AADHAAR - UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION PROJECT

Don't let anyone steal your dream.  It's your dream, not theirs.       (Dan Zadra)

In recent years India has introduced programs and legislation to address some of the issues facing huge numbers of the poor in India. India legislated the legal age of hiring young people which actually works against our families as they need all the possible income they can get in order to survive. Mandatory helmets for those riding motorcycles was put in place.  Immunization programs have targeted the rural areas of India.

One of the largest programs introduced is the Unique Identification Project.

In January 2012, Manmohan Singh, the prime minister of India addressed his government by saying that there should be shame over: 2/5ths of India's children are underfed, infant mortality is high, illiteracy is rampant, there is a lack of clean drinking water, and countless other curses that affect the poor. 

Poverty has many causes, and no simple cure.  But one massive problem in India is that few poor people can prove who they are. They live in villages where multitudes share the same name.  Their lack of an identity excludes them from the modern economy.  They cannot open bank accounts, and no one would be so foolish as to lend them money.

The government offers them all kinds of welfare, but because they lack an identity, they struggle to lay hands on what they have been promised. 

Aadhaar means "support or foundation"

Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique number which the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will issue for all residents in India. The number will be stored in a centralized database and linked to the basic demographics and biometric information – photograph, ten fingerprints and iris – of each individual.It is easily verifiable in an online, cost-effective way. So also, it is unique and robust enough to eliminate the large number of duplicate and fake identities in government and private databases The random number generated will be devoid of any classification based on caste, creed, religion and geography.[7]

One of the advantages of the UID is  " 2.By providing a clear proof of identity, Aadhaar will also facilitate entry for poor and underprivileged residents into the formal banking system and the opportunity to avail services provided by the government and the private sector."

The program is for all Indians, and there have been over 200 million people registered so far.  The program is however, voluntary, and not well advertised to the poor communities. 
For those not having the required documents for enrollment, the government introduced an "introducer system" of people who can vouch for the validity of a person's information.  The UID number of the introducer would become part of the person who is getting enrolled.  This has raised privacy issues as India lacks strong privacy and data-protection laws.  There is also some concerns regarding the accuracy of the Biometric measures of identification.

For the poor, having a secure online identity alters their relationship with the modern world.

Poor Indians would be able to open a bank account which would erase the need for middle men who often cheat the poor.
Although there appears to be some validity with the complaints about the process and system, the system is going ahead.

......India plainly needs better data-protection laws, but even if the existing rules remained unchanged, the threat to liberty would be dwarfed by the gains to welfare: to people who live ten to a room, concerns about privacy sound outlandish.  Some of the resistance is principled, but much comes from the people who do well out of today's filthy system.  Indian politics hinge on patronage - the doling out of opportunities to rob one's countrymen.  UID would make this harder.  That is why it faces such fierce opposition, and why it could transform India. [and serve as a model for other countries.]

The registration process appears to be hit and miss.  At least it has been for "our families". The families that live immediately behind Khar school have not been registered. Some of the temporary slum dwellers have been registered but not all.  They put a notice in the paper about the registration process, but for most of our families who are illiterate, that makes no sense. There is also an excellent web site for UID, but again, our families do not have access to it.

The UID numbers for those who have been registered have not been given out yet, and there is no indication of when this might happen.  The process clearly is going to take many years to complete.  However, it does have the potential to improve the lives of the poor by giving them access to services that are available to those who hold documentation records.

We can only hope that this happens and that our families will benefit.



The following sources were used in the above blog:
 Mumbai mid-day newpaper
The Economist Jan.14, 2012
www.uidai.gov.in
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unique_Identification_Authority_of_India
http://www.uidnumber.org/.org





   

India Volunteer is an Amazing Artist

In October and November of 2010 Maggie Nancarrow volunteered with One! in India.  She was an enthusiastic volunteer who endeared herself to the children in India. In recent communication with me she said: "Next time you talk to Kokila, Radha, Malika, Sunil, Ashok....well everyone actually, tell them I say Hi and that I miss them. I still have everyone's goodbye cards and I even have some framed.:-) "  As with most volunteers who work with "our children" in India, Maggie fell in love with the children.

Maggie is an artist. She produces what she calls "Marker Art".
In Maggie's words:

These images are an expression of my travels, my experiences, and the things I see in my imagination. I try to use inexpensive materials. These are all done in main stream permanent marker--Sharpies, Bic, and Pilot Precise pens. I believe that creating great art should not have to be limited to those with lots of money.

