of the
poor. A combination of treatment
methods and modalities is being applied, using principles of Ayurvedic,
Allopathic and Homeopathic, alternative medicine. In addition, the project provides immunizations, pre-natal care
and midwife services, as well as education in public health and hygiene to the
surrounding villages. First aid is
available for acute cases. The project
thus provides developmental aid and complementary medical care.
Of primary concern to the project
is to observe an optimum of ecology and economy. The total monthly administrative cost of the project comes to no
more than $2000.00 (in 1998) and in 2000 the costs come to $4400.00 a month,
this includes providing daily care for 100 patients and approximately 100
surgeries per year. There are 15 medical assistants (7 Acupuncturists and 8
students) who work without financial compensation. The only paid help are
workers from the villages who work as laundresses, gardeners, drivers etc.
Also included in this sum of
$4400.00 are all other necessary services such as administration,
communication, travel expenses, vehicle maintenance and operating costs, and
the care of Tuberculosis patients in the villages. There is a number of medical volunteers from Europe who live at
the project and work there without compensation.
Annual investments in buildings
and equipment are increasing gradually but steadily: 1997 it came to
$13,000.00; 1998 to $24,000.00; 1999 to $30,000.00. These monies are quite
impressive considering they came almost exclusively from private donation -
raised during presentations Claudia gave in Singapore, Germany, and USA.
The Infrastructure:
Energy is provided by a Diesel
generator, which runs a few hours a day and a few solar lamps. Water is pumped from 2 wells. Communication with the outside world is
maintained by telephone and fax (solar powered). Transportation to town by the
project owned vehicles; a jeep, a motorcycle, a motor scooter and bicycles.
Currently there are 11 children,
orphans and children from destitute families, permanently living at the
project. The personnel of the project provide schooling on Sundays. In
September 2000, we saw the breaking ground of a “Children’s Village” in the
project, funded by donations received by Peace Bird USA, because the number of
orphaned and destitute children in need is steadily increasing.
Additional information can be
obtained through the web site: http://www.peacebird.org
The Orthopedic Involvement -
Concept And Perspective
How did the idea of Orthopedic
involvement come about? Claudia Stauss was giving a presentation about Asha
Vihar in Stenum, Germany. Someone asked
how we might help her project. Her answer: “operate our children”!
In 1997, two physicians from
Stenum traveled to India to evaluate the feasibility of doing surgeries there. This led to our ( the Orthopedic Hospital
Stenum) building an operating theater with treatment and patient rooms, it was
designed and built by an Architectural firm in Heidelberg, who donated their
services entirely.
After countless bureaucratic difficulties
with Indian authorities we finally managed in 1998 to send an orthopedic
surgery team to Bihar. All instruments,
medications and bandage materials were shipped there by plane and truck. During a four week stay we examined 240
patients and were able to perform 36
surgeries on 22 children. The surgeries were performed primarily to correct
deformities of the limbs to allow more natural function of daily life for the
children. Following the surgeries two Physical
Therapists from Stenum flew to India to provide follow up care.
This was our pilot project. Since we were dealing with many unknown
factors, only the actual performance of the surgeries under such primitive
conditions could determine whether we would be able to successfully continue
these treatments. Deformity of the
limbs is a rather common occurrence in underdeveloped countries, yet in spite
of this, there are no established proven corrective surgical procedures for
these conditions. Medical literature in
third world countries does not yet deal with this and in highly developed
countries we no longer see these illnesses and therefore no longer have
treatment protocols or procedures for them either.
We were forced to develop our own
therapies - age old problems, new solutions - and implement them in our 1999
surgeries. The best solution turned out
to be a combination of operative and “orthopedic brace/instrument type”
treatments, surgical corrections of joints and limbs and subsequent traction
applied with self constructed brace like apparatus which took weeks and
months. We exceeded our own
expectations in 1999; we were able to successfully operate on 71 children,
performing 93 different surgical procedures in 11 days!
The attempted goal was achieved in
each case without any complications. There were no infections or any cases of
paralysis. In addition to the surgeries
and anesthesia we had to make more than 70 large plaster casts, and over 60
different traction devices, mostly from bamboo. Our Indian assistants continued follow up care after our
departure under our guidance via phone, fax, videos and books.
Our surgical team consisted of 13
doctors who stayed in Bihar for five weeks.
Conditions were difficult, no lab facilities, no X rays, no
transfusions, no IVS, no true intensive care.
Flights and supplies, transports and container shipments were financed
through private and pharmaceutical industry donations. Losses through thefts were unavoidable but
were directed only at private, personal items of value so that our ability to
perform our work was not affected.
Though we were happy with the
overall results, we realized there were deficiencies, especially regarding
orthopedic techniques. Therefore we
invited an Indian Acupuncture student to come to Germany fro three months to be
trained in orthopedic techniques and preparation of braces and prostheses. The
owner of the orthopedic lab providing the training, Mr. Krämer, paid for the
costs for this trip and training, including all materials and room and board. Another dire need was for Physical
Therapists to provide postoperative rehab care.
