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My dear friends,        

This year has seen our Shelter Home Children blossom beautifully in our small rented facility. Words fail to describe our emotions, as our dream is becoming a reality slowly but surely after many years of untiring persistence. One more door has opened for us as our beloved Trustee Chhagankaka Naik has donated his land for building a proper Home for them to improve on the existing facility.

Progress that we have made at Gram Seva gives me joy unspeakable and I owe this entirely to the partnership of all our generous donors, our very dedicated Health and Education Team under the leadership of Dr. Sharmishtha Patil and valuable guidance from our Managing Trustees Drs. Ashwin and Harsha Shah. Education of our Healthy Children is our passion as through education come Faith in one’s own self.

In the year 2009 with the help of your donations, our services included:

* Under 5 years Old: 2984 children in 83 AWS were checked, followed up on regular basis, and treated as and when needed. Of these, 27 (0.9%) were severely undernourished, majority of whom were either LBW (Low Birth Weight) babies or Premature ones. We therefore need to strengthen our ANC (Ante Natal Care) project. Eleven Children with Sickle Cell Anemia are under treatment and 50 trait individuals have been counseled. Forty-five children under 5 years were treated for TB and are followed up.

* Ante Natal Care: Over 2,000 pregnant women were cared for and 1538 delivered at our hospital.517 Newborns were LBW – 407 Full term newborns & 110 Preterm newborns. Of these Newborns, 181 needed care in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) mostly due to Premature Birth and/or LBW. Our 45 trained RCH (Reproductive & Child Health) Workers in their respective villages have become our very effective messengers. In addition, our team has been very fortunate to have two very dedicated full time doctors: Dr. Kanchan Dhadwe, M.D. (Ob.Gyn.) and Dr. Priti Patel, M.D. (Pediatrics).

* Adolescent Girls and Boys: Health, Education, and Counseling were carried on for 723 girls in our established groups and for 37 adolescent boys in 3 groups. 139 Health and Education sessions were conducted. School Health Program: 6235 children in 40 local area schools had Complete Health Checkup including Hemoglobin, Sickle cell Disease survey, Blood Groups,  Immunizations and Counseling. Sickle Cell Disease was identified in 40 and 472 were carriers of the Trait.
* Tuition Classes: We are conducting 18 classes totaling 387 students. These classes have facilitated our children to go to High School and our drop out rate has gone down. We need to expand on this project.

* Health Education programs:                                                                                                                  

 Number of Nightprograms carried out in selected villages – 93.
Health Education sessions in hospital wards – 394;
Education during ANC clinic – 101, in addition to the counseling at village level by our trained RCH workers. Nutrition Demonstration in villages – 469.

* Heart Disease Project: Dr. Ratna Magotra continues her valuable services. Dr. Snehal Kulkarni, Pediatric
Cardiologist from Mumbai comes on a regular basis to examine and conduct ECHO studies for our Heart Disease patients. To date, out of 172 ECHO studies, we have detected 31 Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) and 59 Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) patients. Twenty-four have been operated – 2 RHD & 22 CHD. Thirty are awaiting surgery and two are inoperable. Of these, we have lost eight children - 6-post operative & 2-pre op. 

* Hospitalization and Treatments:                                                                                                                        581 children were hospitalized for medical and surgical treatments. In addition, they were provided with         668 X-Rays, 63 consults in various sub-specialties and 2344 Laboratory investigations. General Surgeries were provided for 140 children. Two children - sisters - with Thallasemia Major come regularly for multiple blood transfusions every 2 months for their disease.
* Vaccines: 140 doses of MMR vaccines and 1236 doses of Hepatitis B vaccines were administered. The Government provides other required vaccines. 

New Developments:
* NICU & Pediatric ward. A separate Pediatric Ward and a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit are under construction aided also by a grant from Government of Gujarat.

*Children’s Shelter Home: As we have acquired land, we are planning to construct a separate unit for our shelter home children, as the need to take in more children is great. The rented facility is already overcrowded with 30 children. Our short term goal at present is to provide this home for 100 children.             

I sincerely hope this gives you a feeling of satisfaction about your hard-earned money being utilized for a noble cause. I feel blessed and extremely grateful for this privilege and opportunity offered to me through your generosity. We need about $3.00 per child per month for the care of our 0 to 5 year old children and $75.00 per month for Health and Education - Physical, Mental, and Emotional and Spiritual - of our Shelter Home Children. In addition, we are now looking for funds for construction of the Shelter Home to bring our project to its ultimate fruition.               

With Gratitude, Love and Blessings,

Very affectionately,

Roda K. Patel
President, Gram Seva Foundation, USA; Honorary Director, Child Health, Gram Seva Trust, India.

Ps: Please rest assured that all your hard-earned money goes totally toward the welfare of our Gram Seva children. Thanks!

Every Child comes with the message that God is not yet   discouraged of man!”

   Tagore.

 2030 Post Road, Northbrook, IL 60062. * Tel: (847)564-2030. Email: rodak@aol.com

www.gramseva.org