Published on: November 1, 2020

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Dear Friend,

Stop.

Before scrolling down, please stop for a minute to think about this:

By now, almost everyone in India knows someone who lost a loved one to Covid19 or somebody who died due to inadequate access to healthcare during these difficult days. A loved one has been taken away in an instant never to be seen again and any little healing associated with a final farewell hug has also been denied to these people. 

Many would have what we call pathological  grief – grief so overwhelming as to be a mental illness preventing the person’s return to the routine of life. With the aim of helping such people, we have started a tele-helpline with trained qualified counsellors.

The service, named Sukh-Dukh Helpline, is free.

Do please connect everyone in grief to this service.

Manjuthulli – virtual painting exhibition

For many years now, with the initiative of Lalitha Bai, our volunteers have led an annual painting exhibition at Trivandrum. Covid 19 prevented it this year; but our volunteer Rachel Jasper went a step ahead with a virtual exhibition of paintings. This time also it is called Manjuthulli – a dew drop. Indeed, something to cool your soul and to bring a little beauty and peace to lives.

Some of the paintings have been created by people living with illnesses. The proceeds from those sales will go to them. The rest come to Pallium India for support to our patients and families.

The virtual event was inaugurated by Padmashri Bharath Mammooty on World Palliative Care day on 10 October 2020. The celebrity-gallery includes creations of the veteran actor Ms Sheela, Mrs Sheela Chittilapally, Mrs Elizabeth Antony, Ms Lizzie Jacob IAS, Mr Kottayam Nazeer and Mr K Jayakumar IAS.

Apologies for the technical snag which delayed access to the virtual gallery, to Shri Padmashri Bharath Mammooty, Kerala’s Nightingale K S Chitra, all the dignitaries who graced the inauguration and to all the artists who donated their creations and to each one of you.

The virtual gallery is live now.

Do please visit and buy something to brighten up the wall in your living room and help someone in need: https://www.kunstmatrix.com/en/manjuthulli

Mission Poonthura

What an attractive and romantic name! ‘Poonthura’ means flower beach but this and other coastal areas in the outskirts of Trivandrum city are some of the most over-crowded areas in the city, many parts of it poverty-ridden.

COVID-19 struck hard there and the area was shut down as ‘critical containment zones’. Thanks to the initiative of Ms Sumitha MPH (who used to be a project officer with Pallium India), we could build an alliance with Coastal Students Cultural Forum (CSCF). We gave their volunteers an exposure to palliative care. They identified a nurse from within the area to whom Pallium India could offer palliative care training and a temporary appointment, and thus 164 locked-in patients who needed it most and their families had access to palliative care, supplies, medicines and food. A minor miracle! Thank you, the miracle-makers of CSCF.

Pallium India’s Project Aarohan empowers patients and caregivers to mobilise community and to be palliative care advocates and facilitators. The group who went through a structured course many months back got together on 17 October 2020 for a review. Thank you, World Hospice Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA) for the support. Click here to read more.

Here are some responses from participants:

Dr Jagruti Kamdar: After every morning walk, when I can get a few people together and I talk to them about palliative care.

Dr Sameera Jahagirdar: My institution had frequent interruptions of morphine supply. Aarohan and Ms Tripti Tandon showed me the way. Now we have uninterrupted supply of morphine.

Mr Ajay Balachandran: Aarohan empowered me not only in palliative care advocacy, it also opened up the online world to me. I also remember the precious lesson of advance directives.

Ms. Jyoti Anand: Aarohan gave me confidence, helped me to take better care of my dad, to understand him better, to avoid polypharmacy and to be a better daughter to him.

Aarohan II starts on 28 Nov 2020 – 20 sessions every Saturday 3-4.30 PM.

