shield foundation: now an investee of unltd india

It is a source of great pleasure and honour to announce that UnLtd India has decided to invest in Shield Foundation. As their Overview page puts it, UnLtd India is “an incubator for social entrepreneurs.”

This opens a range of new possibilities for Shield Foundation and it is glad for having been chosen. You can check our page on the UnLtd India website.

shield foundation annual report: 2010–‘11

Here’s a blog-friendly summary of the first annual report of Shield Foundation. If you are interested in reading the detailed report, kindly email your request to shieldfoundation@gmail.com
It has been the initiative and zeal of professional social worker Swati Ingole (MSW) that formed and has led Shield over the last year. Before starting Shield Mrs Ingole worked as a social worker and networked hospitals and NGOs to give home-based care and counselling to senior citizens and houses with a history of domestic violence. Last year, she got together like-minded people from fields as diverse as education, medicine and banking to start Shield Foundation.
The year gone by has seen the following major activities:

1. Community outreach: For assessing the needs of the people and to publicise the work and programmes of Shield, community outreach is a must. Volunteers form a secondary line of workers who help with the social work and make self-sustaining groups in the communities. Senior citizen clusters have been formed in Kamala Raman Nagar, Bhagat Singh Nagar, Azad Nagar, Matunga Labour Camp and the rag-pickers’ community at Mahim. Women needing vocational training to be financially independent have also been identified in surveys.
   
   
2. Case work: Counselling was offered for academic, vocational training, pre-marital and domestic violence cases. In all 35 cases were resolved by this way. Two cases of domestic abuse were referred to the Government Legal Aid Cell for legal counselling. The follow up continues on those cases
   
   
3. Education: As a pilot project that lasted three months, 10 session of English speaking training were organised for a total of 14 students. The course dealt with the basics of grammar and spoken English.
   Apart from that, vocational training was offered to over 75 girls between 17 and 35 years of age since January 2011. The target group was girls from the minority and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities. The courses were conducted at a nominal fee of Rs 100. Shield provided all the material needed for training.
   An underprivileged girl was given educational aid of Rs 1,000 to continue her studies.
   
   
4. Medical: Fifteen school children with poor eyesight were given free spectacles, courtesy of the Twinkling Eyes Foundation, Mumbai. This was preceded by a free eye check-up that was jointly organised.

Apart from this, the following events were organised in the year that passed:

1. January 12: A ‘Youth Festival’ exclusively for the women of Dharavi. Not surprisingly, the turn out was low, though the 14 women that did participate had a blast!
   
   
2. January 19, 21, 23: Free eye check-up camps were organised over three days in Dharavi. Of the 70 people who got checked, the underprivileged were later given free spectacles too.
   
   
3. January 25: In keeping with the imminent Republic Day, a session on the making of our Constitution and the fundamental human rights of citizens was organised.
   
   
4. January 28: A cultural programme was organised at the ‘Samaj Mandir Hall’. Number of participants: 22; number of attendees: 98.
   
   
5. February 15: Shield collaborated with schools in Dharavi to organise sessions on relaxation from school stress and ways to remember what is taught at school through pictorial representation. 56 primary school students participated.
   
   
6. February 20, 22: For senior students, the topics of cognitive developments in adolescents and the importance of relaxation were discussed. 36 students attended this session. See this blog post for details.
   
   
7. March 9: Women’s Day (March 8) was celebrated in Dharavi jointly by Shield and Jan Shikshan Sanstha. A musical show, ‘Bharud’ was organised – it focused on the lives of women. Adolescents from Dharai emceed the programme. A total of 52 women attended.
   
   
8. March 23: At the Nagpur Centre, a legal awareness workshop was conducted for women. District Judge Mr. Hatrote, Member Secretary of District Legal Aid Authority Mr. Kakde, Advocate Kalyani Joshi and Advocate Borkar were the speakers on topics such as Domestic Violence Act, Maintenance Act and awareness on free legal aid. 56 people attended.
   
   
9. April 2-12: Competitions – rangoli, mehendi, poster making, hair dressing – were organised for women. The idea was for them to discover their creative potential and was a welcome means of recreation which is often missing in the underprivileged community. 95 women took part.
   
   
10. April: All through the month, Shield publicised vocational training courses that it runs for the people of the community in collaboration with the Jan Shikshan Sanstha. The education requirement is grade 4 passed.
    
    a) For women: Hair and makeup, mehendi, and catering.
    b) For men: Electrical repair, mobile repair
    
    
11. June: In collaboration with St. Aloysius College, Jabalpur, Shield Foundation organised a two-day awareness campaign to sensitise community people about themes such as health and hygiene issues, disability, polio, literacy, nutrition, eve-teasing, adolescents’ issues, seasonal skin problems & care.
    
