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Sri Lanka Projects
• Yayawatta Village Clinic
  
• Ruhuna Medical College Children's Growth Hormone Project
  • Madumekala
  • Tharindu
  • Mohamed
  • Sachini
• Physical Therapy Enhancement Training


• Tangalle Children Relay


• Minhath Montessori Pre-school

Real Medicine Foundation Celebrates Three Years at Yayawatta Village.
Minerva Fernando, November 20, 2009

On November 7th, 2009 Real Medicine Foundation celebrated our third year providing free primary health care to the tsunami affected fishing communities of Tangalle.

The celebration provided us with the ideal opportunity to highlight our Maternal and Child Health outreach education programs. Joining RMF's Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa in the discussion was Tangalle's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Chamila. Together they provided a very simple yet comprehensive discussion on Maternal and Child Health to the forty-two women who participated. All of the mothers from the villages of Yayawatta, Kadurupokuna, Palapotha, Seenimodara & Moreketi-Ara, and those expecting, were invited to attend the education program.

Highlights of the discussion included

 
1) The importance of physical and mental health and well for the expectant mothers:
a. Maintaining a clean and health environment
b. A Healthy Diet
c. Proper medical care when needed
d. Maintaining a peaceful environment and
e. Having moments of calmness and quiet to relax

2) Nutrition for the mothers and their children:

a. In addition to reviewing healthy sources of Protein, Carbohydrate, Minerals, Vitamins and Fats, proper methods of meal preparation to retain the nutrients of the foods were emphasized. This was of particular importance because each mother had different methods for preparing meals and each has some misconceptions of what comprised a "healthy" diet. b. Feeding schedules as well as discussions about taking "fast" foods or unhealthy snacks were also a major focus of the nutrition lecture. A predominantly whole food, plant based diet was recommended.

3) Proper Feeding:
a. Breast Feeding. Time duration.
b. Starting the Cereal food to the Baby.
c. Meal Scheduling

4) Family Planning*:
a. Family planning allows individuals and couples to anticipate and attain their desired number of children and the spacing and timing of their births.
b. A woman's ability to space and limit her pregnancies has a direct impact on her health and well-being as well as on the outcome of each pregnancy.

RMF's Dr. Chamal concluded the session by encouraging the mothers to be more vigilant in their care of their children and emphasizing the importance of both physical and emotional health to their development. On behalf of Real Medicine Foundation he thanked Dr. Chamila and the Tangalle Health Department for collaborating on our Maternal Child Health outreach program and for joining us to celebrate three years of service to the community. After the lecture, they distributed the food parcels to the participants that were prepared by Real Medicine's staff, Mrs. Dimuthu Shiromani, Mrs. Samnthie Priyadarshani . Also in attendance were RMF Accountant, Mr. Nishantha Sandakelum and Project Coordinator, Mrs. Minerva Fernando.

Yayawatta Village Primary Care Clinic

Update: August 2009
By By Stephanie Minerva Fernando

Our team at the Yayawatta Village Clinic was sponsored by Mr. Upamali Munaweera to conduct a special one day clinic at the Minhath Montessori Pre-School to benefit the families of the Dickwella community.

Real Medicine's efforts were profiled by two English speaking newspapers, one of which is listed below. We'd like to extend a special thanks to Mr. Upamali Munaweera for her generous support.

Please click here for the full story.

Yayawatta Village Primary Care Clinic

Update: July 2009
By Michael Lear, Director International Relations, Country Director, Sri Lanka

On July 4th, 2009 Real Medicine Foundation held a ceremony to honor the efforts of the Yayawatta community to help clean the clinic premises to prevent the spread of Dengue Fever.  In response to the outbreak of Dengue Fever earlier this year that took the lives of four children and two elderly community members, the local government required mandatory cleaning of all private and public premises. 