For the year 2000 we planned a
multi disciplinary team: a group of physicians to arrive before the main team
to select through physical exams the surgery candidates, the arrival of the main
surgical team three weeks later, followed in another three weeks by a team of
Physical Therapists and post-op care givers. All in all we had 19 volunteers
who used their personal vacation time to come to Asha Vihar, and who paid for
their own airfares. Money for the
transport of supplies and containers was provided through donations. Transport costs had increased and the
container now cost ca $15,000.00 - this could only be financed through personal
contributions.
Our concept of “operative”
vs. “ Orthopedic Instrument based”
Treatment correction of deformed limbs was improved upon also. The new approach stresses reduction of all
treatment solutions to an absolute minimum in order to better adapt to local
conditions. We not only were able to
see 500 children in five days, but also were able to finalize the 13-day
surgery schedule well in advance.
Surgically, we stopped severing
large areas of tendons and joints; instead we used nails anchored in bone and
traction instruments constructed with metal and plaster. We improved the instruments developed the
previous year and were very successful with this so called “closed” (vs. open,
surgical) procedure. This technique
prevents scarring which provides better results with subsequent muscle
replacement plastic surgery procedures. Transplanting healthy muscle tissue to
paralyzed extremities remedied the deficit in these limbs. It also results in
improved functional abilities of the children and saves orthopedic instruments
for other applications.
Optimizing and improving surgery
techniques with better use of materials and time enabled us to increase the
number of surgeries performed to 217 surgeries on 113 children. The emphasis
was on severe and complicated limb deformities, 24 of the children were completely
unable to walk before the surgical intervention. Besides Polio we surgically treated paralysis of large limbs from
other causes, clubfeet, infections and performed muscle transplants. The existing pediatric ward was insufficient
for the number of patients and we had to furnish the outpatient treatment area
with bunk beds for the pediatric surgery patients and use it as overflow
area.
There was a new post-operative
procedure for orthopedic patients developed by a Physical Therapist who came to
us from Sudan. He showed us his
“African” solution: within thirty minutes he constructed a thigh traction
device with simple round steel, at a cost of only $4.00. This is not only affordable in poor regions
but also can be duplicated anywhere - in contrast to the German model we had
used and preferred until then.
Summary of our efforts from
1997 - 2000: The high tech procedures of Western Orthopedic
Medicine and Anesthesiology we are accustomed to cannot be applied in Asha
Vihar. We encountered completely different,
(completely new to us) diseases and conditions, extreme financial and material
poverty, lacking surgical and therapeutic concepts. Still, this was no reason for modern orthopedic surgeons to
capitulate. On the contrary: it forced to become innovative and creative. We
accomplished quantum leaps in methodology: compared to 1998 we saw a 500%
increase in surgeries, in spite the fact that the latest deformities were the
most severe, and complications resulting in infections or paralysis were kept at
zero. Necessity stimulates
creativeness!
Perspective: The
diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for the after effects of Polio have been
drastically simplified and improved.
This will no longer require the use of the outpatient treatment areas as
overflow facilities. The German
volunteer group and Indian Personnel will be able to handle all follow up care.
They will also evaluate the patients and establish the surgery schedule, which
will enable us to become familiar with the required pending operations and plan
for them. We will thus be able to focus
on the required surgical procedures immediately and can start operating the day
after our arrival.
The same applies to the limb
deformities: they, too, can now be implemented using certain methodologies without
requiring our presence. This will free
us to focus on the most difficult and larger surgeries. We are planning to
perform only major surgeries in 2001, still without the aid of any local
infrastructure or technical help.
We plan to publish the diagnostic
and operative standards we developed in Asha Vihar. This will serve as an Orthopedic Model for a Developmental Aid
Project. The project Asha Vihar will be
improved in every area: Orthopedics, Anesthesiology, Building and Energy
techniques, Organization, Financing and Ecology. We will continue to recruit experts in these areas to make Asha
Vihar truly a model for an all-inclusive Developmental Aid Project.
We have been approached and asked
to help elsewhere also and are planning to support a similar project of the
“Christoffel Mission for the Blind” in Sudan.
Just as a colleague from Khartoum helped us this year, we will send an
Indian from Bihar to participate in our work in Sudan. In this manner developing countries can
learn and profit from each other and their experiences. We will continue to be the required
“catalysts” and enjoy working with them.
It truly is a “give and take” situation. By no means are we only the “giving”, from each trip we return
enriched by the human contact with these warm, simple people living in extreme
poverty and on the margins of existence. An orientation point and reality check
for our (apparently superior) high tech civilization - this alone makes all
these efforts worthwhile.
3/19/2000 The Stenum Hospital
Administration