We would all agree that the life of a medical professional is a challenging one. What’s more intriguing is that, many of them not only efficiently balance between their personal and professional lives but also do tremendous work in different other arenas of life as well. This section will take you beyond a doctor’s routine and familiarize you with some of their lesser known facets.
Rtn Dr. Bhuvaneshwari Rajendran
Consultant Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology
Kauvery Hospital
I took up the responsibility of becoming the president of Rotary Club of Madras Temple City for year 2018-19 and the installation happened on 09/07/2018.
This is a prestigious club of 30 years standing. The Rotary Club of Madras Temple City has been setting the precedence for many systems and processes in Rotary and has been a shining example for women’s equality. We have an equal proportion of women and men members and we are very proud to have the First Lady District Governor in South East Asia come from our club.
Doctors who have an active clinical practice are not normally able to take up leadership posts in Rotary and it was daunting in the beginning but as the days went by, I began to enjoy and delight in the experience. This of course was only possible because of the support and encouragement that I receive not only from my family but equally importantly from Kauvery Hospital.
When I first discussed this with our Executive Director, Dr. Aravindan, who is also a Rotarian from another club, he was very encouraging. I am most thankful to the administration of Kauvery Hospital for the rock-solid support I have received. In fact, Kauvery Hospital has helped me organise many health camps in schools and villages etc.
This club has various steady and long running projects in the areas of health, education, water conservation and environmental preservation.
Our flagship projects are:
- Operation Day Break: Scholarships for deserving school children for their higher education.
- Adoption of Schools: Support for infrastructure development, educational aids, nutrition & health, extracurricular activities for character building etc in Ganapathy Iyer Girls’ high school, Gopalpuram, & Govt.high school. Chinnambedu village, Thiruvallur Dist.
- Comprehensive Medical Camps in multiple Locations: General Health, Dental Care, Eye Care and Hearing Aid distribution. Distribution of hearing aids to hearing impaired kids, so far 400 distributed.
- Annual Inter School Patriotic Song Competition: A very successful and coveted interschool competition with more than 25 schools participating.
- Interfaith: Celebration of Festivals to promote communal harmony and spreading cheer.
- Vocational Training for Rural Women
- Adoption of Chinnambedu Village: Support for the Villagers in the areas of water conservation, Energy use, Health & Hygiene, to create a Model Village.
This year, we have launched ‘Healing Little Hearts’ a life transforming project focusing on correction of congenital heart disease. Birth defects of the heart occur in 8-10 of 1000 babies born and are amongst the most common of the congenital defects in children. With 28 million live births happening annually in India, an estimated 1,80,000 babies are born with congenital heart disease every year. It is also sad to note that many of these children are from families of low socio-economic status. While many are unable to avail the treatment they deserve, the minority who are detected early and appropriately treated enjoy a normal childhood and grow in to healthy individuals.
About 15 children have already had cardiac interventions giving them a chance to have a normal like any other kids. This is indeed a heart-warming project.
Another noteworthy project is ‘Sound Of Music.’ Hearing ability is important for children to develop speech and language skills as they grow. Unlike many other disabilities, this can be corrected or mitigated in many children if detected early. Early intervention or correction will reduce the impact of deafness on the life of the individual, vastly improving the quality of their lives. The Rotary Club of Madras Temple City has been giving away hearing aids for children for a long time and this year, so far, we have distributed almost 250 of these devices to children. This project is a sweet one because of the smile that it brings on each and every child who receives hearing aid. It is something which will linger in one’s thoughts for a very long time.
This year, we saw many natural disasters of an unbelievable magnitude such as the Kerala floods and cyclone Gaja which caused havoc in the delta regions. The Indian Government had declared the Kerala floods to be a level 3 calamity, or “calamity of a severe nature.” It is the worst flood in Kerala after the great floods that took place in 1924. The Rotary Club of Madras Temple City conducted a fundraiser and collected money from club members and friends outside. In fact, many doctors from Kauvery Hospital also contributed and I am very grateful to all the donors.
The following was done with this money collected.
- Doxycycline worth 1.35 lakhs were distributed in the water-logged areas to prevent Leptospirosis
- 1.5 lakhs given to the Kerala Chief Minister’s disaster relief funds
- Rs. 25000 given towards district for building low cost homes
- As part of the rehabilitation drive, we gave away sewing machines, cycles and cooking vessels to people affected in districts such as Vaikkom and Nilambur in Kerala and the total cost was 2.25 lakhs
We are now planning some rehabilitation work in the delta region affected by cyclone Gaja.
These projects have given me immense pleasure and satisfaction as a human being and this opportunity to serve mankind beyond the medical profession is something which will I will cherish for the rest of my life.
I once again thank Kauvery Hospital and Dr. Aravindan for the whole-hearted support I have received.