The Yayawatta community joined together to ensure that the community center, the location of the Real Medicine Primary Care Clinic, was thoroughly cleaned according to the government directive.  Below is the report from our Sri Lanka Project Coordinator, Mrs. Minerva Fernando.

RMF Shows Appreciation to the Community of Yayawatta
By Minerva Fernando

Day by day the cases of Dengue Fever had increased. All the hospitals were packed to the brim with fever patients. The government had to close all area schools and started clean-up programmes with the relevant health authorities to introduce preventive measures. The health authorities had not only requested but also ordered the people to clear away their gardens and other areas that could be a breeding place for mosquitoes.

The government imposed fines to those who did not comply with the measures to safeguard and protect the local population and especially the children who were mostly affected by the deadly disease.
 
To show our appreciation for the Yayawatta community’s help with our clean up, a small gift was donated to those that participated in the effort. This activity was organized and coordinated by the clinic staff with the guidance of RMF Medical Consultant Dr.Chamal Sanjeewa, Project coordinator, Mrs.Stephney Minerva Fernando with the help of the RMF clinic staff, Mrs.Dimuthu and Mrs.Samanthi.

While the following document is addressed to me, it is Minerva that must receive full credit for this thoughtful gesture. It was her that brought the idea to my attention. Thanks Minerva for your commitment to the Yayawatta Community and fostering their ownership for the Clinic.

Update: March through May 2009
By Michael Lear and Minerva Fernando

The Dengue Fever outbreak in late February, early March marked an active period for our clinic.  In addition to treating many new cases over the past few months and engaging in public education about the ways to control the spread of disease, we also participated in a region wide clean up to minimize the breeding of mosquitoes.   Measures were taken to advise parents to be vigilant around their homes and to report any illness so children could be referred to the base hospital for further tests.

With the exception of these challenges, the clinic operations remained stable over the past quarter.  Below are the clinic statistics and morbidity data as well as a number of photos from our Sri Lankan Team Leader and Project Coordinator, Mrs. Minerva Fernando.

The attendance of the patients for the month of May had increased to 210, with 78 male patients & 132 female patients getting treatment at the Clinic. The number of new patients has also increased. 

50% of the patients suffered from viral fever and 20% of the patients had come with respiratory infections. Most of the elderly had come with joint pains and the percentage is 10. Diarrhea, skin diseases, urinary tract infections and others 5%.

In the month of March 2009, in 10 clinic days, 206 patients had obtained medical treatment at the Real Medicine Clinic. The number of female patients is higher than the number of male patients.  Our patients were under heavy stress with many financial problems due to the economic downturn and devaluation of the currency.

About 60% of patients had fever/viral infections and 5% of the elderly had obtained treatment for joint pain/ arthritis. The percentage of these diagnoses had decreased because of regular treatment. The number of children treated for cough/cold/respiratory infections decreased, but the percentage of cases of vomiting/diarrhea/gastrointestinal infections had increased to 10%. Asthma cases decreased to 2% of cases treated. Our team continued referrals to the base hospital when warranted.

Community Outreach - Primary Care in Tangalle, Sri Lanka
By Minerva Fernando and Micheal Lear
March 2009

To expand our reach to the surrounding communities, our primary health care clinic staff conducts off-site clinics at local schools and community centers to provide poor rural children with free checks-ups, and medicines.

Our most recent off-site function was on February 2nd at Tangalle Children's Relay. Our team below was on hand to serve the children of the school, their parents and members of the community.

While the children were the main focus, news traveled fast throughout the community and the clinic was crowded with adults and seniors wishing to take advantage of the free medical consultations and care provided.