    1. June 6: Street plays were performed on the above mentioned subjects. Venues included – Matunga Labour Camp, Dharavi 90 feet road, Jasmine Mill road, Samata Nagar, Ekta Nagar, ‘A’ Ward, Milind Nagar-1, Shahu Nagar, Mahim, Siddharth Nagar, ‘F’ Ward, Ambedkar Nagar and Muslim Nagar-2.
       
       
    2. June 7: A sensitisation ‘unconference’ was organised with the Integrated Child Development Services, Dharavi. Gokul Deware, the Child Development Project Officer of ICDS Dharavi was present as ICDS team workers involved in community outreach were briefed about common concerns of people living in the area of their work.
       
       For the people of the community Dr. Meghna Pikse, Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology at Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and Hospital explained the causes, care, cure and prevention for various seasonal skin diseases. The most popular topic for adolescents, of course, was ‘Pimples!’, and Dr. Pikse’s team discussed it at some length. The importance of hygiene was also discussed in the programme that lasted three hours and was attended by 60 people (apart from volunteers and ICDS workers).
       
       
12. September 21, 25: World Alzheimer’s Day was marked by street plays on the subject in Dharavi in collaboration with the nursing school at Sion Hospital and Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI). On the 25th, an Intergenerational Sensitisation Workshop was held for various stakeholders. Detailed blog post , including speakers’ profiles, is here. And here are the pictures.
    
    
13. October 11: 77 people attended a seminar on World Mental Health Day. Since Alzheimer’s is a recurring theme in the community, tips were given to care givers. 54 health workers also came in addition to community members. Detailed blog post, including speakers’ profiles, is here. And here are the pictures.
    
    
14. October 30: A one-day workshop on personality development, etiquette, presentation, marketing skill, dressing and communication was conducted for girls doing the ‘Beauty Course’ (vocational training) supported by Jan Shikshan Sanstha. 20 girls participated.
    
    
15. November 29, 30: A two day workshop on women’s reproductive health was organised for young mothers and girls. Nursing tutor Reshma Arote addressed the 20 women who attended.
    
    
16. December 20, 21: A four hour orientation spread over two days, for nursing students of Sion Hospital. Purpose – to educate them about data collection on geriatric issues for a survey designed by Swati Ingole of Shield. 40 students attended.
    
    
17. January 1: To lighten things up, 30 girls from the vocational training centre got together to celebrate the New Year – dances and mimicry followed!
    
    
18. January 12: An ‘Intergeneration Sensitization Programme’ was organized by networking with the organisations like Acron foundation, SIES College, Sion, ICDS and senior citizens from the area. Competitions were organised for senior citizens, vocational training students from Dharavi. The Government of India’s Field Publicity Department sponsored cash prizes. Number of stakeholders: 197.
    
    
19. January 21: Socio-cultural celebration was organised as a part of Makar Sankranti in Kamala Raman Nagar and Matunga Labour Camp. A total of 113 women attended.
    
    
20. February 2: A diabetes, memory and dental check up was organised for senior citizens of Kamala Raman Nagar. The medical team was from S. L. Raheja Hospital, Nair Dental Hospital. Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI) was also involved in these check ups. Number of beneficiaries: 78.
    
    
21. February 24: A prostrate check up camp was organized at Vaibhav Sanskritik Mandal at Matunga Labour Camp. Tests like PSA and consultation with urologists were provided. 22 patients were identified with problems. The next day they were taken to S. L. Raheja Hospital, Mahim for ultrasound and final consultation with all the reports of tests done earlier in the day.

Apart from all this, community outreach has become a regular feature. Mahila Mandals, Youth Mandals and resourceful people within the community have been given information about Shield Foundation so that they may refer cases to us. The needs of various communities were also identified. Five cases needing legal assistance were identified and referred to the Legal Service Authority for free legal assistance.

And that was the year that was!

paralysed and losing his mind

For over six years now, half of Dinanath’s* body was paralysed. At 72, he lived with his wife, son and daughter-in-law in Matunga Labour Camp. Everyone in the family was sympathetic to his condition.  Dinanath’s son was a driver and his daughter-in-law was a maid.  Dinanath would curse, yell and violently beat up his wife. If his son intervened, he got beat up too.

The family knew that  Dinanath was suffering from some mental instability. He was deeply suspicious of everyone in the house, especially his wife. While he was of a volatile temperament ever since marriage, his ailments aggravated his volatility. With age, his wife found it more difficult to deal with the abuse. To escape from the torment, she undertook physical labour as a daily wage earner that gave her a few hours of respite. However, upon her return from work, she had to face the music again. Her daughter-in-law tried to hide her when  Dinanath became violent but that didn’t always work.

