Friends of Vellore works closely with several departments at CMC to initiate and sustain  programmes targeted at helping poor and disadvantaged people. CMC subsidises treatment for poorer patients using the proceeds of the private patient work. Each department has discretion to waive some fees but still needs outside contributions to acquire equipment or fund new initiatives. New project proposals are scrutinised by our Trustees to ensure they meet our criteria and have sustainable benefits.

At any time Friends of Vellore will have many programmes running. On the pages under the Projects menu you can see where our money is currently going. We aim to help the poorest and most vulnerable. All require ongoing funding and your help and support would be most welcome. If you would like your donation to go to a particular project or area of our work, please let us know.  We are also very happy to receive unspecified donations that we can direct to where the money is most needed.

Below is a brief overview of our main project areas (the bold links will take you to more information):

The Person to Person (PTP) scheme is used to provide small targeted grants (up to Rs 10,000 or approximately £100) to help pay the hospital bill for specific patients who are unable to pay for their treatment. Donors who give to this scheme receive reports directly from CMC on which patients their donation has helped.

The Low Cost Effective Care Unit works in the slums of Vellore. Here we are funding dental education, palliative care services and cervical cancer screening for many who would not otherwise access healthcare services. We previously funded new posts for five community health workers who reach out to many who would not otherwise access the services of LCECU. These posts have since been absorbed into CMC’s ongoing budget. The health workers provide health education and health care for expectant mothers, children, the elderly and disabled, those with chronic diseases and acute illness. They run clinics and identify those with disease or illness that need referring on to LCECU.

Each year we send funds to support CMC’s palliative home care team. Our grant covers fuel costs, medication and basic supplies to enable home visits to those in the last stages of their life.

The Jawadhi Hills south of Vellore are home to a tribal community with little access to healthcare. Friends of Vellore UK are supporting students from this area in their nursing training. We are also funding 11 health workers. CMC have trained these young people from the Jawadhi Hills to work as health aides, visiting the villagers, offering health advice and making referrals where necessary.

We fund several projects at CMC’s Rural Unit of Health and Social Affairs (RUHSA) including four elderly care centres, the Pachaikili children’s play centre and and vocational training in sustainable farming methods and fashion design. We are also funding a project to address the issue of suicide amongst teenagers by providing an environment for them to discuss issues that they may not feel able to at home in addition to screening for developmental delay in children and training parents and other care givers in caring for those children.

We support projects that benefit children. The Friends of Vellore UK Paediatric Subsidy Fund supports 10 children each year who are admitted to CMC Vellore for treatment or surgery. The fund is for children from poor families who would benefit from a one-off intervention with a high likelihood of a positive outcome. We have also sent money to fund an audiologist to screen for children with hearing difficulties and are funding three children to receive cochlear implants.

We have close links with CMC’s Missions Department who are continuing in their efforts to help revive smaller mission hospitals. One of which is Kotagiri Medical Fellowship Hospital (KMF). This is about 7 hours drive to the west of Vellore. The hospital has been growing steadily, with improved services and increasing patient numbers. New staff have joined and gradually the locals are gaining confidence in using the patient services. We previously sent £30,000 to enable them to purchase much needed equipment for their lab. Last year we funded laboratory equipment at Chinchpada Christian Hospital and this year we have sent a grant for an effluent treatment plant at Karigiri Hospital.