31 May, 2020

Mondays with Morley-2 : Pioneer in Tropical Child Helath


Professor David Morley was a pioneer in Tropical Child health

I planned to start my first interview with him on his seminal contributions in Tropical Child Health. Before I could start asking him any questions, he made a profound confession that he was an average student of missionary parents and had to adjust to changes and challenges in his educational career. He was desperate to diffuse an impression that he had achieved something substantial or outstanding because of his abilities. He recalled his association and collaboration with many colleagues who according to him were more persistent and better path finders.

He disappeared for a short while interrupting the conversation to appear with a tray. The tray had a book and a spoon with cups of coffee for both of us. He mentioned that it was time for his second cup of coffee in the morning. He served me coffee in a mug which had an association with his time in Nigeria from 1956 to 1961. He got that mug from his colleagues in the Wesley Guild Hospital, a Methodist Hospital, from where he returned to join the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 1961.

What was in the tray were a spoon and a book.


David quickly moved on to the story of this plastic spoon he designed in 1958, which was introduced to the rest fo the world in mid sixties. The story of this spoon was fascinating and sounded like a thriller.

At the Wesley Guild hospital he used to come across children die of gastroenteritis and dehydration. About seventy percent of children died of dehydration and jot because of gastro-enteritis. Often children came in severe dehydration and peripheral circulatory shock because of which he could not save children. It made a lot of sense to me while listening to this sad story as severe dehydration was the major cause of children dying in the hospital where I was trained for my undergraduate studies from 1967. At one time there would be about thirty children with dehydration in the paediatric wards, our of which at least half would die as they arrived in the hospital too late.

Having found this terrible catastrophe, David set out to visit homes of people in the villages to find the practices which people followed when astro-enteritis set in. It was a practice for people to starve children to stop vomiting which led to deprivation of food and fluid for several hours even put a week. The antibiotics which some children received was not enough to stop the progression of the disease although infection was treated.

David was original in his thinking. He got in touch with his colleagues in London who were working on nutrition and got their advice to formulate a mixture of salt and sugar in water at home so that parents could start feeding children with this mixture as soon as diarrhoea illness started. His advice was six teaspoons of sugar and half teaspoon of salt in 1000 ml of boiled and cooled water. This 'Do it yourself' approach had a practical problem. Most homes in the villages did not have measuring spoons to make the measurement fairly constant.

It was this need which prompted David to think of a cheap and convenient spoon that he could introduce to every home to prepare Oral Dehydration Solution . His prescription was that family gives their children about 200 ml of that fluid even hour during the time of diarrhoea illness, even before they went to hospital for medical attention. He found that 80 percent of children in villages had at least three diarrhoea illness in a year which lasted for a week or so during which time fluid and food were normally restricted. David concluded that the prevalence of malnutrition in about 85 percent children in the villages could be attributable to illness such as diarrhoea.

David used to visit village homes with plastic spoon in his pocket to distribute to parents. Later he got  it provided for parents at the hospital and village clinics.

But the resistance to give Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) was considerable. Even the health practitioners which were many in villages discouraged this. That was the beginning of forming Rehydration Therapy teams in villages so that they would go form house to house to illustrate how the solution is made. They would drink the solution themselves to show the village folks the safety of the solution.

David was genius in designing. He got a spoon designed which had two spoons on both end-the larger one for sugar and the smaller one for salt. Although he had to wait till 1965, to have it marketed widely through the charity he established in London on his return, Teaching Aids at Low Cost (TALC), the design and prototype was in existence by 1958.

David paused for a while at this stage. I knew that he was moved to recall the story further because it was an overwhelming occasion for him to have found the immediate result of his innovation. The diarrhoea death declined from about forty children in a month to two or three over a period of six months. David was convinced that it was not the antibiotics that saved them, but the early rehydration  begun at home. He made it a practice to advocate for giving a replacement of about 200 ml of the ORS after every episode of loose stool.

