HEALTH ACTIVITIES

This multispecialty, 70-bed, secondary care center is the nucleus of SVYM's healthcare activities in H.D.Kote Taluk. Established in 1998 (the present building, built and equipped entirely out of public donations, was commissioned in 2002), this hospital has 24x7 emergency and critical care facility, a full-fledged Operation Theatre, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Care & Support Center for people living with HIV/AIDS, Telemedicine link-up and a fully computerized medical records section. It also houses Integrated a blood storage center and a Counseling & HIV Testing Center (ICTC) – both recognized by NACO and the first of its kind in rural India . The hospital also serves as a training center for doctors, nurses, paramedics, health workers and the community at large. Medical students from colleges in Mysore are posted here as a part of their internship program, especially for orientation in community health. Students from different parts of the world come here to do their medical electives.

This 10-bed primary care center is situated about 17 kms from the main hospital and caters mainly to tribal populace. This center also provides ayurvedic treatment facilities (Indian System of Medicine). It has a vision testing center for screening people with eye-related ailments.

This center, set up in partnership with the Govt. of Karnataka and AHF Global Immunity in the premises of K.R.Hospital, Mysore offers treatment and counseling for people afflicted with HIV/AIDS. All services are provided free of cost here.

As a part of its health outreach program, SVYM runs a Mobile Health Unit (primarily for the tribals of H.D.Kote Taluk) and conducts field-based thematic health camps. The mobile health unit visits every tribal colony (haadi) in the Taluk, at least once a week and offers basic diagnostic and curative services, free of cost, in addition to health education. Thematic health camps are organized with active participation from the community, even in far flung areas of the taluk. Patients requiring higher level of care are referred to higher centers, including the Saragur hospital.

SVYM first implemented this program in the tribal areas of H.D.Kote Taluk with support from the World Bank, with a good measure of success. Now, a dedicated team of 20 grass-root level health workers (health facilitators) work to ensure that all components of the program – antenatal, intranatal and postnatal care, care of the new born, family planning, immunization, child health, adolescent health, treatment of RTIs and STIs incl. HIV/AIDS, health education – are effectively delivered to all people of the Taluk, including the tribals. SVYM has been recognized as a ‘Mother NGO' by the Govt. of India for RCH services in Kodagu district.

This program, supported by WaterAid – India , aims to create awareness among the public about the importance of hygiene and sanitation in daily life. The main focus is on school children and educating them to make them agents of change in their respective communities. The Hygiene Educators regularly interact with the school teachers, members of SDMCs, Gram Panchayaths and Self Help Groups and also with the community during village fairs. General Health Checkups are held in all schools. Efforts are on to extend this program to a couple of blocks in North Karnataka too. 500 toilets are now being built in sindhanur taluk of Raichur district in partership with Jan Kalyam NGO.

SVYM believes in a holistic approach in dealing with HIV. That comprehensiveness is brought about by Service Delivery, Training, Research and Advocacy activities. The service delivery component comprises of awareness generation activities, targeted intervention, condom promotion and blood safety, counseling and testing, treatment, care and support and rehabilitation. The service delivery component is also integrated into the RCH program.

SVYM runs two ART Clinics, a Integrated Counseling & Testing Center, a Care & Support Center, a program for Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission of HIV (under which all pregnant women registering for antenatal care are screened for HIV), an intervention program targeting highrisk groups in 3 Taluks of Hassan District and an extensive awareness program targeting all sections of the society.

SVYM is the first and one of the Centers for Health, HIV/AIDS, Research and Training in India (CHART – India) established in collaboration with the University of South Florida , USA .

SVYM's holistic approach to HIV/AIDS Control has been documented by UNAIDS as a ‘Best Practice Model', especially in rural India .

The community eyecare program was launched in 2002. The services, initially started in H.D.Kote Taluk, have now been extended beyond the taluk. The dedicated team led by the ophthalmologist has conducted nearly 200 screening camps in the community and successfully performed over 3000 cataract operations at VMH, Saragur till the end of 2005. The ophthalmic wing of the hospital has been recognized by the District Blindness Control Society, Mysore . All the cataract operations (each costing about 800 rupees) are done absolutely free of cost. 2 eye screening centers, manned by Paramedical Ophthalmic Assistants, have been set up in the community. School children are screened for visual defects and spectacles are provided to those suffering from refractive errors.

Through two special programs – Community Based Rehabilitation and Integrated Education (supported by Sight Savers International), SVYM is working to ensure that the visually challenged people, especially the children, are brought back to the mainstream life and are able to lead an independent life.

