Aug 5 – Making an IMPACT

Friday, hands down, was my favorite day thus far. Our 7:30 departure time and 2+ hour bus ride was totally worth the first breath of fresh air I inhaled when we arrived at our first stop in the Thane district, a rural area north of Mumbai. Neelam, a mid-60's tiny spitfire of a woman, from IMPACT India led our group and gave us a lovely overview of the organization's mission and activities – “Actions today to prevent disability tomorrow”, for IMPACT India means working with over 2 million people living in tribal populations, includes the Lifeline Express, the world's first train hospital. The train, painted in bright colors with flowers and rainbows, moves throughout the country year round providing services such as cataract and cleft palate surgery, and other basic medical procedures to rural populations who call it the Magic Train.

In addition to the Lifeline Express, IMPACT, in conjunction with the government, provides services within the general community, hostel schools, not unlike boarding schools, rural health clinics, and also had a mobile unit for eye exams and prescribing glasses.

On the way to Thane, Neelam described how IMPACT and their services got off the ground, and to the point at which they function today. It sounded like a story out of a public health fairytale. She made it sound so seamless – a disparity was recognized – the tribal communities and rural areas lacked access to basic health services, and so she and her team rallied the necessary troops and brought them what they needed. Voilá! Magic! In reality, of course, I am sure it was not as easy as her rhetoric described. Blood, sweat and tears went into these initiatives, and it really shows. It is most apparent in the services provided exclusively for women. Physical health as well as social factors emphasize the importance of enrolling these rural children in hostel schools: they are provided high quality diets to curb anemia, and by providing the girls with an education and a place to learn and grow, child marriage is also curbed. By providing the mothers in the community with birthing services and breastfeeding support in the maternal and child health clinic, IMPACT is working to decrease maternal and infant mortality rates, as well as ensure a healthy start to the babies' lives. They made it look so easy, and I hope someday to be a part of an organization which makes such a significant IMPACT.