While this was already making significant trust in his approach to help children in the community, he introduced the habit of weighing children in the community clinics at least once a month till they were five years old. Most women in the villages were illiterate. It was this which prompted him to think about making a chart which would plot the weight and height and have it retained by parents for them to keep following the progress of health in children. This was the beginning of the concept of Road to Health chart which later became widely known as Growth Monitoring, popularised by  the UNICEF and WHO.

I knew this part of the story as Dr Willian Cutting was a collaborator to evolve this chart as an internationally accepted tool, when he was working in India around the same time in a mission hospital in Andhra Pradesh. Dr Cutting later joined David to work in the Tropical Child Heath unit in London.

I found that David was a good narrator with anecdotes and references of many people to whom he was grateful for. He referred to all he was able to do as others contributing to let hem happen.

The second item in the tray he brought was this book he co authored on his return form Nigeria almost like a summary of several experiences he had in Nigeria. This book is pictorial and its in an easy to read and understand mode in presentation.

He autographed and presented a copy to me. I was surprised by his generosity, that too at the first formal meeting with him.







This is one of the books I have used extensively because it is just illustrations with short statements and full of line drawings.

I used this book as a resource in my learning and planning to compose the curriculum for training in the post doctoral  Fellowship Programme in Developmental Paediatrics at CMC Vellore.

The handbook shown below that was published in 1998, borrowed the line drawing approach  to  illustrate how a play based observation on the developmental sequences of infants and pre-school children can be done in a home setting. It was published at the time of the first intentional conference of Developmental Paediatrics held at CMC.



I sent a copy of this handbook to David when it was published in 1998, which was duly acknowledged. He had just retired from his position at the institute of Child Health. Hearing about the progress ASHIRVAD made in signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Christian Medical College, Vellore to start the specialty of Developmental Paediatrics, he insisted that I visit the Institute of Child Health to share experiences of beginning a new specialty  for the first time in India.

David was exuberant in his enthusiasm to encourage me to pursue the development of this specialty. t He often encouraged his friends to visit us when they came to India.

When I went to London in the summer of next year, to give a talk at the institute of Child Health, David came travelling in the train although he was only three weeks after his knee replacement surgery. I was moved to see him in the audience. He was older but not less in his enthusiasm and warmth. He recalled the series of conversations we had together to which he referred to as important in his understanding of child development. He approached child development by advocating for prevention of illness, promoting vaccination, growth monitoring, etc. He commented me for approaching child development through the optic of restoring wellness and offering rehabilitative plan for children.

A the end of that first fifty minutes conversation, David walked out with me and left me outside the conference room, where I was about to start the day with a seminar.

At the end of that meeting in 1986, what stayed on with me was an experience of being with a humble professional of outstanding orientation in pursuing a vision for children and their wellness. He did everything to make a difference locally and globally. The forty five years or so he spent actively in global child development initiatives have had a profound impact.

I visited Nepal to conduct a workshop in child development for Paediatricians in 1996 at the invitation of Kathmandu Paediatrics Association. Seven out of the forty who attended were influenced by the approach of David that they had established Growth monitoring, use of ORS to prevent dehydration and immunisation services in the Under Five clinics. They had just started using Measles vaccination for under five children in a limited way at that time.

One can use one's professional years to pursue success for oneself or pursue the cause of people in need to make a substantial difference. David chose the latter through out his professional career. David left us with an example of a pioneering pursuit in his life!

M.C. Mathew( text and photo)

Roller skating in basket ball curt!


As I drove in to the MOSC College campus yesterday, the children were skating in the basket ball court. By the time I parked the car, they had sat down to untie their roller skates. I watched  this almost every day except when there was rain for a few weeks. It was a pleasure to watch younger and older children confidently balance at reasonable speed on the basket ball court. They talk and laugh and obviously were in good spirit. 

Usually children have to wait to use the basket ball court till the medical students finished their game. Now the students are away at home, children have access to the court all the time. 