Vivekananda Memorial Hospital , Saragur has officially been recognized as a designated microscopy center and a free DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short-course) provider for the taluk under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP) by the District Health Authorities. Health Facilitators also undertake house visits to ensure that patients who have enrolled for DOTS therapy do not fall out of treatment.

Under this project, SVYM in partnership with Micronutrient Initiative – India , will assist the Govt. of Karnataka and UNICEF in ensuring that children in the age group of 9 – 36 months (in all districts of Karnataka) will receive Vitamin A supplementation biannually. This project is being implemented on a pilot basis for 2 years, and is likely to be continued for two more years.

This novel scheme, currently being run as a pilot project, aims to make advanced healthcare more affordable to the people of H.D.Kote Taluk. It seeks to make the community collectively responsible for ensuring that all its members have access to good quality healthcare. This scheme enables the enrollees to avail the facilities at hospitals run by SVYM at a subsidized cost by paying a very nominal yearly contribution. Families of members of Self Help Groups and employees of SVYM have currently been enrolled into this scheme. ORBIS India is supporting us in this venture.

This is a program for creating awareness in the community on issues related to health (also education and other social issues) through street plays and songs. The team consists of SVYM staff drawn from different projects. It has proved to be an immensely popular IEC strategy and has had an enormous influence in creating a positive attitudinal and behavioral change in the community. Some of the visible changes in the community as a direct influence of this program include women enforcing a ban on sale of liquor in their villages & haadis, youth eschewing use of tobacco, villagers demanding things rightfully due to them from the Govt, etc.

This semi-residential school for the tribals, started in 1988, has more than 400 tribal children children (most of them first generation school goers) studying from Classes 1 to 10. Situated in the lap of nature, this school adopts joyful, experiential and child-centered learning methodologies. Apart from the regular state-government prescribed syllabus, children are also exposed to yoga, computers, music, life-skill development activities, competitive sports and cultural events. Besides excellent residential facilities, all school children are provided wholesome and nutritious mid-day meals. The school also has a publication wing that is involved in the production of novel learning materials. The tribal museum in the school is an added attraction, showcasing tribal handicrafts, artifacts, herbarium of tribal medicinal plants and other things unique to their culture.

The school is recognized by the Department of Education, Government of Karnataka and also the National Institute of Open Schooling.

This school provides access to the rural and tribal communities of H.D.Kote Taluk to alternate systems of education at an affordable cost. As articulated by Swami Vivekananda the school visions education to be Life Building, Man Making, Character Making assimilation of Ideas. The school has about 250 children studying from pre-school onwards upto the 6th standard. The curriculum here is based on the concept of Multiple Intelligences and the learning is activity oriented and child-paced. The pre-school has co-opted the Montessori learning methodologies.

Shikshanavahini is a program working towards the betterment of quality of education in the Govt. run schools in H.D.Kote Taluk and also in the 5 taluks of Bijapur district. It emphasizes on child rights, education of the girl child, reducing school dropout rates and increasing community participation in the functioning of Govt. schools. Some of its activities include training and empowerment of School Development and Monitoring Committees (SDMCs), capacity building of teachers, career guidance and counseling to the youth, scholarships to the needy youth to help them pursue higher education, personality development programs in schools and colleges, advocacy at the policy making level, conducting awareness campaigns on education, etc. Shikshanavahini also runs the ‘Viveka' Career Guidance & Counseling Center at H.D.Kote.

Apart from direct implementation, SVYM has taken up capacity building of NGOs working in the education sector in districts of North Karnataka, with support from USAID through REACH – India .

Creation of rural infrastructure – building of low cost houses, toilets, borewells, etc
Rehabilitation of tribals – those who were evicted from their forest homes due to the construction of the dam across the river Kabini in the 1960s and the subsequent declaration of forests as protected area under the ‘Project Tiger'
Formation of ‘Viveka Seva Dalas' – groups of committed youth in the villages and tribal haadis willing to work for the betterment of their communities and thus join hands with SVYM for nation-building
Formation of Self Help Groups – both among the tribals and non-tribals, thus encouraging thrift and entrepreneurship
Training to tribal youth for augmentation of their vocational skills such as bee keeping, honey harvesting, etc
Increasing awareness on issues like Rural Employment, Government schemes, Good Governance, Right to Information, etc.
Income Generation activities