For our 10th Anniversary Gala in January of 2011, Maggie

... drew and donated this image to One! International, the organization that I worked with in India. It was auctioned at their fundraiser in January. The original artwork is now held by a generous person who helped support the amazing families and teachers that I worked with in Mumbai.

                                           Reach Up!


                              A Gift for One! International

                                          January 2011


We approached Maggie again this year for our 11th Anniversary Gala and once again Maggie produced an incredible art work on the theme of the Gala "One! Love"

I was asked again this year to produce a piece for One! International’s January Gala Fundraiser. The original piece will be available for auction and all the proceeds of the piece will go to the organization. I volunteered for One! last year, 2010, in October and November. I’m always glad to support these wonderful people, and most importantly, these beautiful kids. Check out their website to learn more about what they do.

                         A second gift for One! International


                                    “With This Mind”

                                      December 2011

A very lucky Gala attendee has a one-of-a-kind beautiful artwork to remind them that "One! Love" can accomplish miracles.

We are so fortunate to have the continued commitment to One! International of Maggie Nancarrow.
Please check out her web page for more beautiful examples of her work.   www.maggienancarrow.com  

VOLUNTEER EXTRAORDINARY SHARES HER STORY

One! International had it's 4rth Annual Gala Celebration on Saturday January 28, 2012. It was a smashing success and I will probably write further about it.

However, at this time I want to share the contents of a speech that our extraordinary Canadian volunteer Julie shared with the crowd of over 400 people who attended the Gala.

                  Hello. My name is Julie Hawkins and, I AM a volunteer!


• I became actively involved with One! International following my own personal adventure to India in 2005.

• About four weeks after my return from India, I attended a fundraising event for One!. At the time, I was still trying to make sense of the sights, sounds and people I encountered in India and was trying to find my place back home.

• This adventure changed me and challenged me. It changed who I was - how I felt about me and I was questioning - why was I lucky enough to be so fortunate with this life. The spiritual adventure was rapidly unfolding and I endeavoured to find the answers to all my questions.

• At the fundraiser, I felt an immediate connection. Someone else understood what my eyes saw, how emotionally raw I was and seemed to have some answers to the questions I was asking. I knew then, that this extraordinary young woman from Sherwood Park, was someone that I wanted to get to know better. So I signed up to be a volunteer. I signed up, for a challenge.

• Two years later, I was asked to take the position as Manager of Programs and Events. I took this role, very seriously.

• I actually think Tania and Marilyn were not quite sure what to do with me at times because of my never ending questions about process, policies, terms of reference, organizational structure, etc.

• But before long, I found that I started to feel less like a volunteer and more like this was MY organization.

• I am proud and honoured to be invited into this One! family. So I moved forward doing what I felt needed to be done.

• Volunteering to me, means taking the time to do something – anything, with good intentions and the hope that it will make a difference. I believe that by nature humans have desires to make a meaningful impact on the world around them. I believe it is just a part of who we are.

• One! survives, quite simply, because of our volunteers. Whatever reason a person offers his or her time, each moment spent together helping is a moment that holds great value, and in return, we receive huge personal rewards. One step at a time.

• One! reaps those rewards, tenfold. I personally feel incredibly fortunate to be working with a team of such determined, passionately dedicated, fiercely loyal and compassionate people.

• It was important to me that our volunteers each had a role that they could call their own. To allow their self-worth to flourish, their pride to bloom and for them to know, that they were making a difference.

• We did this by establishing a Steering Committee; the objective is to ensure all operational activities align with One`s vision, mission and value statements. We assist in identifying strategic level issues and risks and ensure that our projects and fundraisers achieve their goals.

• We also established working groups like the Priorities and Strategic Management Group – with that title, you just know that’s a fun group!! They have the dubious task of helping One! Canada: secure our longevity by helping us with policies to minimize our risks, give strategic direction, establish realistic priorities, and more importantly, make sure we stay on track at a reasonable rate of growth, so we don’t compromise the future of One!.

• We also established a Gala Planning team. This is our fourth Gala and each year we become even more successful. It takes an extraordinary team, a lot of time, a lot of ideas and lot of coffee at 1912 Block where we meet regularly.

• Quite simply - My team rocks!!! I feel like the mother hen who is incredibly proud of all her little chicks!