There is something interesting I found about this. Most of the children skating were girls. It was refreshing to see girls also getting used to skating, which was often considered to be a sports of men. 

I happened to chat with a parent who resides in the college campus, who told me that boys spend longer time on telephone and watching TV or gaming that they are not regular in practicing or playing out-door games. 

According to the theory of the Multiple Intelligences, the domain of Kinaesthetic Intelligence regulates the the body functions of balance, movement, co-ordination posture, under influence of the cerebellum, basal ganglia, pyramidal tracts, sensory motor area, motor cortex, etc. Those who are engaged in ballet dance or gymnastics have an advanced level of kinaesthetic Intelligence. 

I felt fascinated by the swift turns all three of them made in the court, and the pace they maintained during the time I watched them. Well done children. You inspire us.

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)


Giving all they have- a habit of Mission hospitals !


The above is the photo of the medical students of the batch of 2019, MOSC Medical college, Kolanchery, taken during their orientation week, after they joined the college in June last year. 

Yesterday I happened to meet two students of this batch, who came to the college office to enquire about the date of resuming their regular classes and the dates of examination for their first-year examination. It is the fourth month, since their usual classes have been suspended due to the stay at home order on account of COVID 19. Normally, they would have been in their examination season now and longingly waiting  to start  the clinical years of their training. I saw the awful disappointment in their faces and voice.  There is no certainty about the calendar of events for them. It was heavily raining and thundering outside, when I met them. I too was overcome by their disappointment.  

I drove home in the rain and by the time I arrived home, rain had ceased. What greeted me on arrival was this sky in twilight hues of colours in the horizon and misty look of the greenery in the valley. (Photo below). The sky overshadowed the expanse of the greenery in the valley. This sight truly lifted my spirit, because brightness and hope returned displacing the disappointment and gloom associated with COVOD 19. Not that gloom is fully behind us, because the mist covered the vegetations. But the horizon, although distant from us, is awakening us to what shall follow on in due season.



What awaited me this morning at dawn, was a spectacular sight on the western horizon (photo below). This golden hue of the cloud in the sky was a prelude to the sunrise in the east. 


It was a breath-taking sight, which was a continuation of what I noticed in the sky yesterday evening. The brilliance in the sky gave me a song in my soul,

‘O lord my God, 
When I in awesome wonder
consider all the works 
Thy hands have made, 
I see the stars,
I hear the rolling thunder,
 the power through out, 
the universe displayed; 

Then sings my soul….’

In the following few minutes, the sun had risen, and the cloud had turned almost normal (photo below). The trees were turning green. That is when I realized that gloom and delight are transient experiences. What is normal are the ordinary experiences through which we journey each day. For most of us, it would be a wearisome journey as responsibilities, commitments, problem-solving, decision making, accompanying the staff and their families, managing the finances, coping with the challenges in the hospital, etc.



I began to feel comforted by a new consciousness of the immanent God, who would displace the darkness and the gloom of this season, which most of us feel daily, on account of the pressures coming upon us due to the global circumstance of COVID 19, and its economic and social impact upon us. Seeing the cloud radiantly adorned in the twilight was an unusual moment of delight and gratefulness. It was a sight pregnant with hope!

I had run out of face mask which the hospital provided for the last tow months. I requested a vendor to bring me some masks. This vendor is an enterprising person, who got thirty women together to stitch masks. They learned to stitch and work in three batches. This income sustained them during this difficult season. What was touching was their resolve to provide a mid-day meal to fifty migrant workers who were unemployed for ten weeks now. These women did this from the income they received from selling the masks. These women organised de-addiction programme for five migrant workers who were alcohol dependent. 