When an outreach worker identified Dinanath’s case, his temper was close to uncontrollable. As part of the intervention, all the family members were interviewed. Paralysis caused  Dinanath’s speech to slur, but the family members readily interpreted his speech for the social worker. Doctors from the department of preventive and social medicine (PSM) department of the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General (LTMG) Hospital (aka Sion Hospital) made early health assessment and decided that  Dinanath needed to consult a psychiatrist. Therefore, a psychiatrist was arranged to visit  Dinanath.

Turns out  Dinanath had schizophrenia. Much of his violence could be attributed to altered perceptions of reality, sometimes bordering on the unreal. The family was unaware of this condition of his.  Dinanath received immediate medical attention, his family was counselled. With extensive medication and remarkable patience from his family his mental health improved.

However, his physical deterioration outran his mental improvement as age worsened matters. His family could enjoy a few weeks of peace in the household before  Dinanath passed away. It was some comfort to the family to know that the person who left them had regained his sanity.

*Actual name withheld for privacy.

mobility liberates

At 68, Rati Mala’s* arthritis got so bad that she couldn’t walk; she was homebound. Her husband, though he could move about, had Elephant’s Foot caused by filariasis. The couple lived with their married son who was the only earning member in the family.

Rati’s daughter-in-law and husband helped with the daily chores around the house. However, having a bed-ridden Rati didn’t help. While hers wasn’t an emergency case, timely intervention could get her back on her feet. She was referred to Shield by the department of preventive and social medicine at the Urban Health Centre (UCH) at Dharavi. As part of the intervention, home based care was given to her considering her restricted mobility. Doctors from the PSM department made house calls and instructed her in basic health care.

Due to rigidity, initially actions were difficult. When she could move with some difficulty, she was referred to the department of physiotherapy of the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General (LTMG) Hospital (aka Sion Hospital). More than anything else, it was her will to follow through with her physiotherapy that helped her. She was eager to get better and practised religiously. A paraprofessional dropped in on her from time to time to make sure she was doing her exercises right.

Both  Rati and her husband received medicines and nutritional supplements. At the behest of Shield, Sion Hospital began a physiotherapy class at the Dharavi UCH. The couple attend classes regularly.  Rati can walk now with a walker that was provided to her. Her husband too was given a walking stick. With proper nutrition, medication and exercise, the couple is now fairly independent.

*Actual name withheld for privacy.

alone and dying

K. Rambabu* (65) never married, and had lived alone for 35 years at Matunga Labour Camp. His untethered ‘freedom’ meant that he worked hard, leaving in the morning and returning from work only late at night. Rare for someone living in the area, he spoke good English and was always game for conversation about anything under the Sun. He was the local knowledge bank at Matunga Labour Camp and well liked in the community.

Things would have gone on as they had for three decades, but  Rambabu had inguinal hernia. The boys in the community knew he was alone and hence shifted him to the community centre for proper care.  Rambabu's health was deteriorating and he soon became home bound. The community centre provided his meals when he could no longer work; but the centre couldn’t give him medical assistance. A failing health meant there had to be causes other than hernia.

Initially Rambabu was reluctant to talk to community outreach workers, but when he yielded gradually a doctor from the department of preventive and social medicine (PSM) visited him at the community centre. The doctor confirmed that his hernia needed prompt surgery, and also diagnosed that  Rambabu was severely diabetic and had a high blood pressure. Immediately, the social worker in-charge of the case took the case to the surgical OPD of the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General (LTMG) Hospital (aka Sion Hospital). A doctor from the department of surgery was to perform the relatively minor hernia surgery.

However, during the pre-operation check-up, it was noticed that  Rambabu had multiple hitherto undiagnosed health issues. A battery of tests were conducted before the operation and the decision was made to operate. The surgery was a success but the test results were grave. All this while  Rambabu had cancer, it was now in its terminal stage. His medical expenses were taken care of, but the doctors said that medicines at this point couldn’t contain his cancer. He needed palliative care.

Thus,  Rambabu was brought back to the community centre where his nutritional and medical needs were met. The boys from the community provided emotional anchorage since  Rambabu never had a family and had fallen out with everyone he knew. He spent his last few days in good spirits, glad to be taken care of. He died within a week of discharge from the hospital but it was a dignified death.

More importantly, he didn’t die alone.

*Actual name withheld for privacy.

tuberculosis takes its toll

Abhimala Kamath* (82) shared a 10 feet by 10 feet shack in Matunga Labour Camp with her son, daughter and granddaughter. The four lived on a combined monthly income of Rs. 2,000. The granddaughter earned Rs. 1,500 per month working as a domestic help, and was the only consistent source of income to the family. Her daughter earned daily wages whenever she could work. Her son was an alcoholic and a casual labourer at construction sites. Abhimala had tuberculosis.

Things were bad when her case was identified: their shack had one bed without proper mattress, bed linen or blanket. Chronic illness had emaciated  Abhimala. Old age and constant pain meant that she shifted restlessly in bed, talked to herself hours on end, forbid her daughter to go out and constantly complained helplessly. The family knew they couldn’t afford getting her treated. Having an alcoholic in the house didn’t help.