• We are our own little dysfunctional family, with a few cracks around the edges…but you know what, it works. And it works because we all have the exact same goal in mind and that is to help our children.

• We are all - in this for the long haul - and - for the future of One! which looks really bright!

• You can’t help but feel incredibly humbled being around such amazing people, true ambassadors of One! International. It truly is a privilege.

         In closing I would like to share this inspirational quote about volunteering.

                              We do not choose to be born.

                              We do not choose our parents.

                              Or our times, or country of birth,

                              Or the circumstances of our upbringing.

                              We do not—most of us—choose to die

                              But within all this realm of choicelessness

                              We do choose how we shall live

                              Courageously or in cowardice - Honourably or dishonourably

                              With purpose or adrift.

                              We decide what is important and what is trivial.

                              What makes us significant is what we do.

                              Or refuse to do.

                              We decide and we choose.

                              And so we give definition to ourselves.

                                                                                    By Joseph Epstein

THANK YOU

A BIT OF THIS & A BIT OF THAT

                             STORIES OF HOPE


I am actually going to talk about other people besides Kokila this time, but I will start with Kokila.

KOKILA

As most of you know, Kokila was discharged from hospital on November 11, 2011.  After much opposition, followed by negotiation, the landlord finally agreed to allow Kokila to stay at the school for some time in order that infection be kept to a minimum, or not at all.  Kokila only stayed at the school for about one week, but I'm sure it helped to have a very clean environment for that period of time.

Kokila is now at home and doing quite well.  The only problem has been some infection in one of her ears.  Today she was having the second day surgery to drain the infection.  Hopefully this will be all she needs.

At the end of November Kokila and Kanchen her mother spoke at the Annual concert which was attended by members of almost all the families from both schools.  Kanchen spoke from the heart.  She thanked everyone for saving her daughter - the early intervention by Tania and the staff to get Kokila into a good burn hospital, and the incredible world wide support from the larger One! family to pay for the services Kokila required.  She acknowledges that her daughter probably would not have survived without this help. Apparently there wasn't a dry eye in the room. 

Kokila is attending school sporadically and has started back into her studies.

However, the challenge now is the "princess" complex she has developed as a result of all the attention she has received over the last two months.  She does a fair amount of whining and is being a little oppositional.

In order for the skin grafts to be as flexible as possible and give her as much mobility as possible, Kokila needs to do exercises.  We are sure the exercises cause some discomfort and perhaps even some pain.  But they are necessary and she is not cooperating with the routine.  The trick now will be coming up with some realistic reward regime for her. 

Her progress has been remarkable, and I'm sure this latest "bump in the road" will be navigated successfully.

SANKRISH

This is a little boy who did not have a proper anus.  The condition was causing him a great deal of discomfort, and his nutrition was also greatly affected.

Sankrish had his surgery in the spring and is doing very well.  Everything is working as it should and his health has improved.
The surgery was done for free; the medicines were covered by One!

ANKITA
Ankita is a little girl about 10 years of age who had a hole in her heart.

The family knew about the hole, but apparently the operation can not be done too young.

By January of 2011 Ankita's asthma was getting progressively worse, and by March she could only walk about 15 minutes before she was in pain. The doctors started doing the tests and talking about doing the surgery, but told the mother the costs would be in the thousands of dollars.  
This was just after Sankrish had his operation, so Ankita's mother had some idea of were to go and what to do. Ankita's mother knew One! had helped with the costs for Sankrish, and that we probably wouldn't be able to pay very much at this time.

Ankita's mother is a single mother, but we are incredibly proud of what she accomplished for her daughter.

Mother had to start with getting an affidavit regarding the birth of Ankita (no birth certificate). She had to prove her family was below the poverty/ration level in order for the costs of the operation to be waived.  She went to about 10 different offices over a period of 25 days.  In early May the approval was given for the operation and Ankita was admitted to hospital (emergency by this point) on May 13, 2011.
Mom had to arrange for 5 blood donations before the surgery could be done.

Finally on July 17, 2011 Ankita had her surgery.

One week after the surgery Ankita was back at school.  She is fine and there are no complications.  The costs were minimal, a few hundred dollars instead of a few thousand dollars.

Congratulations to Ankita and her mother.