To me, it was like the story of the poor widow (Mark12:41-43), ‘who came and put in two small copper coins’, into the treasury, while ‘many rich people were putting in large sums’. Jesus of Nazareth had a commendation, ‘..this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury…out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on’(v 43, 44) 

Let me suggest that each of you, who lives and works in mission hospitals during this season of considerable demands, is giving all what you have, your presence, time, skills, thought, attention, mindfulness, etc in abundance. You live and give with a similar ethos and outlook of the widow, who was noticed by Jesus.  May the words of commendation of Jesus resound in your hearts! 

Anna and I remember you fondly and gratefully. You light lamps in the lives of those who come to you and they go back guided in their journey.


We wish it was possible to send you a parcel of Rambutan from our garden! You too might have plenty of fruits in your hospital campuses. 



M.C.Mathew (text and photo and the last one by Anna)

29 May, 2020

A film set in ruins!


The picture of a model of an ancient church built on the river bank for film shooting appeared damaged a few days back. There are photos of some men pulling down the panels with axe and showers.  There seems to be a religious intolerance behind this vandalism.

Whither we go as humanity!

The president of America seems to be an example of this version of narcotic behaviour. The latest being,  the president is now after the Twitter for having exposed his distortion of facts. 

The language of arrogance and intimidation one union minister, hailing from Kerala, used against the Chief minister of Kerala while referring to the COVID 19 status in Kerala was offensive and unbecoming of a union minister, to say the last. 

Where does the language of arrogance or violence originate from! Is it possible the cinema has a large contribution to this. I asked a regal film viewer as to whether he remembers watching a film without ugly romance between a man and woman or acts of violence in word and deed. In fact some scenes are murderous or bordering to it. He was silent and felt that the film actors are stars with much more acceptance and role model appeal than the sports person or politicians !

We can see the replica of violent behaviour even in our roads.

Yesterday, I stopped at a four road junction as I normally do before crossing. The car behind me honked and honked for that thirty seconds. When he overtook me he came in front of my car and drove slowly to harass me. I felt pity for him. 

What do we have as a value except our conduct and behaviour! We seem to accumulate financial wealth at the expense of losing our moral wealth!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo from a news paper, Malayala Manorama, 26 May, 2020)

A Hibiscus friendly Paediatrician !



The 31 Hibiscus plants are in full bloom in the garden in front of the main college building of the MOSC campus. 

I was taking some photos of the flowers last week. Dr George Noble, professor of Paediatrics was on his morning walk in the garden. He came towards me and revealed the story of the Hibiscus plants in MOSC campus. He planned them and watered them for a season about 20 years ago, when a full time gardener was not available. The quadrangle in front of the college building where the space is now used for car parking, has an elegant look because of these plants. 

Dr Noble has some Hibiscus plants in his own house and is fond of them because of their colourful flowers and medicinal value. He mentioned to me the ladies use the flower paste as a shampoo for the hair. 

Dr Noble is a relatively quiet person who impresses me with some of his his creative pursuits. I have watched him sitting with his post-graduate student, outside the students canteen in the afternoon to 'read together' with him to promote 'reading habit'! He mentioned to me that he learns while reading and helps his student to take time to read. This to me was a revelation of the learning instinct of a senior paediatrician and his commitment to his student to help him in advancing his leaning pursuit.

There are people amidst us who escape our attention because they look ordinary and do not indulge in 'self promotion'! But they hide the profoundness because of the depth of identity they find in themselves. They choose to live with an inner consciousness of who they are. Such people live in the joy and contentment of the inner expanse they create within themselves. They grow in mindfulness of others and the environment, revealing them only through acts of kindness and good deeds often done quietly and subtly. 

Three cheers to Dr Noble who is an example of choosing to live with a mission and pursue the good of others!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

28 May, 2020

A journey back !


Shantha working in Developmental Paediatrics and Chill Neurology brought me this collection of serving spoons made of coconut shell. My memory instantly went back to my childhood, when all the  cooking and serving were done by these spoons made of coconut shell. By the time I went to college, they got replaced by aluminium and later stainless steel spoons. I was seeing these spoons after about forty years. 