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SVYM intends to share its experiences and knowledge in the development sector gathered over the years, with other NGOs & GOs working in similar areas. The organization hopes to facilitate the spread of its core competencies, for the greater good of a larger number of people. The Vivekananda Institute of Leadership Development (VILD), Mysore has been conceived to transform this thought into reality. VILD is a resource center that serves as a one-stop shop for honing individual and institutional capacities in diverse fields related to the development sector, through training, research, advocacy and consultancy. For more information about VILD's activities and services offered, please visit www.vild.edu.in

This 2-year full time program was conceived and developed by SVYM, based on its years of experience in working in the development sector. The course is affiliated to University of Mysore and has the unique distinction of being the first of its kind in the entire country. Preprations are underway to offer this course in the Distance Learning mode too. More information about the course at www.vild.edu.in

VIIS created for promoting and facilitating the study, Research, Development and Dissemination of Indian Culture, Spirituality, Arts, Dance,Music, and the like. Looking beyond the 'art and culture' in itself, the Institute attempts to augment holistic Human Development Initiatives through the forum of Art and Culture.

VIIS answers the needs of overseas students India 's Heritage, Philosophical thought, Arts, Dance and Music are attracting the attention of the people in different parts of the world. There is evident eagerness to explore India and learn more about India in all its glorious past and present - and in the process, enrich oneself. There is therefore a need for educational facilities to quench the thirst of the knowledge-hungry students from various Universities across the globe, and Universities with its state-of-the-art facilities. And with the unique backup of the grassroot level Development initiatives of its sister concerns within SVYM, it provides an unparalleled opportunity to see demonstrable models of 'Theory in Practice' in all sectors of Development.

This is a unique program aimed at developing youth as leaders and encourage them to take up and lead development initiatives in their communities. SVYM hopes to train atleast one youth from every village of Karnataka and thus spread the spirit of nation building. The candidates for this program are selected after a rigorous screening procedure in which their attitude and aptitude are tested. This 3-month residential program shall be SVYM's flag-ship program in the years to come.

A study of spending patterns on health and exploring options for healthcare financing in H.D.Kote Taluk
Assessment of Training Needs of medical professionals and social workers for dealing with cases of Domestic Violence and Sexual Harassment against women
Evaluation of oral health status of people with HIV/AIDS
Screening and Early Evaluation of Kidney Disease among the rural population of H.D.Kote Taluk
Screening for factors that predispose to Chronic Renal Failure, among people in and around Saragur in H.D.Kote Taluk.
Assessment of knowledge related to the functioning of School Development & Monitoring Committees (SDMCs) and Gram Panchayaths among SDMC members in H.D.Kote Taluk.
Eyecare infrastructure mapping and assessment of blindness in Periyapatna Taluk of Mysore District

Management support for an upcoming rural-tribal hospital run by All India Movement (AIM) for Seva at Anaikatti near Coimbatore
Development of Administrative & Accounting Manuals for Dristi, an NGO working in Bidar district of Karnataka.
Technical support to ICHAP and KSAPS for developing a training module on ‘Management of HIV and related Opportunistic Infections' for primary care physicians
Development of an HR manual for NGOs working in the field of HIV/AIDS – for KSAPS/ICHAP and Swasti (a sexual health resource center in Bangalore )
Training of Community Health Workers involved in eyecare work – an assignment for ORBIS International
Witness Audit for ISO 9001 certification of hospitals in Calcutta , Mangalore and Palani as a technical expert member of the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies and Raad voor Accreditatie, Netherlands
Assessment of working of Day and Residential Centers working towards elimination of child labor in Davangere & Gulbarga districts of Karnataka; Defining learning outcomes in children studying in those centers – for UNICEF and NORAD

Gender & Law project

This action research project aims to address the issues of domestic violence, dowry harassment and sexual harassment against women. These social evils are being tackled through aggressive awareness generation and community mobilization. Medical professionals, lawyers, police, law makers and social workers are being trained to deal with these issues effectively.

This recently concluded project was supported by USAID through IFES, India and was implemented in 12 districts across Karnataka.

The publication wing currently brings out the bi-monthly newsletter – Vivekavani, in Kannada. Vivekavani focuses on development and aims to instill positive, constructive thoughts in the people's minds. It also carries information on the organization's activities and excerpts from the life and works of Swami Vivekananda. The infoletter is available on a nominal subscription fee of Rs.25 per year.

Apart from this SVYN has brought out other pubilcations like Giri Maddu (Indigenous medicines used by Tribals) Books on Right to Information Act, our experiments in community educationa and a number of vidio CD's in topics related to Health & Education.

In an effort to bring in professional management practices across all its Program Focus Areas (Health, Education, Community Development & TRAC), SVYM has identified the following aspects as core Organizational Management Areas and is working towards strengthening of the same