 

SOHAIL

This is a little boy who was born with some sort of deficiency in his leg which causes poor balance, and one leg seemingly shorter than the other. His system needs to be built up before any surgery can be done.  Vitamins are being provided, and of course good meals each day.

RAMESH

We have discovered that Ramesh has Epilepsy.

On July 21 he had what we think was his third 'attack', but this time it was a full on epileptic seizure which left him unconscious.

He is now on medication and the condition should be able to be monitored.

AORTI ( or DeeBee for short)

This little baby - about three months of age was 1.9 Kilos when she was weighed by the One! staff a couple of weeks age.

One of the mothers at our school brought the baby to the school as she was very concerned and thought she would die. Everyone agreed that death was probably imminent.  We have had this experience before, and one such baby was one of the impetus moments for the founding of One! International. 

The baby's mother sits on the side of the road selling/begging.  She did not seem to understand that her baby was dying and needed to get nourishment. ("It's okay, she just sleeps a lot.") The older siblings are also malnourished and sickly.

During the last couple of weeks, One! staff pick the baby up on their way to school.  She is being fed and loved - carried by someone at most times.

Apparently Tania knows that DeeBee's urinary track is working fine.

DeeBee is starting to thrive.  Isn't it amazing what a little food and love will do.

She is now 3 Kilos; she is alert; she is looking around; she is starting to respond to people.  WOW

One! International is saving lives.

One! International is giving children longer lives.

One! International is helping families to care for their children as they want to.

KOKILA IS HOME - ALMOST

I am sure all of you have been waiting for this update from Tania.


You will be pleased to see how well "our girl" is looking and doing.

Once again - please forgive me for sounding like a broken record - THANK YOU

We have raised almost $12,000 Can for Kokila's treatment and hospital stay.

The total expenditures to date have been close to $16,000.

We will be changing the www.CanadaHelps.org fund designation from " Kokila Emergency Fund" to "Emergency Medical Relief Fund". Our plan will be to use any money donated to this new fund to cover the shortfall for Kokila's expenses, and subsequently for any life threatening medical emergencies for One! clients.

I truly do not know what we would have been able to provide for Kokila without the tremendous support from all of our One! friends.

Marilyn

Nov 11, 2011 Tania (mom#2) Kokila, Kanchen (mom#1), and Doctor before leaving the hospital.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday, November 1, 2011 to Thursday, November 3, 2011 (Day 31)

No news to report on these days. Kokila’s mood was steadily better and better and the second grafting went well.

~~~

Friday, November 4, 2011 (Day 32)

Another big day as we were to find out how the second set of skin grafting set. I had a quick visit in the morning, in which I witnessed the doctor screaming at an intern who ‘followed him around’ and was ‘trying to look hard-working’ rather than just being hard-working. He reminded me of myself – I have had that exact same fight before.

He stole a few minutes to talk to me about Kokila's current situation and reaffirmed that he was still planning to discharge her on Monday but was worried about whether she would be ready or not to go home to the slums. It was nice to hear that he understood Kokila’s home life and that it factored into his decisions.

I left before the dressing was done, but he promised to message when it was over and tell me what percent the grafting set.

He forgot to message, but we hoped that no news was good news.

~~~

Saturday, November 5, 2011 (Day 33)

I had a great little visit with Kokila on Saturday. She was in a great mood and was shocked when I told her that she would likely be going home early next week. The smile on her face made everything worthwhile.

~~~

Monday, November 7, 2011 (Day 35)

Kokila`s dressings were changed again on Monday. As it was Id (Muslim holiday), I didn't`t go to the hospital, so the doctor called. He was happy about how Kokila was doing except for the back of her neck which didn't`t take 100% and a pressure ulcer which had formed on the back of her head from lying down and moving minimally for the month. He asked if there was a safe and clean place for her to go. I said that I could probably arrange something, but only for a week. He thought that would be enough and so we discussed discharge on Wednesday.

~~~

Wednesday, November 9, 2011 (Day 37)

Juniper (Canadian Nurse) and I went to see Kokila and talk to the doctor about the pending discharge. He was still worried about the pressure ulcer on the back of her skull but said that if he drained it and covered it with a flap then it would be ok for her to go somewhere clean. He misunderstood our conversation on the phone and thought that I didn't have a clean place for her to stay. He thought that I asked for her to stay in the hospital for one more week. When I told we could arrange a place for a week, he was rather excited. He said he would do what he needed to do on Thursday and then Kokila could be discharged on Friday. We were all very excited.

