Perspective

Updated: Jan 20, 2018

Day #2 of no water started off with me washing Steph’s hair with a bottle of my no rinse shampoo. The lack of water and WiFi was wearing our patience thin but little did we know these conditions we’ve been dealing with were absolutely minute. This morning we visited AIIMS public hospital. The visit was the most heart wrenching thing I have ever experienced. The thousands of people lined up outside the hospital reminded me of lines you’d see at an amusement park on the busiest day of the year- but worse. Sick people begin lining up outside the hospital at 5:00 am in hopes of getting registered to be seen. Those that arrive closer to 11:00 am most likely will not be seen and must wait yet another day. Despite arriving so early, physicians do not arrive until 9:00 am to start seeing patients. The initial cost to register is 10 rupees and once registered they must say goodbye to their family as only patients are permitted beyond the registration line. Even laboring women are not allowed to have their husbands by their side during delivery. In addition to the registration fee patients are responsible for getting any medical supplies that are needed during their stay. For example, if someone has to have surgery they must send their family member to the nearest pharmacy to buy scalpel blades. AIIMS Hospital has 3,000 beds but due to overcrowding it is common for 2-3 patients to share a bed with 20-30 beds crammed into each room. In addition to the overcrowding problem only 15% of people in India are insured. With so many people lined up we were curious as to how providers determine what order the patients should be seen. Thankfully, patients are ranked based off level of acuity. However, while walking the streets outside of the hospital we saw many people on gurneys that looked near death with absolutely nothing being done for them. We were also told that patients requiring ambulance transportation almost always die in route to the hospital due to slow response time and traffic issues in Delhi. We left the hospital with heavy hearts realizing that even in the most underserved areas in the US access to healthcare is nothing like we just experienced.

We then made our way to Jamghat (means together), a drop in center for children who live on the street or in hostels nearby. We were able to talk to several of the children and hear their stories. One child told us he didn’t know where he was originally from, how old he was, or who his parents were because they died when he was really young. Another told us his mom had died and his dad is an alcoholic and no longer involved in his care. The drop in center currently has 57 children registered. They provide a safe place for children to come during the day to participate in arts and crafts, play games, get tutoring, and eat lunch. My favorite part was getting to play with the children. They taught us how to play cannon ball which is a board game that is similar to pool. You had to flick a puck into smaller chips and try to make them in the pockets located at the corners of the board. They were so much better than us and were trying their hardest to give us helpful tips/tricks. Before leaving we decided to walk to the corner market to get them a jar a candy. They were all so appreciative and began chanting “Jelly Jelly Jelly” (the name of the candy). Although these children came from nothing and have nothing their innocence and happiness helped ease some of the heartache from earlier this morning.

After lunch we made our way back to our apartment to rest and shower before heading to the mall. We decided to go to Hard Rock Cafe as a goodbye dinner since tomorrow is our last day with Kai, Riley, and Anna. We will definitely miss all the laughs we have shared with these girls. Only one more day until “vacation” officially starts!

"When asked if my cup is half-full or half-empty, my only response is that I am thankful I have a cup"

-Lacey