MBCT PANCHAYAT MEET & DIABETES AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

The 3rd MBCT Panchayat Meet cum Diabetes Awareness Campaign for the month of JUNE was held on Monday 16th June 2008 from 6am to 8.30am at the Gurdwara vill. Majri Azeem in FGS district.

The campaign was inaugrated by MBCT Patron Prof Hardarshan Singh Mejie. In all 40 persons were checked for Diabetes with an electronic Glocumeter and Testing sticks which provide instant result of the sugar levels. Out of 40 persons checked, 6 persons were detected with Diabetes, they were handed out a leaflet on the symptoms/precautions/Diets to be followed . They were also advised to get immediate medical help of their doctor and were offerred to pre register for the MBCT's forthcoming FREE Multi Speciality Medical check up Camp (Cardiology- Endocrinology -Nephrology) to be held on Sunday 29th June 2008 9am to 1pm at Mata Harnam Kaur Community Development Center Bassi Pathana. Dr. T P Singh MD, DM Cardiology Prime Heart Institute Mohali, Dr. Gagan Priya MD , DM, Endocrinology (ex.AIMMS Delhi) IVY Hospital Mohali and Dr. Parampal Singh MD Nephrology DMC Ludhiana have volunteered to provide free medical consultancy. MBCT will also provide free medicines for one week as prescribed by the doctors.

Prof. H S Mejie spoke to the gathering of the village elected heads & other persons gathered there about this disease Diabetes that it was a SILENT KILLER and did not distinguish between a city dweller or a villager. It afflicts with stealth unlike most of the other diseases which are either visible or one becomes aware due to some acute pain or discomfort. even today, many people were hesitant to get themselves checked feeling that they were alright and did hard manual work in the fields hence would not be affected by Diabetes, a few were in for a shock when they got the test done and found very high sugar levels.

Further Prof Mejie introduced Ms Seema Arora Director Fashion technology park Mohali to the gathering and asked her to speak a few words on the Women Empowernment Project she was running at MHKCDC Bassi Pathana Jointly with MBCT. Ms. Seema informed about MBCT FTP Joint Effort in setting up a very modern Training Facility for Training rural women with skills to make them self sufficient through specially packaged Needle Work Embroidery & Garment Manufacturing courses which they were offering FREE OF COST (Normally, any one such course would cost in the region of atleast Rs.40,000/-). More than 200 women have been trained since October 2007 at this center and another 200 are in variuos stages of Training.

The courses offerred are:
  a) Surface Embellishment
  b) Phulkari Craft
  c) Advanced Sewing for Home Textiles
  d) Craft management & Entrepreneurial Leadership
  e) Fashion Tailoring & Dress Making which includes
      Quality Control, Sorcing, Cost effectiveness & Market Research.

All these are 6 months certificate courses at the end of the course the student is awarded a MBCT FTP Certificate of successfully completing the course. For the far away village students the timings has been fixed as 10am to 1pm and 2nd Batch from 2pm to 5pm. The next course begins from 1st July 2008.

The course provided is highly in demand and valuable as the students are given practical training on industrial Japanese machines which they will be required to use in their professional carriers ahead. All the raw materials etc. are being provided free of cost and so is the tutoring by highly professional group of instructors.

There was a stumbling Block i.e. the TRANSPORTATION from the villages to the Center in Bassi Pathana, BUT the women folk and Girls registered immediately for this FREE course and said they would pay for the transportation cost if the TRUST or the village heads could arrange for a safe Transport.

The Village Head Ms Charanjeet kaur and Panch Shinder Kaur thanked Prof. Hardarshan Singh Mejie for sparing his valuable time so early in the morning to be with the village folk and offer his advise and free services for the welfare of the rural people. She went a step further by saying that there may be many persons far wealthier, but you rarely find such a large hearted person, willing to share so much of his earned wealth in the welfare of the not so fortunate.