A neighbour of Shantha makes these for special purposes. I was glad for her to have brought this collection to me. 

It takes a lot of practice to make it, because it involves shaping the shell, cutting and smoothening the edges, attaching a neatly prepared handle form bamboo, etc. The coconut shells are normally used as firewood in many homes if they still have a fire place at home. I have seen coconut emporiums, where the shell is made in to boxes with a lid to keep small things like paper clips, pins, buttons, etc. Such boxes are used as decorative items on display in show cases. 

What fascinated me is that I can return to use these spoons at home and relive the history of cooking which I watched my grandmothers and mother did in their kitchens. Another memorial to lives that are close to me. 

Let me pay my tribute to this craftsman who creates a use for the coconut shell in the kitchen. Anything we use to cook a meal becomes part of us. So this craftsman also becomes part of our consciousness. He makes his living in his house, in a village, who might not know all about the memories he brings into our midst through the creations he makes! I feel grateful that there are people like this in our midst who keeps alive our memories!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)


27 May, 2020

Weary look, but rich in aroma!





Some flowers in our garden have a subdued look, but their fragrance and colourfulness suffer no loss in the summer heat. The plants do suffer in the hot sun, but they are rooted in the soil rich with moisture and manure!

Anna and I dropped in to get a take away from an eatery yesterday,  normally popular and full of people. It had a deserted look and they had a reduced menu. They could not serve even what was mentioned in the display board as they did not have a cook who could prepare that item.

Anna needed an egg beater, as one she was using for twenty years is almost out of order. We went to six shops. None had it in their stock as the supply has been limited for the last three months due to locked down.

We dropped in to a plant nursery get some plants for our garden. They had a reduced variety unlike the usual.

We went to a grocery shop. The shelves had only a few items.

All these experiences on one evening made us aware of the stressful effect of the COVID 19, locked down, return of migrant workers to their home states, small and middle level business in misery and people in a sense of loss over what awaits them.

My colleagues, Susan and Shalini were active yesterday to plan to get in touch with families who have not had an opportunity to visit us in the last two months. Susan and Tinu were calling about ten families each day for the last few weeks, to enquire about their wellness and help them with some support or suggestions.  Now some plans are in place to give telephone consultation to all, Video-based to those who have access to it at their homes and set up and a video-based on line therapy programme for children who would need it. Usually the summer months are times when we reach out to more parents and plan for the developmental strategy for children. Although I too have been in touch with about five or so parents on phone or attend to the need of more families needs through the office, families and children feel bereft!

It is time when more is needed to bring comfort, hope, and cheer to families. It is a time when we need to generate more resources to sustain ourselves and offer more help to others. 

It is not a time to give up or step back. It is a time to go beyond our personal conveniences and gains and be fully involved in undergirding others with whatever is possible. 

Even our feeble or small or fragmented efforts can be a resource to bring wellness to others. During the Great Depression, in 1930's, some churches encouraged families to set apart a handful of rice each time they cooked rice. In one church, I was told recently, it gathered enough each week to support about hundred families in their neighbourhood. Small acts of kindness have a multiplying effect. 

I suspect, we too are at the brink of another devastating impact of economic recession, profound grief over loss of human lives,  emotional and physical exhaustion of health care workers, civil discord on account of hunger and starvation, crises in families over stressful livelihood, etc. It is a hugely demanding situation of this century! 

Each institution has to have a transition planning. Institutions exist for people in the neighbourhood. When we had three meetings in our department, where only half of our colleagues could be present due to locked down,  we got a sense of the urgency and intensity of the situation. 

St Paul spoke about being a 'sweet aroma' and  a 'fragrance' (2 cor 2:14-15) unto God. Our good deeds and acts of kindness would work towards that in this difficult time! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)





25 May, 2020

Friends in Christian Mission Hospitals- 6

Letter-6

Dear Friends,

Greetings and good wishes as you make a difference through your being and doing! Anna and I remember and want to stay in touch with you because you are in places and responsibilities where you ’leaven’ the situation with your goodness and mindfulness. 


