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MAJOR FIRE AT MAKODIYA
VILLAGE
A major fire broke out at Makodiya
village where we run Abhaya Niketan
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know more and know how to help poor villagers
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Mission Projects 2008
Livelihood | Home to Homeless | Literacy Programme | Medical Assistance | Marriage Assistance | Tailoring Centre
Abhaya Niketan - Introduction | Locations | How to reach | How to Help
Donate for Village Projects. Pickle & candle making, Goatary, Tailoring etc. Help poor and needy. Villagers and Women, unemployed and homeless.
Introduction to ABHAYA NIKETAN - Makodiya Mission
Abhaya Niketan, Makodia, is a sub-unit of the Saint Thomas Mission, Bhilai which is a registered society founded and directed by His Grace Dr. Stephanos Mar Theodosius Metropolitan a visionary and missionary (Bishop of the Indian Orthodox Church). The Bishop has been active in organizing educational, health and social welfare institutions in M. P. Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand states during the past quarter century. The Mission started working in the Hoshangabad district since 1984 and started its activities at Makodia started after purchasing an old bungalow of the British, which they built in the year 1914.
Rural development and agricultural activities were taken up at Makodia in the beginning under the name of St. Thomas Orthodox Village Mission. A medical clinic started functioning in the year 1991. During 1993-94 period, Abhaya Niketan Balawadies were organized in 11 villages and Mar Gregorious Memorial School at Dhawakala was started to extend educational facilities in the rural areas. Imparting vocational training for women and girls and formation of women’s self-help groups have been other activities. Later Abhaya Niketan Society got its separate registration as a non-government social work organization. As a result of support from villagers where the Balawadi were functioning was a ray of hope to acquire knowledge. With passing of time the impact of Balawadi blossomed to regular school at Dhawakala in 1993 in a rented building. Today the MGM School Dhawakala has progressed to the high school level.
Education and health the two vital components of human life got a boost when a community health and nutrition project was initiated with working in 10 villages spread over in Seoni Malwa & Kesla Block with focus on mother and child health programme today with the support of CARE MP we are able in additional 73 villages in Seoni Malwa. Another 62 villages are being surveyed.
About Makodia Village
(a) Makodia village in 25 kms southwest of Itarsi in Hoshangabad district and is approachable by road from the Itarsi-Seoni Malwa road. It lies within the Seoni Malwa block and borders with Kesla block. River Health, a perennial stream, flows by the side of the village, Makodia is in the foothills of the Satpura ranges and these areas are mostly inhabited by Gond and Korku tribals (Adivasis) from ancient times. Makodia hold historical importance’s as the Gond kings had their fort in this area and the relics are found at a Golondo, just 8 kms away. Makodia serves as one entry point to the villages in this belt as it is having road/bus connection to both Itarsi & Seoni.
(b) Passage of time, has witnessed many changes, education wise health care facility wise, & economically wise. Among the other things the transportation aspect roads are the most vulnerable and to make the situation worse with lack of infrastructural support People started turning towards traditional healers with under privileged at the mercy of these people.
(c) Even today when an anti snake venom is an bit common in villages, a mother facing hardship to deliver her child with many constraints seeks the help of a traditional healer for the solution to their problems in Makodia. There are honorable exceptions, but collectively as individuals and as church in general have we failed or not made enough required effort in promoting the zeal we should have exhibited.
(d) Agriculture is the main source of income for the people in this area. The average daily wages are Rs. 30 but total employment days in a year may not exceed 150. Makodia has been backward just like other nearby villages. Life is hard as the transport and communication facilities, according to modern standards, are limited. Newspapers are not available in the village, but these a few families do own television sets, making use of the irregular power supply. The telephone lines have been laid, but are faulty most often. One has to bring the provisions and other essentials from Seoni Malwa or Itarsi 25 kms. Away. Despite these limitations, the medical and social work team of Abhaya Niketan have been residing and working in this village and nearby areas.