Intervening after her community brought this case to notice, home based care was decided as her best bet. Thanks to Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General (LTMG) Hospital (aka Sion Hospital), a resident doctor from the department of preventive and social medicine (PSM) visited her and guided her family in matters of basic health care, home remedies and hygiene. One volunteer came forward to take care of  Abhimala thereby relieving her daughter to go out and work. This volunteer soon developed a good rapport with the old lady.  Abhimala was given nutritional supplements of proteins and vitamins twice daily, along with extended nutrition support in terms of two good meals a day. Whenever  Abhimala grew cranky or refused food/medicines, the volunteer would talk her into it. Considering his love and concern for her health, she would yield.

That said, her health still deteriorated. Her family was instructed in proper respite care and medical assistance to ensure that she was as comfortable as possible. Soon it was decided that she needed palliative care. She was shifted to the Urban Health Centre of Sion Hospital where the resident doctor from PSM department who had provided her home based care attended to her. Her family was supported financially and emotionally to deal with her impending death. She lived eight days after admission. Her family was helped in moving her body to her residence.

Thus, an old ailing woman who lived in a slum got medical attention and support in the last days of her life. She didn’t die hungry and her pain was more manageable at the time of her death. Her family survived the medical and emotional costs thanks to the medical team from Sion Hospital and the volunteer who went out of his way to make life easier for someone he barely knew.

*Actual name withheld for privacy.

the story of radha shetty

Forty years ago Radha Shetty* (65) was married to an alcoholic wife-beater. Soon after, she left him and returned to stay at her maternal home. Her husband died a few years later. Things were going pretty well at home – the family was huge, with her parents, three brothers and their families living together.  Radha worked as a labourer at a mill nearby.

At the turn of the millennium, disaster struck. In quick succession over the next decade,  Radha lost both her parents and two of her three brothers. She also lost her job when the mill shut shop. The onus of managing the entire family came upon the sole surviving brother and his elder son; they jointly ran a retail store. To help her brother who now had three widows to take care of,  Radha gave him her life savings. He in turn, promised her a sum of Rs.1,000 every month for her medical and personal expenses.

It is hard to say if it was the pressure of supporting a large family or the authority of being the sole breadwinner that corrupted  Radha's brother, but he soon became verbally abusive and stopped giving  Radha money. They quarrelled often. Meanwhile,  Radha's osteoarthritis rendered her homebound.

Her case came to fore during one of Shield’s regular community outreach programmes. While addressing a group of elderly Tamil people,  Radha's brother informed us about her problems. Immediate intervention included arranging for medicines and protein powder. Doctors from the departments of physiotherapy, and preventive and social medicine (PSM) did home visits to help  Radha. With counselling and regular follow-ups, she started moving around and attending physiotherapy sessions at the Urban Health Centre (UHC).

While her physical health improved, relations at home soured. Even though her brother was a member of a local NGO and himself participated in physiotherapy sessions, his relationship with his sister was stressful.  Radha would recount his verbal abuses when she came to the Shield Centre.

When a social worker intervened it was found that everyone in the house was afraid of the brother, who was unresponsive to counselling by the social worker. The widowed wife of the younger brother showed some sympathy for  Radha and took up the responsibility of giving her medicines and assisting her in getting to the common toilets in the community.

In her sorrow,  Radha spent longer time at the Shield Centre where she was discovered to be good with crochet designs and woollen weaving. Since support was not coming from home, Shield provided her with the material to keep her engaged. Soon, students from the adolescents’ project asked her to take classes for them. Meanwhile,  Radha started showing problems with her blood pressure and her asthma flared up. However, medical intervention gave her relief.

One day, there was an instance of domestic violence at  Radha's house when her brother hit her. She stopped taking food and her health deteriorated. She had to be admitted to a hospital. As a part of crisis intervention, her brother was threatened by the legal implications of the case. His son was mature enough to understand the situation and through counselling, peace was restored at home.

After this instance,  Radha started spending most of her day at the Shield Centre making mobile covers, sweaters and table clothes. Shield marketed her goods at NGO fairs whenever they came by. Since then, she has had a cataract operation in one eye which was conducted free of cost at the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General (LTMG) Hospital at the behest of Shield. But she soon lost sight in the other eye due to complications after a case of retinal detachment.

These episodes, coupled with regular counselling and family visits by Shield’s field workers have brought some stability to the household.  Radha has accepted her condition and complains less. She has found support in her nephew and her younger brother’s widowed wife. The Reddy family (Radha had kept her married surname) has since shifted to Dombivali but keep in touch with Shield. Her brother often volunteers for programmes and gives news about Radha.

Last heard from, she is doing fine.

*Actual name withheld for privacy.