I happened to view the above painting in the web page, The Spirit of Justice by Daniel Maclise painted in 1850, on display in the Auckland Art Gallery. It was referred to by Irshad Rashid, in his article, ‘From behind the veil’ in The Hindu magazine section on page 8 of 24 May 2020. This article was about the ‘rationality of justice’.

There are several commentaries available on this painting. The painter was commissioned to create murals in the House of Lords, London on the theme, ‘Justice and Chivalry’ when it was rebuilt between 1834 and 1850. 

This painting corresponds to the same season when the painter was occupied with justice issues. This painting in my reflection portrays prince, princess, warrior, priest, ruler, teacher, arbitrator, prisoner, widow with her children, slave, master, etc. In the centre is the portrait of a tall person with a balance in equilibrium. The background is a mansion of opulence and affluence, which to me is the symbol of prosperity in to which the rulers of the world are lost. All of humanity is represented in this painting. 

The painting reminds us of  the  prophecy in Isaiah 11:4-5, ‘But with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth… also righteousness will be the belt about His loins and faithfulness the belt about His waist’. The balance in the hand of the central figure in this painting alludes to this call to live justly and soberly, mindful of others in our midst, struggling with the burdens they are made to carry.

After reflecting on this painting, I turned to the newspaper. I found myself utterly confused and perplexed as well us hopeful, looking at the pictures in the Times of India of 24 May, 2020  






















On the left above is a photo of a migrant family with their earthly possessions walking along the rail line to reach home. A journey with all the pain of loss, grief uncertainty about their future! Do they walk into life or to the perils of the journey is anybody's guess!

On the other picture on the right is a team of Health care professionals in a tribal area conducting house to house visit, when senior citizens are banned from going out of their home due to restrictions imposed due to COVID 19m pandemic. The scene gives us some comfort of the humane spirit towards those who are marginalised and made to feel alienated!

What sustians all of us is the hope that Daniel Maclise portrayed through his paimitng in 1850. There is an assurance of fairness and justice. This is yet to be a relaity!

Each of you is a missionary in your place to ‘hasten the arrival of this reality of justice’! When you ‘reduce’ or deny your conveniences to ‘give away as much as you can’ for expressing this justice of love, I hope you would protect yourselves from exhaustion as the journey seems to be a long haul! 

We live at a time our neighbours need us most. At the same time to support each other in our network of mission hospitals in whatever way we can, because we protect each other from the 'weariness that sets in while doing good'!

Anna and I carry you in our hearts and send you our warm regards,

M.C.Mathew, 24.5.2020

Friends in Christian Mission Hospitals-5

Letter-5






Dear Friends,   
   
Greetings and good wishes as you adjust to another two weeks of restrictions on account of COVID 19!

I noticed the three years old guava tree swayed in the wind at night and went to give it a support in the morning. As I kept watching the guavas in the tree, I noticed that most of them were in bunches. Just a few were in singles. That seems to be the natural pattern for the tree. We have another smaller guava tree which that too had a flowering pattern in pairs.

I went to bed yesterday after talking to a friend from a mission hospital, which is located in a small town and currently struggling to carry on due to several constraints. The hospital is struggling to provide facilities or services with a specialist trying to be a Paediatrician, Obstetrician and Surgeon. That cannot go on for too long to maintain the quality of service. Fortunately, this hospital gets visiting consultants from bigger mission hospitals for short periods of ten days to two weeks fairly regularly, because of which the hospital is just viable. 

There are many such stand alone hospitals, under pressure to innovate and adapt. This becomes intense during times such as this, where a pandemic is causing unsettlement in hospital services. The economic recession is paralysing the paying capacity of people who live in the margins of society. 