Gender, literacy, land ownership, employment status and caste are closely associated with poverty. After independence we had an opportunity of choosing a community based people oriented system, but what we did was to exchange one set of rulers for another, the result are plain to see as reflected by the ministry of health that even without this desegregation they are deplorable, New threats loom in the form of organization along with privatization, further putting public health and other services, in efficient as they are beyond access to vast majority of people who need them.
(1) The Abhaya Niketan village clinic at Makodia is the only medical clinic in the area providing services to the interior Adivasi villages. People from near by villages visit this clinic for immediate relief. Dr. Chacko Varghese, a registered medical practitioner from Bhopal, is in charge of the clinic and has been working with a missionary spirit since 1991.
Abhaya Niketan Mobile Clinic Services in interior villages periodically to cater to the poor and needy patients, especially women and children. Free medical check-up camps, health awareness programs etc. are being conducted in the Adivasi and backward villages from time utilizing the services of doctors.
The goal of the organization is to improve the health & nutritional status of women & children. Since 1991 a base clinic became operational and since then clinic has diagnosed treated around 10-15 thousand patients in a Makodia.
Various medical camps in tribal villages and needy villages were conducted. Abhaya Niketan clinic had rendered service to MGM School Dhawakala by conducting health checkup for school children.
(2) Abhaya Niketan has been implementing a Community Health Project of the Christian Medical Association of India (named Woman & Child Health Development Project) in 10 villages since September 1998. There is a trained team of ten community health volunteers in this project. We have also been implementing the Material and infant Survival Project of CARE (M.P.) in 73 villages in Seoni Malwa block since April 2000. An essential component of both project are extension of health education to the villagers covering: pre and antenatal care, immunization, nutrition, care of new born children, hygiene and sanitation etc.
A new door opens for Abhaya Niketan
Reaching out the poor & needy through one among the various ways curative service through Medical Camps sponsored by individuals, prayers groups and organization has been a regular future and now it finds a new helping hand in Dr. V.K. Dubey, T.B. Officer, and District Hospital Hoshangabad under the guidance & directives of honorable District Collector Hoshangabad (M.P.).
Need for a well-equipped Rural Hospital at Makodia :
(1) People in the backward and Adivasi villages do not have the money to avail of medical facilities in times of illness. Their health awareness is also poor. Due to lack of timely curative medical care and attention on preventive aspect, infants, children and mothers have serious survival problems. There are no PHCs in the near vicinity and the public health sub-centre are most often under staffed and ill equipped to provide timely treatment to the patients.The Government hospitals are far away and difficult to reach through this hilly terrain. Tracts and village road cutting across streams, forests and hills connect most of the villages in this area. The people for transport to the markets or towns use bullock –carts. The poor rural folk cannot afford to approach the private practitioners or clinic in the towns. Therefore they do not care much during serious illness or disease and suffer whatever is to come and fall preys to their fate.
Most of them work as agricultural laborers in distant villages during seasons traveling long distances on foot and earn some 30-35 rupees daily.
Adivasi women and girls from the villages fetch firewood from the forest and sell in the towns, walking up to 40 kms and earn some twenty rupees per day during the dry season. Whatever saving they have is in the form of wheat, on which their families have to survive in the rainy days. During the rainy season poverty reaches its zenith the interior villages are inaccessible by vehicles and remains cut off virtually.
(2) During the medical check-up camps and mobile trips conducted by Abhaya Niketan, the responses of the people to avail of the services of the visiting doctors have been very positive. In most Adivasi villages, pregnant woman and infants were not taken proper care of we identified the lack of periodical checkups and timely vaccinations, anemic condition of the pregnant women and lack of proper nutrition in children etc. Villagers have been requesting for the services of a gynecologist and a hospital where patients could be admitted. There are no facilities to admit patients in the existing clinic at Makodia Mission Bungalow.