Once again, Kanchan gave a couple Rupees to a beggar lady on the way home. Life never ceases to amaze.

Vinita asked permission from the school landlord for Kokila to stay – not that permission was needed, but out of respect. He wasn't in, but his wife seemed to think that it wouldn't be a problem.

She was wrong. He came storming into the school fifteen minutes before we were to leave and spoke with Vinita. He said “No! There are too many risks involved.” Vinita tried to find out what the ‘risks’ were. He said “No-one could tell, things could happen from any direction.” Vinita then tried to alleviate all risks that she could think of: Kokila would not try to claim the place as her own (his biggest fear), Kokila was not in a condition that she would die, there would not be many people around visiting – we would ensure it. No matter what she said, he was scared of the imaginary ‘risks’ – that he couldn't put into words. At this point he tried to give her money for a hotel or an apartment for Kokila for the week – a whopping Rs. 1000. Vinita was very confused by this and called me in. It didn't take long to realize that he wasn't going to change his mind and that the only card I had to play was sadness (slightly contrived but 90% real). He continued to talk to Vinita and then finally said to me that I shouldn't be upset. I said that I was not angry, but sad. He was treating it like a business relationship which is not something I could understand. I always treated it like a family relationship and over the last 8 years worked hard at honouring the relationship. As we have helped him over the years, we have only ever asked for a couple favours and that he couldn't help us in this dire situation made me sad.

He tried to convince me that I shouldn't be sad and once again offered money. I repeated that I could be disappointed, and that it wouldn't affect his decision. We would respect his decision and follow it. He said that he would ask around the area and try to get us a place to keep Kokila.

Roadblock.

Through the night, the only answer I could find was the volunteer apartment, but that didn't seem fair on them.

~~~

Thursday, November 10, 2011 (Day 38)

On the walk to school in the morning, volunteers Juniper and Honey were more than ready to adjust for a week to give Kokila a safe home to stay in. Above and beyond – volunteers are amazing.

We prepared for Kokila’s arrival by emptying out the Step 9 room for her to be able to sit in while she was at the school during the day. We bought her some nightgowns and were generally a flitter with little things as we thought of them. On the way home, we passed the Landlord. Vinita asked him if he managed to find a place to which he answered “It is difficult”. Yeah, no sh*&$! He then offered for Josh and I to live in his house (a spare room he had on the roof) so that Kokila and Kanchan could stay in my house. Yeah, that makes sense, how bizarre. We kindly said no thank you and that we would keep Kokila with us and walked away.

As I was about to tell the rest of the volunteers of the unfortunate news, the landlord called. He said “I guess you can keep your patient at the school.” I kept it short and said thank you and that I would be at the school in the morning to discuss it.

The volunteers were happy but immediately took on the role of giving Kokila support over the weekend. They really are amazing.

A quick message exchanged with the doctor, his procedure of covering the pressure ulcer went well and yes, he would start the discharge procedures in the morning and asked us to arrive at 12.

~~~

Friday, November 11, 2011 (Day 39)

A hectic morning started with a quick exchange with the landlord. He said, “Please let this be the last time.” I agreed and said thank you without any emotion. Who knows what consequence this will have on the relationship and the agreement renewal when that time comes – oh well, not to be dealt with now.

We started by bleaching the Step 9 room and making sure it was rat, ant and dust free. Then we continued on to the TV room and all the rooms in between. As the gang was mobilized in doing this, Juniper, Vikas and I left for the hospital – and of course we met with crazy traffic. Isn't that always the way! In the end, it didn't matter as they were still calculating the final bill. I took a deep breath before I looked at it and my fears were confirmed, it was higher than initially estimated. $14,400.

On my way up from paying the bill, the doctor was waiting for me in the lobby of the Burn Unit. He took me in to see the lady that gave up her bed for Kokila. He was proud of Kokila and was telling the older lady that the little girl has recovered and is already going home, “why aren't you?” The lady was too scared of falling and refused to start walking. Kokila recovered very fast and the doctor praised her hard work and our support. He repeated his awe at the work that we do and the extent of support that we give. Giving financial support is easy, but being with the people day in and day out is really what matters. On his own he said that he wanted to come to the school and to make sure that I kept in touch.