I remember reports and news from some bigger mission hospitals in some parts of India. who have been proactive in handholding some smaller mission hospitals by donating equipment, loaning doctors, nurses, technologists, administrators, etc. for short or longer periods, helping financially when there is a shortage, offering subsidised laboratory services, etc. This brought mutual benefits. The professionals who come for short visits from bigger hospitals go back inspired by the self-giving attitudes of the staff whom they met in a smaller hospital. The smaller mission hospital receives a periodic stimulus to stay encouraged and continue in their calling!

As this is a familiar and a workable model, I wonder whether it is a good time to form functional clusters of two or three mission hospitals who offer to stay complementary to each other. Even when the two or three mission hospitals are under the governance of different mission leaderships, a functional association is practical and offers a fraternal relationship. The geographical distance need not be a constraint. I know of a hospital in South India who spares consultants to visit mission hospitals in North India and North East India. I have come across retired consultants from teaching hospitals travelling long distance regularly to help small mission hospitals. 

I come back to the photos above of the guava fruits in the tree. Except a few guavas all were in clusters of two, three or four! It seems to me that solitary flowering or fruit bearing is less common. Being in clusters is more common. I know form the history of some mission hospitals that clustering connects the hospitals in diverse ways for the common good.

Will the bigger mission hospitals take a lead to form a cluster with one or two other smaller mission hospitals at a difficult time such as this! It is in giving we also receive! 

Our giving might be little from our perspective, but it is given in love to affirm and upbuild! So, it has the prospect of becoming a timely help and blessing! I overhear some conversation between hospitals in this regard. Let them come to fruition.  

You might be in your place for a ‘time such as this’! Anna and I carry you in our thoughts !                               


M.C.Mathew, 18. 5.2020

Friends in Christian Mission Hospitals-4

Letter-4

Dear Friends,
Greetings





This is a season of flowers and fruits in our garden. Every time I walk in the garden, I feel refreshed by this annual feature in each of these trees. For about eight months, these trees remain with leaves, but at an opportune time when the temperature, humidity and other conditions favour them, they bear flowers and later fruits. The trees give away their fruits for birds of the air and for humans. The pulp of the fruits feed us and the seeds in the fruits have the potential to become saplings and trees later. 

Yesterday, I heard from a family who has been to a mission Hospital in central India recently, following a serious infective condition to their child, while they were on their travel during a holiday. From the time they were in the emergency section of the hospital, the family felt cared for. They came to the hospital travelling in the midnight. The first gesture the family felt touched by, was the concern for their needs. They were provided with food and made to rest, while the child was admitted to the intensive care. Every hour or so someone would come to the room to give them some news about the child. The family did not have enough money as they were travelling. The hospital did not insist on a deposit on admission and indicated that they could pay later. Although it took more than 24 hours for the child to settle down, be free of convulsion and regain consciousness, the medical team kept meeting the family to share the news of progress. 

This family had no contact with this hospital earlier and they knew none before. After seven days, when they were leaving the hospital, the hospital arranged for a pass for the family to travel through a hot spot of COVID 19. The hospital gave a contact number to go to another mission hospital on their way back home in case they needed any help. The doctor telephoned them every day to check with the progress of the child till they reached their home-town and got in touch with their regular paediatrician.  This state government officer called me to say that the mission hospital he visited gave him a new experience about hospitality and care. The personal concern and thoughtfulness touched him deeply. 

It was his first experience in a mission hospital. He transferred the hospital expenses to the hospital account after arriving at home in Kerala. The hospital sent him an e-mail and a  get-well card for their son. 

As I heard this narration I was moved. Each mission hospital is like the trees in our garden which give away its fruits freely and lavishly.

At this time, when the mission hospitals are through a difficult time due to the pressures coming upon you due to COVID 19, Anna and I want to send you our greetings, regards and wishes. May each of you be well, and receive strength and grace for each day. 