A total of 103 patients were treated. The breakdown is below. Also pictured here are the refreshments we provided to the community and Nishantha, our accountant, who is always on hand to lend support to the team.
Under 10 years: 32
11 - 20 years: 20
21 - 40 years: 22
Over 40 years: 29

Yayawatta Village Medical Clinic Update Michael Lear, Director International Relations, Country Director Sri Lanka, February 17, 2009

Now entering it's third year, the Yayawatta Village Medical Clinic provided free health care services to 2483 community members from four villages over the course of 2008. Other highlights included: The joint publishing of Dr. Sanjeewa Chamal's award winning book on Family Health Care, which was funded by International Service Partners An invitation to sponsor Global Children's Health Day hosted by First Lady Rajapaksa RMF initiated it community outreach programs by conducting one day free clinics at local elementary schools This year, to support cultural integrity, we intend on offering Ayurvedic Medicines through our clinic to meet the needs of those in the community wishing to adhere to traditional methods of maintaining wellness. We have also moved forward increase our activity in the field and plan to offer at least bi-monthly offsite clinics.

Real Medicine Foundation Supports World Children's Day Tangalle, Sri Lanka October 1, 2008

At the request of the Tangalle Police department, Real Medicine Foundation became a lead sponsor for the Tangalle, World Children's Day Celebration at Rajapaksa Field. Real Medicine provided funding for the certificates passed out to over 1000 children attending the event in recognition of their participation. The first lady of Sri Lanka, Madame Shiranthie Rajapaksha, was in attendance and our Project Coordinator, Ms. Minerva Fernando and Accountant Nishantha Sankakelum were guests at the event as well.

Happy Anniversary Real Medicine Foundation

On October 28th, 2008, Real Medicine Foundation celebrated it's two year anniversary at the Yayawatta Tsunami Relocation Village in Seenimodora.. In collaboration with International Service Partners, we celebrated the success of the clinic and presented the community members with a book on Home Health Care written by our clinic physician Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa which won the most prestigious Presidential Award for 2007. International Service Partners provided funding for the production of 100 copies that were donated to each of the families. In attendance were Ms. Lexia Campbell of International Service Partners who presented books to the residence of the village and Real Medicine Team members were also on hand. Special Thanks to Ms. Minerva Fernando and Nishantha Sandakelum, for helping to coordinate the event.

Below Mrs. Minerva Fernando lights candles at the opening ceremony and Village manager Ms. Lexia Campbell makes a book presentation.
Keeping with whole food nutrition as a central theme for vibrant health, Real Medicine provided King Coconuts and Bananas as refreshments for the afternoon celebration. In attendance was the villages oldest resident Mr. Simon Silva who received the first book from Ms. Lexia.
BOOK PRESENTATION AND COMMEMORATING OF 2 YEARS OF MEDICINAL FACILITATION SERVICE REAL MEDICINE FOUNDATION Minerva. R.M.F. Reporting from Tangalle.Sri-Lanka.     Date - 31st Oct. 2008. October 28th was a very special day to the community of Yayaywatta and the surrounding areas. As scheduled the Occasion was well planned and at 12 noon all the people and the Invitees including the Chief Guest Miss Lexia Campbell were at the Community centre The Special Invitees had welcome with Traditional way by offering the Betel Leaves. Then the Lighting of the Oil Lamps .The Six Oil Lamps were lit by :- CHIEF GUEST                                                   ------  MISS.LEXIA CAMPBELL R.M.F. ACCOUNTANT                                    ------  MR.NISHANTHA SANDAKELUM T.C.R. DIRECTOR                                          ------   MR.MAHENDRA ANDRAHNNEY THE OLDEST MEMBER, YAYAWATTA    ------  MR.SIMON SILVA ASSIST. TO MEDICAL CONSULTANT      ------  MRS.DIMUTHU SHIROMANI R.M.F. PROJECT COORDINATOR             ------  MRS. MINERVA FERNANDO    The Introduction Speech was to be done by Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, the Medical Consultant of R.M.F. but due to unavoidable circumstance  he could not attend the Function. And the R.M.F. Project Coordinator cordially invited Mr. Mahendra, the Director of  T.C.R. to give the Speech and he did an excellent one. Mr. Mahendra in his Speech advised the Community to be more responsible and with much cooperation and contribution keep up every thing what they had owned freely. He said the Community of Yayawatta is very lucky to get the free Medicinal Facilitation, the most valuable benefit for lives from R.M.F.  He said it is an Honour and we are very proud of Dr. Chamal,  and he said to read the Book to each and every one who can and there are a lot of useful hints to our every day life. This Book had won the Presidential Award and we must Honour and Appreciate Dr. Chamal for his capabilities and his Service too. The Special Speech of the Chief Guest Miss. Lexia Campbell was a short one and she thanked R.M.F. for the service that they continued for 02 years. And she asked the Community to come up with their ddeas and proposals. She said, she wants to have a discussion with Community.   Many members came up with their Ideas and Proposals. First They all gave their Heart Full of thanks for providing such a valuable free Medical Service for 02 Years  and they would look forward to have this Benefit for more Years from  R.M.F . Many Elderly members said it's a great help for them as they could not walk much and on behalf of them Mr. Simon Silva spoke and he was very happy. And he conveyed Warmest Wishes to R.M.F. and Thanked very much.  The Project Coordinator of R.M.F. Mrs. Minerva thanked the invitees and the community for their participation.  Special Thanks were given to the reporters. The Occasion was concluded with Fresh King Coconuts, Bananas and Cream-Cracker Biscuits.  All had a Very Happy Get Together.    Please click here to read community comments.

