EARTHSPEAK has been working in Hyderabad since late 2004.
This trip united team member
Andi Jobe
from the United States
with India team members,
including
Dr. Mukunda Reddy,
Head of Plastic Surgery
at the Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS)
and
Ch Bhargavi,
the newly hired Speech Pathologist
on the Cleft Palate team at NIMS.
In October 2006 EARTHSPEAK began a program that sought to provide free surgery
and related cleft palate team care to all children in need
in the state of Andhra Pradesh in Southern India.
Smile Train provided surgical funding.
The illness and subsequent passing of Dr. Richard Jobe resulted
in a two-year absence from the site.
That left the India program without the level of active participation
that EARTHSPEAK had been providing.
However, electronic communication was maintained,
and Dr. Reddy and his team were able to maintain and even expand some areas
that had already been established.
During this trip 7 patients presented for review.
Of the 7, three were dismissed with speech within normal limits.
Two of these children were from the nomadic Lambada tribe,
and one of them improved enough to get into Class 1 at school last year.
The boy now has normal speech and will be promoted to Class 4 at the end of this year.
In addition to the review of past participants,
EARTHSPEAK conducted a week-long training camp for village health care workers
and parent mentors, and also a speech camp for 10 students.
Both were very successful.
Varanasi
EARTHSPEAK received many requests to investigate starting a program in Varanasi,
in northern India, under the sponsorship of Dr. Subodh Singh, a Smile Train partner,
at G. S. Memorial, a private hospital devoted to plastic surgery care.
The center has a staff of 50, including three full-time plastic surgeons.
There is no doubt that speech therapy is needed to complete the care
of cleft palate patients served by G. S. Memorial.
The task becomes how best to develop the system that will do it efficiently,
effectively, and at minimal cost.
The dialog continues between the staff of G. S. Memorial and EARTHSPEAK.
