Projects Abroad, Newsletters from India

"As a volunteer, you will be shadowing the doctor, observing treatments, accompanying the doctors during ward rounds and observing surgeries." That was all I knew about my placement when I first stepped into Graham Nursing Home in Sivakasi. After finishing high school in Sweden my dream has always been to go university and do medicine, though after 12 years of hard studying I found jumping into medical school straight after high school a very unattractive option. Going to India and shadowing a doctor while he performs operation seemed much more exciting!

A few weeks before I left for India, I knew very little about this remarkable lady. I did know that the late Princess of Wales had worked in a Montessori nursery before her marriage, and also my own parents had tried in the 1960s to obtain Montessori nursery education for my three brothers and myself, but there were few schools offering this alternative education at the time.

I have been an undergraduate at The University of Birmingham, England studying Dentistry since September 2003. In July 2007, prior to my final year of study, I travelled to a town called Sivakasi which is in the state of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India to investigate different aspects of oral health in this part of the world. My findings would form the result of my 4^th year elective project. I spent 4 weeks on a placement with Dr S.Ravishankar at Ravi Dental Clinic.

Most of my days – and many nights –were spent in Dr Gnanagurusamy’s hospital, observing his work. As the neighbouring villages didn’t havea surgeon, we would often travel from village to village to deliver a baby or remove an inflamed or ruptured appendix. It was quite a contrast from the luxurious hospitals I’d seen in the North America. The patient would be in bed in a small room, with an overworked ceiling fan, and several relatives sitting on the floor.

Every 10 weeks the Projects Abroad cricket match takes place in Sivakasi. All volunteers from the different placements make their way to Sivakasi to attend this unique event. Projects Abroad makes shirts for all participating volunteers with your name on the back.The days and weeks before the match are filled with questions about how it will be, how well you will perform, will you be able to hit the ball?