Click here to register: https://forms.gle/RXMK3XCBSAFfGzkW8

Contact Shriya: +91 9980744419 or shriya@palliumindia.org

Upcoming Trainings

Check out all upcoming trainings: https://palliumindia.org/training/training-calender

For more information on any of these, write to: info@palliumindia.org

Pallicovid ECHO: testimonials

“Ethical issues, goals of care, and triage in the context of Covid19 were some of the important things I learned from this Pallicovid ECHO online session and I suggest to please continue this type of sessions in the future also.” – Maibam Ranita Devi, Nurse/Community Health Officer, NHM Manipur

“I got to learn things that are usually not taught in medical or nursing colleges. The flipped learning methodology allows one to learn and apply the knowledge well. The E-book provided by Pallicovid-Echo is concise and extremely helpful. Learning online was indeed a great experience for me.” – Dr. Geetika Gangola, Nainital

Click here to read testimonials and know more about Pallicovid ECHO

Please donate phones for children to attend online classes

Pallium India supports the education of 200+ students, mostly children of our patients, every year. We cover their tuition fees as well as expenses for uniform, travel, text & note books.

This year, there are several children who are unable to attend online classes because their parents can’t afford to buy smart phones or other electronic gadgets.

Based on our earlier request for help, we received 18 phones and these were quickly distributed to the children who needed it most. Now there is a need for 10 more phones – we request your support in procuring android phones in working condition (or money to purchase).

Contact: Reshma, 8086003450, reshma@palliumindia.org

Donate: https://palliumindia.org/donate

Sahayatra Digital Photography contest – winners

Sahayatra photography contest winners were announced by Pallium India on October 10, 2020 during the World palliative care day get-together of people and families in our care. Click here to know more.

Sahayatra is Pallium India’s Malayalam print magazine, meant for anyone interested in Palliative Care – patients, families, palliative care professionals, volunteers and well-wishers. To receive Sahayatra, please send your complete postal address to: info@palliumindia.org

Click here to read some previous issues of Sahayatra.

Follow us on Social Media for news, views and updates – as & when they happen:

View Resources for Healthcare providers caring for Covid 19 patients

Video of the Month

My Care in my Comfort Zone

Never before was the need for integrating palliative care into healthcare felt as during the current pandemic. Listen to Dr M. R. Rajagopal speak in this webinar ‘My Care in my Comfort Zone’ organized by Unmukt Cares, on October 16. https://youtu.be/j-WuS3o7M1A

Subscribe to Pallium India’s youtube channel for more videos.

NLEAP: Involve the stakeholders, please!
Absence of disabled people in panel led to errors in the draft National List of Essential Assistive Products (NLEAP) prepared by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Webinar: The Role of Social Workers in Palliative Care
“A professional social worker plays an important role in palliative care as they provide the vital link between the clinical team, the society, the patient and his family,” Krishnaraj Nambiar writes.

DMCI and Mother’s Meal
Distress Management Collective India (DMCI), Delhi, in association with the Hope Charitable Trust, Bangalore and the Kerala chapter of the Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPC) started the program called Mother’s Meal – Community for Community’s Help – for people receiving palliative care in Kerala.

India shows itself in poor light in healthcare – especially in relation to the pandemic
India, ranked 129 out of 158 countries in the Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index by Oxfam, spent just 4% of its budget on health going into the pandemic — fourth lowest in the world.

Students shine at Talent Fest
A brief report on the activities organized by Student Initiative in Palliative Care (SIPC) Trivandrum in connection with World Hospice & Palliative Care Day, October 10.

Help Pallium India to treat serious health-related pain and suffering! Donate Now

PARTING SHOT

Surviving Breast Cancer: A journey of hope and courage

Ahimsa Zhimo, who survived a conservatory breast surgery, underwent 6 cycles of chemotherapy and 19 sessions of radiation, says, “her positive attitude and sense of humour helped her throughout the period.”

While her experience has taught her that a cancer patient needs holistic healing, she firmly believes that “a simple comforting word from a person who has journeyed down the same road can have immense impact on a person who is undergoing cancer treatment.”

Read more

Read previous issues of our newsletter

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