It being a Shahidi Divas of Guru Arjan Devji, the Granthi at the Gurdwara did the ARDAS and Karah Parshad was distributed to the gathering.

MBCT PANCHAYAT MEET & DIABETES AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

MBCT Panchayat Meet cum Diabetes Awareness Campaign held on June 14, 2008 for three villages i.e. Kheri Bhaike, Gopalon & Kotla in FGS district. The venue for the Campaign was the Gurudwara in village Kotla.

Number of Patients Diagnosed: 47

In the Meeting  Prof. Hardarshan Singh Mejie outlined the   services being provided by the TRUST at Bassi Pathana. He introduced Ms. Seema Arora Director FTP who was  responsible for the  Women Empowerment Project. Ms. Seema Arora informed the Village Heads and a gathering of young women and girls keen to get FREE vocational training in the fields of needle work and garment manufacturing.

The local ladies took a keen interest in what Ms. Seema Arora had to offer and a handful of them registered themselves for the 6 month certificate courses in Garment manufacturing. There was the question of transportation to the Center in Bassi Pathana, which was raised and needed to be addressed. The TRUST does not have any Transport of it's own, but the young ladies were more than happy to pay for the transport as in anycase they were being provided FREE training course, which in normal case would not have cost them less than Rs. 40,000/- for any one course of 6 months duration.

MBCT PANCHAYAT MEET & DIABETES AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

The Campaign held on 12 June 2008 in Village Nandpur & Kalour as Sugar Awareness Camp at Baba Gurdit Library At Kalour.

Number of Patients Diagnosed: 36

The Campaign was kicked off by Trustee Alfred Singh Mejie accompanied by the MBCT Field Team comprising of Ajay Malhotra/ Onkar Singh and Dheeraj Bansal. The program started at 6AM and lasted for two hours or more, the idea was to catch the rural people before they leave for their daily chores and in fasting condition.

In this diabetes awareness campaign MBCT Field officers carry out sugar level testing with electronic testing machines and glucose strips which gives immediate results. Persons who have either very high levels of sugar level or dangerously low levels, are informed of the condition, a printed paper on precaution & care required is handed out and they are also pre registered for the Free Medical Check up Camp to be held at Mata Harnam Kaur Community Development Center, Bassi Pathana.

MBCT PANCHAYAT MEET & DIABETES AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

MBCT has adopted 128 villages of Fathegarh Sahib District of Punjab India. In order to apprise the rural folks of the various social work programs and monthly medical check up camps of the TRUST, two or three villages are covered every month wherein the TRUSTEE / FIELD OFFICERS of the TRUST organise a meeting with the village Panchayat and simultaneously the MBCT TEAM checks the diabetes of the villagers, latest easy to use electronic sugar testing intruments are used.

The aim of these meetings is to bring awareness of the silent killer DIABETES, which the rural folk think cannot touch them as they do hard physical labour, whereas there are others who feel that if they do not get tested they need not worry that they are diabetic, little realising that their dietary habits / financial pressures and genetic makeup are some of the major contributors to this disease. QUITE A FEW GET A SHOCK WHEN THEY SEE THE INSTANT RESULTS OF THE TESTS.

MBCT Team gives them a list of DOs and DONT's to keep the sugar levels under control. Serious cases are advised to see their local doctor and specialist and we also provide details of MBCT's forthcoming Diabetes Check up Camp, where they can come and be seen by a specialist from Chandigarh.

MBCT PANCHAYAT MEET & DIABETES DETECTION CAMPAIGN
[27th February 2008]
Village Rampur Kaleran

MBCT PANCHAYAT MEET & DIABETES DETECTION CAMPAIGN
[28th February 2008]
Village Rupalheri

MBCT PANCHAYAT MEET & DIABETES DETECTION CAMPAIGN
[25th January 2008]
Village Rampur Kaleran

MBCT PANCHAYAT MEET & DIABETES DETECTION CAMPAIGN
[24th January 2008]
Village Mustfabad