Amidst the challenges and opportunities, may you experience peace and encouragement! All of you remain in our thoughts. With regards, 

M.C.Mathew, 14.5.2010

Friends in Christian Mission Hospitals-3

Letter-3
Dear Friends,
Greetings                                                                                                                                     8 May 2020








I kept watching this bird, a jungle Babbler, normally resident in our garden. It kept moving towards   the edge of the trunk and finally perched itself at the edge, balancing well and having a 360 degree view of the garden. In this movement, it did lose its balance a few times and but kept repositioning itself safely! For a bird such an adventure is normal and has an easy access to rescue itself from a fall because it has a pair of wings which is the source of its security. To be stationed at the edge is difficult  

When I watched video clip of a long queue of people in New York a few days ago, waiting to collect free supply of food, I could not but recall, all that I had read about the great depression of 1930. People seemed to have spent the next five years or so, struggling to live!

I have had replies from some of you about the adjustments all of you are making to keep the mission hospitals alive to the new realities that have come upon us due to the corona virus infection. What I sensed is that the regular attendance for the outpatient service has declined and it does cause a concern to you about two issues. Is it because of financial constraints that people are not coming! If so, how do they take care of their health needs!

A priest who dropped in to greet me referred to the present financial stress and recalled what his father had told him a few times about the ‘one handful rice’ story that they practiced during the great depression. Every family kept away a handful of rice each time they cooked rice, in a separate container, which they brought to the church once a month. The rice thus collected was distributed among those who needed to be taken care of. This was practiced widely in southern India, North East states and few other places. The priest mentioned that least 100 families in their neighbourhood lived from this provision for three years. 

The story of Elijah (1Kings 17;1-16) getting fed at Cherith by the ravens at the brook, after predicting a famine, might have a message for us now. When the ravens stopped arriving and the brook dried up, Elijah was guided to go to Zarephath, where a widow, who only had ‘a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar’(v 12) would be his provider. Through the season of famine, the ‘flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty (v16) following her willingness to offer food for Elijah.

It is when we become willing and ready to be mindful of others amidst us, the little resources left with us, becomes enough and more for us and others. Yesterday a stranger telephoned to say that he would make a regular contribution to the department, where I work, to help those who are disadvantaged. 

May we be guided to find our sufficiency in God, in each other and in the prospects of our resources becoming sufficient in difficult times, because they would last longer under God!  

M.C.Mathew 

Friends in Christian Mission hospitals-2

Letter-2
                                                                                                                                 24.4.2020


Dear Friends, 


I gathered the above flowers, from our garden and placed them in a vase a little while ago, to present it to all of you, whom I write this letter. These flowers survived the heat of 37 degree Celsius for two consecutive days. The flowers are drooping following the heat, but still fragrant and colourful. Let me begin my letter with this belief that, amidst the intensity of pressure due to COVID 19 pandemic, all of you who live, work and lead the different Christian Hospitals in India are an aroma and hope for the communities you serve. 

I have been in touch with some of you recently to bring greetings from Anna and myself.  Thank you for your replies. From what you wrote there is an anxiety about how the next few months would turn out for the mission hospitals. With the income having gone down and many mission hospitals not having enough reserve, the payment of salary would be difficult from now on. With people displaced from their work and sources of income badly hit, they would find it difficult to pay hospital bills, when they fall sick. You would want to offer them utmost help at a time such as this, when they are in desperate need. It is not the well to do who often come to your hospitals, but those who live in the margins of the society. The hospital staff depend on the hospital income and might not have any other source of income. Some of the hospitals might be able to manage a few months, but not indefinitely. The present indication is that even after the first wave of infection is brought under control, there might be another wave in the winter months.

At this time of such an intense dilemma and challenge about meeting the existential needs, Anna and I want to remember you in our thoughts and carry you in our hearts. We pray that you would feel the nearness of God and find in Him strength and grace to act thoughtfully and discerningly.

Let the fragrant and colourful flowers in the vase above, bring to you a message of endurance and resilience, even when it is made to suffer the scorching heat of the day! With regards and good wishes,

M.C.Mathew