Benedict to bring tsunami relief to India
The needs of the Dalit people of South India have always been profound. In the aftermath of the region's devastating tsunami, they are beyond imagination, said MUSC nursing professor Susan Benedict, DSN, R.N.
Nursing
professor Dr. Susan Benedict, right, pores through a box of donated supplies
in preparation for her medical mission trip Jan. 17 to the tsunami-stricken
region of southern India. With her is MUSC and Charleston County School
nurse Abbi Beckford, who will also make the trip.
For the past two years, Benedict has traveled to the southern coastal region of India to care for the health needs of the people at St. Mary's Health Center, located in the village of Odihiyathur, about a three-hour van ride south of Madras (Chennai).
She will make the trip again Jan. 17.
“We usually see all sorts of infectious diseases, respiratory problems, leprosy, diabetes, cataracts, wounds that don't heal, and anemia from hookworms,” she said. “This time I'm afraid we'll see many more people begging in the streets of the cities and people without shelter in the villages. We'll be there in time for malaria to begin spreading, and I expect there will more scorpion bites and bites from poisonous snakes that have been driven inland by the flooding.”
A letter from the Rev. Benjamin Chinnappan, who comes from the area
Benedict will visit, reports 1,349 deaths and 4,066 homes destroyed
within the
region's 25 villages. Given that there are still 250 people missing,
he expects the number of dead to increase every day.
“People have lost all their belongings. They have become homeless and refugees in their own homeland. They are all in great shock and fear,” he writes.
Benedict said that the outpouring of medical supplies and support from MUSC people and people in the greater Lowcountry area has been phenomenal.
Since the need extends beyond what she and her traveling companions
can take as baggage, Benedict asks that monetary donations be sent to Dalit
Solidarity Inc., 1851 S. 9th Ave., Maywood, IL 60153. This is a US registered
charity that gives 100 percent of what it receives directly to the
people. There is no overhead or other admini-strative costs.
Friday, Nov. 26, 2004
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