I then went in to get Kokila who was more than ready! She was standing and waiting. The nurse had last minute things to do, so they gave Kokila lunch. When all the papers were signed, Kokila gave the nurses her thank you card for them and was simply going to give the one for the doctor to them. The nurses immediately called the doctor to the unit again. He was clearly touched by her card. We took a picture: Kokila, Kanchan, the doctor and I. We were all feeling very proud and relieved that her recovery was taking the next step.

The ride home in the taxi wasn't easy for Kokila, it was clear that she felt every bump in the road – of which there are many. She made it home without crying though and was trying to be really strong.

When we walked into the school, Rekha, Santosh and Kokila`s brother Pappy were there. Their first reaction was unfortunately to just stare. Though Kokila is looking great as compared to how she was, it is still shocking to see her for the first time. With a push, they welcomed her and started talking. Soon news got out and Kokila`s brothers and sisters as well as some of her school friends arrived. Everyone had the same reaction and it was hard for Kokila. Luckily, brother Hritick (5) immediately jumped up and down and smiling and laughing and saying “Koki! Koki!”. He didn't seem to see her frailty or her wounds, or her scars – he only saw his big sister and was overjoyed to have her home.

Stragglers kept trying to come in at which point we sent everyone away. Kokila was clearly overwhelmed and the trauma of the day – both physically and emotionally had taken its toll. By the time we got rid of the crowd, Kokila was sobbing uncontrollably and writhing in pain. She tried to sleep on her own but only settled when she laid on Juniper’s lap. She slept for 45 minutes. When she awoke, she was no longer crying and enjoyed a peaceful afternoon in front of the TV. She wasn't smiling, but she seemed to settle as time went on. Parvati didn’t leave Kokila’s side. She was glad to have her big sister back but didn't like it that her big sister was in pain. She winced every time Kokila made a sound. Parvati has been so used to people taking care of her over the years, it was nice to see her take care of Kokila – petting her arm and doing whatever else she could.

Juniper’s main concern was to figure out a toilet for Kokila. Her legs weren't strong enough to squat. She managed a makeshift one with a bucket and some boxes – all was well.

39 days – and I felt every hour of it. What a relief to have her close to home and safe. Everyone should pat themselves on the back for doing their part in saving Kokila’s life.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

Tania will be doing another update to give you the details of the second plastic surgery operation and the move home for Kokila.  She will be going home this week.

 I didn't want to wait to say the following:

GOOD, GOOD, GOOD NEWS FROM MUMBAI

 I promised last blog to talk about other good news stories regarding some of our other children in Mumbai, but I know that many of you have been waiting anxiously for news about Kokila's progress.
 The news is very good.

 We are blessed with the love and support of so many people in India, in Canada, and all around the world.   Below is the uncensored, full report just received this morning from Tania.
                                   ----------------------------------------



Kokila Update


******************************************************
Monday, October 24, 2011 (Day 21)

Vinita visited and once again was not able to see the doctor. With Diwali approaching, there are a lot of emergency burn patients that he is dealing with. She had a great little visit with Kokila though. Kokila still wasn’t up to talking much and so they didn’t broach any important subjects, but each visit gets easier for Vinita and so hopefully next week they will talk about the day the accident happened.

There was no operation scheduled.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011 (Day 22)

With Sunil’s exam done (he thinks he has a chance at passing), I was once again free and really looked forward to seeing Kokila. I fed her breakfast after a bit of a fight and she ate quite well (an idli, dahl and chai). She is still not eating well and the nurses are worried that it will postpone her discharge. The Doctor was at an all-day surgery at another hospital but did message to say that the last grafting surgery would be done on Monday the 31st.

Kokila was still not in a mood to talk, but at least she wasn’t screaming or moaning. She was just quiet – probably trying to assimilate everything that has happened over the month.

Kanchan travelled home with me and was quiet herself. She is really worn out. I was surprised when a little girl carrying her baby brother was begging on the train that Kanchan pulled out two Rupees and gave it to her. I haven’t quite figured it out yet. She doesn’t have money herself but gave it away. She used to beg herself so appreciates how hard it is? My initial reaction was love for Kanchan and tears welled up in my eyes.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 (Day 23)

Diwali!

At 7pm, I was surprised with a call from the doctor. He wanted to inform me about Kokila’s progress and what the next couple weeks would entail. He is not able to do grafting on both sides of the body at the same time. The major grafting was the front which went well and which was healing well so far. The back is minor with only one shoulder and the back of her neck to do. He wasn’t at all worried about it and expected it to go smoothly on Monday. He also said that she could be discharged as early as the Monday after the surgery, the 7th of November! What great news for Diwali! I couldn’t believe that the doctor took time out if his celebrations to call and inform about a patient.

