Health
Rural Andhra Pradesh is rife with disease. Polio, Leprosy, and Tuberculosis are among the threats children face. And then there is HIV/AIDS, which has reached epidemic proportions in parts of Andhra Pradesh. Visitors to the Light of Love Home are often amazed by how small the children are for their age. This is the legacy of a malnourished infancy.
Many children come to us suffering from diseases or ailments for which they cannot get treatment or medicine. The reality is that medical care costs money and there is no social safety net to soften the blow. Sadly, Dalit children are routinely denied medical care because of their poverty and their lowly social status. Jonny Gibb, a SLA volunteer in 2004 said:
Determined to provide the children with basic healthcare, SLA set up St Columba's Clinic in the Light of Love Home campus in 2004. Three nurses from St. Columba's Hospice in Edinburgh opened the clinic. The clinic was named after St. Columba's Hospice because that is where SLA founder and chairperson Gillie Davidson nursed for 17 years.
Since then, we have been remarkably fortunate that Dr. Premdas' son Sony married a qualified doctor, Sowyma, who has dedicated herself to the children.
Two qualified nurses help Sowmya and the clinic has made an enormous difference to the children's health. Sowmya holds daily surgeries for the children, gives them regular check-ups, and takes care of them in emergencies.
In 2007, thanks to these new procedures, Sowmya diagnosed and successfully treated 12 children with Tuberculosis. They are all now free of the disease. She has also begun testing the children's eyesight and has found a sympathetic optician to provide them with affordable spectacles.
Sowmya's status as a qualified doctor helps ensure that the children receive the hospital treatment and medicines to which they are entitled. She has also improved the children's diet by introducing more fruit and vegetables, reducing previously chronic levels of anaemia among the children.