Continuing To Reach Out to Children
Michael Lear, Country Director
July 20, 2008

Now in its third full year of operation, Real Medicine's Clinic at Yayawatta Tsunami Village in Seenimodara remains the only free medical clinic in the Hambantota district providing services to the poorest communities. Recently, our staff extended it's reach to another sector of the community in support of families working hard to make ends meet who often don’\'t have time or money to take preventive measures to assure the health of their children.

Aware of our success in Seenimodora, the faculty of the Annapitiya Janasuwaya Singithie Pre-School requested a one day clinic to provide check ups for 68 children ages 4-6. Our staff assessed the needs of the school and coordinated an on-site clinic that provided free check- ups, medication if needed and made referrals for some of the children go to the Tangalle base hospital for further care. Additionally, our team had plenty of King Coconuts and bananas on hand for the children to snack on to promote healthy, natural alternatives to sodas and processed sweets to which many have grown accustomed.

This is the second such offsite Real Medicine Clinic. Leveraging the school system is an ideal way to access so many children at one time without burdening the parents with transportation costs and taking time off from work. Our newly implemented Community Clinic Request/Proposal Protocol enabled us to pre-determine the staffing and clinic needs to make this a very cost effective way to reach so many children.

To further enhance the care provided in future off site clinics and to aid in our resource management, we've prepared a survey for teachers and parents to complete in advance these special clinics to determine what conditions if any are most prevalent.

As a note, Dr. Chamal was the recipient of the 2007 Science Popularization Award issued by the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science Award for his book on Home Health Care. With the support of International Service Partners we'll be printing the first 150 copies to distribute to the families in the Yayawatta village. Please click here to read comments from the School staff and some of the parents.

Continuing To Reach Out to Children
Update May - July , 2008
Mrs. Minerva Fernando, Project Coordinator, Michael Lear, Country Director

