Visit to Krushi Homes

Date: 10th June 2007
Attendees: Vasanth, Aparna, Tanvi, Snigdha, Jyotsna, Ravi.

It was bright sunny Sunday morning and we were very excited to go to Krushi homes since for many among us, it was our first visit. What added to our excitement was the fact that we would be going there by train.

We all met up at the Secunderabad railway station at 10.00 am and had to wait for a while as the train was delayed by an hour. We reached Gaudavalli station by 12.00. Then there was another 1 and ½ km journey which we had to travel by foot. They were farms, brick kilns, loads of animals and small water bodies on either side of the road. It was a sight to behold and the time passed by in a jiffy, without us realizing that we had reached our destination.

On reaching Krushi homes we were greeted by the enthusiastic kids. They were busy watching a Balakrishna movie being aired on TV. It was nearing one o’clock and sadly Jyotsna, one of our volunteer, had to leave since she had to return to Bangalore on the same evening. For a while we thought that the kids wouldn’t even move as they were deeply engrossed in the movie. Thankfully it was time for lunch; hence the kids and we too moved to have lunch. It was a wonderful feeling to sit amidst them and have lunch with them.

It was now time for Fun, masti and action. After the lunch the kids showed us the plantation work which they have been carrying out, which was quite impressive. It was then time for the most awaited event of the day. Our CRICKET match!!!!!!!! We got segregated into 2 teams and everyone gave their best shot. The match was lively, competitive and very charging….they were pathans, dhonis, sachins and mithali rajs in action…J. Simultaneous we also played Marampiti and Throwball with the much younger kids who could not take part in the cricket match. By the end of it we were completely tired and exhausted and it was also time for us to leave. We didn’t realize how time simply flew by playing with the kids.

Just as we thought that we had wrapped up for the day, we embarked a new adventure. The journey back from Krushi homes to the railway station was eventful and amusing. On our way back we posed for photographs with buffaloes which were daunted in our presence, we also tried feeding a calf, played in hay stacks ( and believe me guys , you all must at least once hear Aparna trying to converse and imitate the buffaloes, it is truly hilarious …J. No sooner did we reach the railway station did it start pouring heavily. We got completely drenched in the rain and we were playing on the railway tracks much to the amusement of the onlookers, enjoying the first showers of the monsoon.

Being with the kids, the child within us resurfaced and we behaved like 10 year olds. It was one of the most memorable experiences of our lives .Hopefully the next time there would be many more of us going together for such fun filled activities to bring joy and happiness in the lives of the kids and also in ours ……

Cheers…~Pankhudi Team Hyderabad

Health Camp at N.B.T. Nagar

Date: 3rd June, 2007
Time: 9 : 00 am


Attendees: Santosh, Ramesh, Vasanth, Surya, Prabhanjan, Aparna, Snigdha , Tanvi, Kranthi, Siddharth, Chandrika, Mayuri, Sudheera, Dr. Kowsalya, Dr. Shweta.

Agenda: A Health Camp for the Kids of the Surrounding slums, where the kids would be given a general check up, and the necessary medication needed.

“Bright sunny morning…Cuddling yourself in the blanket and lazing on the bed and enjoying a holiday”- The general definition of Sunday in one’s life…

Well We Pankhudians were all set to change the definition.Fun, Relaxation had very different meanings in our dictionary.

Dressed up in white, few holding the banners for a campaign, few others busy tying up the banners, and the rest occupied with arranging things for a Health camp; that was how we began our Sunday. It was around 10:00 by the time doctors came & everybody settled down. It being a Sunday, the slum woke late, just as majority of the city did. As it was the first ever Medical camp conducted by ~Pankhudi Hyderabad, initially we had to rush for purchases here and there and some last moment preparations….so it was an enlightening experience altogether. With 15 of the volunteers assembling, it was an easy task to manage the Arrangements and the Kids at the same time. Initially we had noted down the details of all the kids who had come for the general check up. We noted their Names, if studying or not, if so their School name, Class and Age. We did this in order to maintain a record of the kids in and around that area who had attended the check up.

The Doctors had started the camp with some General Health and Sanitation Awareness tips to the children. They explained the kids how to keep themselves neat and clean, and away from diseases. In fact, it was also some enlightenment to our volunteers as well. As the Doctors were addressing the kids, most of our volunteers were looking at each other, with gestures indicating that even they need to follow those tips. So, thanks goes to the docs for the volunteer enlightenment too.

Within the small breaks that we got in between the checkups …we grabbed the opportunity to have some brainstorming sessions with the doctors on how to go conduct Health camps on a larger scale and what were the issues we had to learn more in organising them. The suggestions and guidance had given us real good exposure on the health conditions of kids in slums and the precautions need to be taken by the volunteers while addressing such kids. The common ailments we noticed among the children of that slum were that- majority of the kids were suffering form allergies of different kind, mostly Scabies. Also, these kids had Vision problems arising from a very tender age of 6 years itself. Malnutrition was also one of the visibly seen problems. And sadly, many of the children were suffering from tooth decay. And the irony was that, we were supposed to give chocolates to the kids after the camp

As we all had a hectic morning, by 1.30 we were all very hungry and were game for lunch with the doctors. To satiate our hunger - we had ordered some very delicious dishes, some informative discussions with the Doctors; was an educative dish for us. And the most favorite of all volunteers - the Fun and Masti ka dish. And as a part of that dish, Kranthi was taken for a ride when everybody ganged up, stole her cell, switched it off, gave it to the waiter and here it comes….it was a surprise dish for the Finance rep- her mobile wrapped into the napkin, nicely decorated on the plate. In the tensed mood little did she know or realize that it was her lost mobile. That was just a preview of what we ~Pankhudians have as fun mantra in activities, adding fuel and making us more enthusiastic.

The Doctors were mighty impressed with the service orientation we youngsters had. And they were pretty anxious and interested to help us in future too. We decided to prepare a document with the help of doctor; for guidelines to the volunteers on teaching kids about Daily health care issues.

The Hard work - left us with immense Satisfaction, Fun we had - left us Energetic even if we were tired, Informative session - was more than lessons for us.
All in all we all had a great Sunday and to make us more nostalgic were the pics of volunteers with Stethoscopes. Am sure that was a fun filled Sunday for all volunteers.
Kudos Hyderabad Pankhudians - We Rock as always!!!
Keep your Spirits soaring high!!!


you can view the pics at
picasaweb.google.com/surya.thecognizant

Cheers…
~Pankhudi Team Hyderabad