On Monday we set out with the team to make the two hour (normally) drive to Vetapalam, near Chirala. The roads were very busy and we had several hold-ups en route. Road travel in India is very dangerous, with traffic doing what it pleases - this includes going the wrong way along dual carriage ways if it will shave off a little distance, no-one looking when coming out of side turnings and people overtaking on both sides of the vehicle. Couple that with no seatbelts and drivers who insist on long conversations on their mobile phones and you will get the picture! At one point the road disappeared completely and our "short-cut" delayed us an extra 45 minutes onto the journey.
Everyone was waiting expectantly when we eventually arrived - our group leaders in their white saris and the one man in a white jacket all looked very smart and their faces were shining.
We got down to business, distributing plastic bowls to all the adults and explaining what we were going to do. Each leader gathered their group members and sat in a small circle soaking and oiling the feet and hands. We got water from the pump and each leader was given a couple of small pots of petroleum jelly - we will bring more next week so that each person will have their own pot of jelly to go with their own bowl.
It was an amazing sight to see the whole village soaking their feet and hands together. Julie told me that in all her experience in Nepal and Sudan she had never encountered such a well motivated group and had never seen so many people (around 77) willing to co-operate and go through this process. Praise the Lord!
While the feet were soaking we checked the eyes of each person for signs of nerve damage and lack of blink reflex. We gave these folk sunglasses, and an eye mask for use at night.
Everyone was waiting expectantly when we eventually arrived - our group leaders in their white saris and the one man in a white jacket all looked very smart and their faces were shining.
We got down to business, distributing plastic bowls to all the adults and explaining what we were going to do. Each leader gathered their group members and sat in a small circle soaking and oiling the feet and hands. We got water from the pump and each leader was given a couple of small pots of petroleum jelly - we will bring more next week so that each person will have their own pot of jelly to go with their own bowl.
While the feet were soaking we checked the eyes of each person for signs of nerve damage and lack of blink reflex. We gave these folk sunglasses, and an eye mask for use at night.
We then inspected everyone's feet to assess who needed custom made shoes to protect them from injury. Some of their feet were very deformed and could not use normal sandals at all. One lady only had rags tied round her toe-less feet, other people were barefoot with infected sores on their soles.
We identified 25 urgent cases which were immediately referred to the specialist orthotist shoemaker, who was with us. He will measure up each person and make individual patterns for them. Then he will custom make each pair with English leather uppers, MCR insoles and hard-wearing soles.
Each pair will cost around £20.00, which is a fraction of what they would cost in UK. When I worked in the orthotics field in the early 1980s such shoes would cost more than £200!
When I get home I am going to ask if people would consider sponsoring a pair of shoes for one of these folk.
Thanks for the update Hazel, totally inspirational.
ReplyDeleteYou know I'm praying for you and the folks you're working with. I'm so moved by the stories and impressed by your compassion and care.
You're being Jesus, awesome!
Thanks David - your comments and prayers are warmly received. We are getting a little weary just now - the heat and the road travel are beginning to take their toll. But we continue in the knowledge that helping others to help themselves in the name of Jesus is truly worthwhile. One more week to go and then we head back to Scotland. God bless you and thank you again!
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