The Life and Times of Your Average Indian: Trip to India Part 5 (July 28th to August 1st)

The last week of volunteering at Sankara was more interesting than any of the other weeks. I was alone since my sister and all the other volunteers had only signed up for two week programs when I had opted for the three week program. Being alone meant that I could ask for jobs that we, as a group, would normally never ask for. And being alone also meant that I would be allowed to do jobs that they wouldn't give to us as a group. I was allowed to put eye drops in patient's eyes before they entered into surgery. This allowed me a closer experience with the doctors which I was not allowed to have before because I was restricted by the rest of the people in the group. Everyday that week, I also took pictures of patients after surgery and entered their information into the Sankara database. This gave me lots of experience with the patients, who were a handful to deal with. I completely understood why most of the nurses who worked in the non-paying patient ward were so stressed out. The patients were hardly ever cooperative or patient. It made it very difficult to deal with them for long periods of time. I would also serve food everyday and converse with lots of different people. I got to meet a woman named Mangama who brought patients who had eye problems to the hospital on a monthly basis. She has been doing that for close to 7 years after she was treated at Sankara for cataracts. She loved the treatment she received at Sankara, so she brings people from a village and walks close to 10 kilometers a day in order to find people who need help. A picture of her is below. It was an awesome way to end my experience at Sankara and I loved to meet someone like her who is completely selfless.