On 12th September, 2021 all of us, in the Developmental paediatrics department at MOSC Medical College shall wake up to a new reality to welcome the tenth year of our services!
In the above publication we have recollected the pathfinding journey of the last ten years which make us feel grateful and fulfilled. It was a small beginning in 2012 and is still small in size but indicates its scope to be larger in purpose and mission. I am not certain if it would proceed that way.
It is the time to remember all the professionals past and present, who walked this journey in taking sides of children who are Developmentally challenged. Their commitment and missionary zeal brought us thus far.
As for me, it is also a time to prepare for the future as I am in the second year of my post retirement extension of service! I hope that the department would continue with its mission!
The vision of fostering a focus on the child development of developmentally challenged children is taking a tangible form with interests and participation from a few institutions. I hope it will materialise into the beginning of Child Development Centres in a few institutions that we are in touch!
I spent 15 years at ASHIRVAD Child Development Centre, Chennai, 11 years at the Christian Medical College Vellore, 2 years at the Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences and now in the 10th year at the MOSC Medical College, in a pursuit to spread the message attending to the needs of developmentally challenged children!
I feel grateful to have been given this opportunity and want to express the managements of these institutions for encouraging to begin these services. It was Dr V.I.Mathen, the then Director of CMC Vellore, who foresaw an opportunity and invited ASHIRVAD to enter in to a Memorandum of Understanding to start the Developmental Paediatrics Unit at CMC Vellore in 1997.
I stay wondering and pondering over the story of the last 39 years! I had my mind set on paediatric cardiology as a specialty to pursue! It was the arrival of our daughter, Anita and her home call at three months of age, which took Anna and I in this direction! It was a path finding journey on an unchartered course.
I feel grateful for many experiences.
One experience was the offer of the Bible Medical Missionary Fellowship (now INTERSERVE) in 1983 to accept Anna and I as partners and offer support during our years at Chennai. That was the defining moment in our lives as we had already moved to Chennai to start the Child Development Centre and had no sense of how we would face the future for our living needs and the development of a new service for children. That was when the BMMF came forward to carry us forward in its wings, thanks to the initiatives of Mr Michael Roemelle, Re Basil Scott, Dr Ray Windsor and Mr Arthur Pont.
Another experience that stands out is the formation of ASHIRVAD as a charitable trust which facilitated the starting of Child Development Centre at Chennai, a play group at St Andrew's Church, Egmore, Chennai which developed in to a school for developmentally challenged children and the Early Learning Centre at Nagpur, which is now a multipurpose centre for children who are disadvantaged. Dr A.K.Tharien the founder of Christian Fellowship Hospital Oddanchatram was the first Chairman of the ASHIRVAD trust.
We enter into the 40th year of ASHIRVAD in 2022, another moving experience to say the least!
What a privilege it was to witness and be part of the process to introduce this specialty of Developmental Paediatrics in India by starting the first academic department at CMC Vellore and the first post-doctoral fellowship training for Paediatricians and a PhD program in this specialty in India at the Developmental Paediatrics department at CMC Vellore!
This story amazes and engages me and I stay surprised and wondering...!
I recall the words of the Psalmist, 'It was the Lord's doing and is marvellous in our sight' !
M.C.Mathew (Text and photo)
No comments:
Post a Comment