We have been unable to set up a well-equipped medical centre due to paucity of funds. As there is no hospital at present the people cannot take serious patients anywhere and they depend on local herbs or divine healers or unqualified quacks. The need for a Rural Hospital arises here.
(3) The proposed RURAL HOSPITAL would have medical officers for departments of Gynecology and General Medicine and at least one of them should be resident. We will need the service of one head nurse and two or three nurses and attendant to start with. The hospital will cover about 30 villages with a population of 20,000(approx).
These villages lie in a radius of 10 kilometers from Makodia and the hospital would be within easy reach of the people, even during monsoon. Patients from distances up to 1 kilometers can reach the hospital by foot, bicycle or by bullock-cart. (They have to reach Makodia bus stop for catching the bus to Itarsi or Seoni normally cover this distance) This would be a Referral Hospital in effect because the community health volunteers in the villages, Auxiliary Nurse-Midwives and other medical practitioners in nearby areas could avail of the services.
The services rendered in the hospital would not be entirely free. Minimum consulting charges and costs of medicines would be borne by the patients as far as possible. About 25-33% of patients may be given full free treatment, the cost of which could be supported bygenerous church members.
Reaching the base clinic at Abhaya Niketan Makodia is very difficult especially during rainy season the approach road to Makodia is in a dilapidated state with traveling problem becoming worse to worst and this inconvenience & hardship can prove costly in case of emergency.
Today the situation is that people from nearby and far-flung tribal villages come to Abhaya Niketan Makodia’s base clinic for curative services.
The Mission Centre is a place for organizing retreats, counseling, pre-marriage counseling, and carrier guidance. It is also a place for organizing conferences, seminars and work shops for harnessing your thoughts into reality.
We whole-heartedly welcome you to contribute your presence as individual, prayer groups, youth, Martha Mariam Vanitha Samajam or as professionals for the growth of our objectives.
MISSION BUNGALOW & OUR JERUSALEM CHURCH
The Mission Bungalow known as Abhaya Niketan stands amidst 6.72 acres spreading its arms welcoming those who are coming prepared to serve the under privileged.
The Mission Bungalow and the land on which stands, which has witnessed many historic moments.
To enlighten a 6 member family staying in the Bungalow for them. The Holy liturgy is celebrated on Tuesday, Saturday & Sunday at the Chapel built inside the Mission Bungalow.
You can help us, by donating a tenth of your hard earned money or sponsoring in fond memory of beloved ones.
Till now the expenses of the Mission Centre were bared by the generous contribution of our church members and we thank for the same. With receiving your valuable coins for Abhaya Niketan, you will be strengthening our morals and the efforts made under the leadership of H.G. Dr. Stephanos Mar Theodosius to bring down the disparity that exists between have & have not.
Today, as you know, Abhaya Niketan Mokadia, lovingly known as Makodia Mission Centre is the most important centre of our Orthodox Church that has drawn the attention of the Government, and church as whole in and abroad.
We are also in dire need of a fax machine/video camera/camera.
Think what you can give to express the thanks/gratitude to keep memories refreshing, when God had blessed your household abundantly.
Your financial assistance is solicited.
Donations through Cheque/Draft should be sent in favour of
‘Abhaya Niketan, Makodia’ to the below mentioned address.
| MISSION
CENTER At-Makodia, Psot-Hirenkheda, Via-Banapura, Tehsil-Seoni Malwa, District-Hoshangabad – 461 221. Madhya Pradesh (INDIA) Phone : 07572 : 273764. |
Fr. SAM
OOMMEN PANACKAMATTAM President - Abhaya Niketan Bhopal St. Thomas Orthodox Cathedral 60, Old Ashoka Garden, Govindpura P. O., Bhopal, M. P. 462023. (INDIA). Phone- 91(0755) 2592544, 2600294, 2602465, 2584629. |
Abhaya Niketan - Introduction || Locations || How to reach || How to Help
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