Patients Sign Up for Treatment
By Kamana Mathur
From February 7-13, a Medical Yatra, organized by Dr. Shashi Marwah of Pittsburgh’s North Hills, in conjunction with the Association of Indian Physicians of Northeastern Ohio (AIPNO) and the Parmarth Ashram in Rishikesh, India, performed an amazing feat – they brought together physicians from all over the world to perform medical exams and provide much needed treatment to more than 3,749 villagers in remote regions of Northern India. Medicine and eyeglasses were also provided at no cost to the villagers.
From their base at the Ashram in Rishikesh, the volunteers left every morning by bus to various remote regions and saw patients from 8:30 am to 4pm every day, before making the long trek back to their makeshift accommodation in Rishikesh. The Yatra resulted in over 7,800 physician visits to a population that had little or no access to medical treatment.
The team consisted of 32 physicians and volunteers from the US, UK, and other parts of the world. This committed group took time off their busy schedules to go to India at their own expense. They were joined by more than 20 volunteers from the Parmarth Ashram, who worked round-the-clock to make sure everything went smoothly.
The AIPNO YATRA fund has made a commitment to Parmarth Ashram to fund 100 cataract surgeries for the poor and the needy at the next cataract camp, planned for October 2011.
For details and photos of the event, please see the attached article: Medical Yatra. For more information or to volunteer or donate, please contact Ms.Shashi Marwah at marwahshashi@hotmail.com.