While the volunteers and I were celebrating Diwali at Vinita’s place, Kanchan called and was with Kokila and everyone was happy.

Thursday, October 27, 2011 (Day 24)

Kokila greeted me with a smile. That was a long time coming! She was glad to see me and when I showed her the set of pens and coloring book that I brought for her, she said “Happy Diwali! I love you!”

That itself made the whole month worth it.

We sat for a long time together, me picking out her lice, her telling me about the shows she watched on TV. It was nice, really nice.

She ate her dahl without too much coercion but complained a lot about the hospital food. I promised her I would bring her some more chicken.

What a nice day.

Friday, October 28, 2011 (Day 25)

Volunteer Honey wanted to see Kokila again. As she visited, I had the unfortunate job of paying the bill – which has now crossed $9000 – and there are still at least ten days and one operation to go. Oh boy. Kokila was a little confused at first because she had just woken up, but then she had a great visit with Honey. She ate more than half a cheese sandwich and some chai. Honey thought it strange to feed her and scratch her lice head, but was really glad that she had visited. They coloured together and Kokila made a card for Honey that said “I miss you, I love you, I thank you”.

Saturday, October 29, 2011 (Day 26)

I had another great visit with Kokila. I was supposed to meet the doctor, but he had to rush to another Diwali firecracker burn victim last minute. He had come early in the morning to change her dressings. He sent a message saying that the grafts done in the first surgery were 100% successful and that the surgery would go ahead as scheduled on Monday.

Thank heavens he did a new dressing, because the smell was unbearable over the last couple days – I guess the healing and infection coming out. When I got there, she was looking, and smelling!, clean and wonderful.

Kokila and I watched “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe”. She had just watched the Hindi dubbed version the day before, so even though it was in English she was telling me everything that was happening. She said “I need to remember my English and practice.”

She ate well: two pieces of chicken, a little potato and half of her dahl. By the end she was complaining about her full tummy.

Despite the pain of the dressings in the morning, she was in a great mood. Her only complaint was her head being itchy – and rightfully so. There is no other way of describing it than disgusting. There was lice and eggs everywhere and carcasses of dead lice to add to it.

The nurse had to give her medicine, so I had to leave but she let me go with a big smile – the first time all month.

Monday, October 31, 2011 (Day 28)

The day couldn’t have gone smoother. When I reached the hospital, the doctor was in the elevator. He had another operation before Kokila’s but that today would be the final procedure. He said that she was doing really well.

I then saw Kokila very briefly. She opened her eyes to tell me that she was glad they shaved her hair off (they had called me the previous day to ask for permission at which I said YES!). Her and I said together that her hair would quickly grow back. I told her to go back to sleep, she said ok and within seconds was snoring again. Its better she sleeps as much as she can before the operation anyway.

I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to talk to the doctor in length, but before he started his first operation (a little boy that blew himself up with a firecracker) he took the time to talk to me. The first skin grafts were taken from her right thigh and calf, and today’s grafts were to be taken from her left thigh. Not too much was needed as it was a MUCH smaller area. When he did the dressing the other day, he yelled at Kokila a lot trying to get her to be stronger. In the end, he was happy that he didn’t have to give her any anaesthesia. He threatened her with sending her back to Sion hospital – at which point she instantly was quiet. He was hoping to give the minimum today as well and thought that she would be just fine. He reassured me by saying that he realized where she was returning home to and even though he thought that she would likely be ready for discharge in a week, he wouldn’t take any chances of infection and would make sure that the risk was 0. He also explained how he is minimizing the bills as much as he can. There is no doubt that he has gone above and beyond the basic expectations. Hopefully he follows through and comes in and talks to the children.

Kanchan and I then had chai together before Kokila’s operation started. She was overjoyed when I told her that discharge could be as early as Monday. She had no idea and was shaking with glee. We then talked about the whole month – from her breaking down at the entrance to Sion to her having to bathe Kokila to today. We both said that had she not moved, she would have died.

As I write, Kokila is in the middle of her second grafting and the story nears its conclusion. The love and support has been beyond incredible. We are all honoured to be a part of this, greater than us, One! family.