Fast approaching is the two-year anniversary for the Real Medicine Clinic in Yayawatta Tsunami Village in Seenimodora. Our staff continues to provide high impact care to its community members, care that now reaches out to three surrounding communities, including Polapotha, Kadurupakona and Moraketi Ara. On average, 200 patients per month visit the clinic where over 3000 impoverished people have weekly access to free medical services. In addition to medical services our staff provides psychological support to those still suffering from post-traumatic stress and models a strong value system for personal accountability for health and establishing and respecting social boundaries of fellow members of the community.
Photos courtesy of Minerva Fernando, Project Coordinator
Our recent progress and accomplishments are listed below: Through cooperation with International Service Partners and part of our community outreach we have initiated and completed the production of Real Medicine staff physician, Dr. Sanjeewa Chamal's award winning book Jeewithayata Vidya Vidyawa on home health care to be distributed to the 95 families of the Yayawatta Village. We have completed our first series of consultations with physicians of Link Naturals, the leading Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Manufacturer in Asia, to have them supply our clinic with traditional, herbal medicine for the most frequently treated conditions at the clinic. Many elderly patients prefer natural remedies to modern pharmaceuticals and in the absence of these alternatives, forego treatment altogether. We see it as essential to honor indigenous, healing practices so all members of the community may feel welcome at our clinic and can receive the care that they feel is the most appropriate for them. Improvements to the clinic were undertaken by International Service Partners, who manages the village Community center where our clinic is located to assure that visiting patients have access to the best possible facilities in the area Our Health Awareness Programs for mothers and teenagers in the community are nearing completion Remaining Challenges: Outreach - Still there are no regular/affordable transport services to the clinic for the elderly. Many have to walk for care or forego care depending on their condition. Increasing the number of days of operation to meet the demands of the community Funding for more community out reach programs

Yayawatta Seenimodora Village Medical Clinic:
Michael Lear, Country Director
May 2008

Inland from the coast, situated quite far from convenient medical care sits the Seenimodora Yayawatta Village, a community of 95 families relocated with the support of International Service Partners. In 2006, Real Medicine Foundation elected to provide a free medical clinic to this very poor village community who lacked the means of transport to seek medical attention when it arose. Today the clinic services an additional four surrounding villages and over 250 people per month. Please click here for March 2008 Report

This medical clinic remains one of the only post tsunami projects in the district and now serves four surrounding villages. It continues to play a significant role in the overall health of the community by providing these free services such as:

• Timely treatment of minor cuts, colds and injuries which prevents serious conditions from developing if unchecked; worm and lice checks for school children
• Education to the families in general hygiene, child care and family planning
• Convenient on going follow up care to patients who have sustained serious injuries and were treated at the hospital
• On going support for those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress
• Timely referrals to the hospital for more serious cases.

Here are some of the other patients treated at the clinic

1. A man who broke his leg seven months ago visits the clinic for assessment of the bone setting and healing
2. A young girl and her mother who were in an automobile accident have visited every few days to track their healing process.
3. The variable weather had created patterns of dry dusty conditions to damp moldy conditions throughout the village. Many children have been suffering from wheezing. This young boy is receiving a check up.
4. Just after the New Year and before school started, many children came for check ups and worm medication for the family.

Over the past few months we've accomplished a great deal towards improving the clinic operations to provide better care for the increasing number of patients and meet the requests of the greater community.

* Implementation of a Clinic Data Management Program

The popularity and reputation of the clinic for supporting the community's children has led to requests from area schools for one day Medical Clinics. To better coordinate these off site activities and meet this growing demand we've implemented a Special Project Proposal process that outlines and identifies the requirements for each unique request. At each event will provide healthy natural snacks, such a fruit, nuts, dried fruit, etc to emphasize nutrition as the basis for optimal health and a strong immune system.

The Next Step
To ensure the full empowerment of this community to attain better on going generational health and self-reliance, our future project goals include:

Growth of the clinic is not without it's challenges

Due to village re-organization, the clinic was re-located to its community center that has a partial open air structure. While the treatment office is secure and clean, the waiting area is subject to evening pigeons and the fence surrounding the community center is also not adequate to keep out roaming cattle at night. Frequently the staff has to remove dung from the premises.

The access road is slowly being prepared but still presents a problem. The clinic currently has no running water due to a delay in public installation and a conflict between the village community and the village management. For this reason it is difficult for us to fill the water tank without the possibility of the pipes being cut and the water being stolen. Many of the community now bathe at this damn near the village.