Click on link to visit our website where Annual Report can be viewed and downloaded as a PDF document
http://www.realmedicinefoundation.org/initiative/update/annual-report-20102011
Category Archives: Jaimie Shaff
SmileTrain and CHL Apollo-Indore bring new smiles to MP!
by Jaimie Shaff
Shakuntala before surgery
We’ve all played the classic game “heads, shoulders, knees, and toes (knees and toes!)” Actually, I’ve been so wrapped up in adulthood, I had forgotten about it. One night when we visited the Bhil Academy, I saw Naiara playing the game with the smallest kids and remembered singing the song with my cousins and preschool students, back in the day. Part of the song goes “eyes and ears and nose and mouth…” and the children point to the respective parts of the face. Two eyes. Two ears. One nose. One mouth. Something so simple, most of us don’t even think about the meaning.
Shakuntala after surgery
Voices from the field: “One Birthday Wish granting wishes” for many by Jaimie Shaff
by Jaimie Shaff
For the friends and family who know me best, it goes without saying that my date of birth is a sore spot for me. Last year, I actually skipped town and went on an AcroYoga retreat out of state!
This year, I’m unbelievably grateful to report I had the best birthday ever, and it’s all because of you (and Causes, of course). I began with a goal of raising $1,000 for some of the sweetest kids, and ended up with an astonishing $7,025. The money raised gave us the opportunity to follow up with kids from my “love” list, and saved three lives in the first two weeks. Just like that.
Here’s a little update of what we’ve done so far:
Goong Hay Fat Choy, Day 2: How your donations saved two lives
Continuing with our series from Jaimie Shaff in the field in India, here is Part 2!
by Jaimie Shaff
Naiara joined me on the second day and we began the day with a quick trip to the toy store. Luckily, the toy storeowners had just gone to Indore and had some more toys for us! We picked up a couple of our CNEs and headed back out to the villages, this time starting with some of the kids living in villages outside of our program’s reach.
Day Two:
Manoj
Goong Hay Fat Choy! Your donations bringing Chinese New Year to India
by Jaimie Shaff
We have lost seven children since I arrived. For these seven children, our best was not enough. They were too sick, adequate medical care too scarce, and their bodies too weak. We have treated hundreds of children at the NRC since I came here late July, but some of these cases were so terrible and challenging that our “best” was all that we could promise. Most of them made it, their resiliency evident by the smiles we finally saw, but a few we just couldn’t save.
In honor of these children, I decided to stop ignoring my birthday and use it to grant the wishes of a couple of kids via the “Causes” application on Facebook. In just three days, I had surpassed my target of $1,000. I was absolutely overwhelmed by the giving nature of my friends and family who all pulled together to grant the wishes of these children. I also figured that if we could grant the wishes of two children in three days, we could grant more wishes before my actual birthday—so I upped the goal!
February 3rd marked the beginning of Chinese New Year, and the year of the Rabbit. With all of the donations that had already come in, I decided to do a little Goong Hay Fat Choy celebration for our most serious cases. We made a list of the kids who touched our hearts—the most complicated cases of malnutrition—that could use a little bit of psychosocial stimulation. For about $100, Anjana and I purchased every non-motorized toy in the local toyshop and went out to the field with some of our Community Nutrition Educator’s (CNE’s.
Voices from the field: Goals for the New Year in India
by Jamie Shaff
Pankaj walking
Happy New Year!
I finally arrived back to Jhabua after several planes, trains, automobiles, rickshaws, and countries. Go ahead and throw a bicycle in there for good measure. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for skis, but it was definitely worth sacrificing the slopes for some family time. The United States showed me a wonderful Christmas and New Year, with as much family, friends, and food as I could cram in my short reprieve from India. And don’t forget the hot showers!
Hot off the presses: Our 2009/2010 Annual Report!
For full PDF version of our report, please click on the link below:
Malnourished Miracles: Vishal’s story
Continuing with our Malnutrition Eradication Program series and fundraiser another great blog from from Jaimie Shaff in the field in India…
by Jaimie Shaff
Every morning, when I wake up to the honking horns, howling dogs, and bustles of morning life I wonder how the day is going to be. As I lay out my yoga mat and dedicate my practice to what will be, I try to take a deep breath for all that I can not anticipate. See, life in the field is a constant state of uncertainty, a question of what will happen next, and a sequence of highs and lows, equilibrium a state I no longer know.
But it all somehow balances out.
Vishal on his first visit to NRC
India: On the road—Migration and HIV/AIDS
by Jaimie Shaff
Street Play
Far from Jack Kerouac’s spontaneous journeys of self-discovery across the United States, here in Jhabua migration is a fact of life, with an averageof 60% of the population migrating seasonally for work. Our calendars revolve around crop cycles, and all holidays and planned family events coincide with the comings and goings of relatives and members of the village. The locals know the bus and train schedules by heart, and special migrant buses are scheduled to carry the farmers away for work in other parts of the state, or other states in the country. As the rains diminish at the end of monsoon season, communities prepare for a sequence of migration that lasts until the next monsoon. The children and wives that stay behind are supported by the village, and the children and wives that leave prepare for life on the road—although little preparation is required as this is routine and material possessions are few.
India: Seven and HIV+
by Caitlin McQuilling and Jaimie Shaff
Manoj and his friend Sunil (names changed) strolled into the link-ART office today and quietly sat down, neither of their feet touching the ground as their skinny legs and knobby knees dangled over the chairs. At 7 years old Manoj is one of our youngest HIV+ patients, but also one of the most responsible. Manoj and Sunil walked 15 km to get to our office today so that Sunil could pick up his ART medication from us for the month. In his high little voice he told me how important it is to take his ART medication every day and says he follows all of our instructions strictly.
Manoj was extremely sick when he was brought to Jeevan Jyoti Hospital over a year and a half ago. Malnourished with a vicious fungal infection across his face, he was never able to attend school because he was always out sick. Both of Manoj’s parents died when he was young so his older sister has been raising him. She couldn’t afford to care for him anymore and had no idea what to do.
We put Manoj right on ART and now a year and a half later he’s a healthy, little boy with bright eyes and a mischievous grin. Manoj (and our counselor who visits him regularly) says that his sister takes very good care of him and monitors his medication and nutrition daily. With RMF and Jeevan Jyoti’s help she’s set up a small convenience shop near their home where she makes enough money to take care of their modest household expenses.