Perched on a mountainside 7,000 feet above sea level in the very tip of North India, Landour Community Hospital (LCH) has been in existence since 1938—that’s 85 years! The city of Mussoorie where LCH is located is a tourist hot spot because of its natural beauty and its cooler temperatures due to the higher elevation. Driveways and roads are quite narrow, making for challenging driving conditions.

On the left you can see the mountainside. LCH is the long building with the green roof. With just 35 beds, it’s not a large hospital, but it boasts a long list of medical specialties. In the last year they have cared for over 22,000 outpatients and 898 inpatients. They see about 230 emergency patients a month.

Their biggest staff need is for an OB/GYN so they can begin delivering babies again. Their greatest infrastructure needs are for improved staff housing, a wider access path, and a new training center.

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A retired colonel experienced a brain hemorrhage that left him in a coma. He was sent home from the hospital for supportive care. His son, a captain in the air force, lives near Landour Community Hospital (LCH) and was very apprehensive about looking after his father at home. He decided that the best option was to bring his father to LCH.

Over the next three weeks, Landour’s nurses did everything for their patient. They spoke to him, attended to his medical needs, prayed for him, and supported his family. The patient’s wife was able to simply sit with him, knowing he was being cared for with love and excellence. When the colonel eventually succumbed to cardiac failure, his wife and son were grief-stricken but overwhelmed with gratitude for the treatment he had received. They communicated that they had never known this kind of care at other, larger hospitals. The staff at LCH were thankful to touch this family’s lives in ways they hadn’t even realized they were impacting others.

Despite the limitations of operating during a pandemic, Landour Community Hospital was able to hold a prosthetics and orthotics camp for patients in their area. Approximately 20 children and adults were screened and measured for ankle and foot casts, hand splints, prosthetic limbs, and orthotic devices such as walkers, canes, wheelchairs, and cerebral palsy chairs. The life of each individual receiving this kind of help has been transformed forever.

The Parwarish parenting course offered through Landour’s community projects has changed the lives of girls, one family at a time. One daughter shared her story.

“I am Radhika from the village of Tikri. I study in the 8th class and live with my parents, two brothers, and grandmother. In the past, whenever we had any kind of fights among us, every time my brothers’ voices were listened to, but as a daughter I was not listened to. I was neglected and not even allowed to go outside to play, being a girl child.

I want to thank the Garima Project through which the Parwarish parenting course was offered. As a result of both of my parents taking this course, I can see amazing changes and transformation in them. Now my parents choose to listen to me whenever I share with them, and now there is no discrimination between a boy and a girl in our family.

I just want to thank the Parwarish course which has brought about this change in our family.”

Misconceptions regarding disability are commonplace across India. Akshay, along with his two younger brothers, faced a multitude of social obstacles growing up. As a result, his parents decided to keep them locked in the house as much as possible, isolating and ostracizing them even further. Eventually, the family had to relocate in order to escape the constant harassment they faced in the village.

When the family was introduced to Landour Community Hospital (LCH) staff, they were initially reticent to receive outside assistance. In partnership with other organizations, LCH runs the Disability Inclusive Livelihood Initiatives Program (DILIP). Over the course of several home visits from a therapist and special educators, the family began to accept help and make progress in overcoming the overwhelming social stigma. In time, the family even developed their own sign language in order to overcome the communication barrier that resulted from the boys’ speech disabilities.

At the age of 20, Akshay wanted to begin contributing to the family income. As he became more confident leaving the house alone, his father saved enough money to buy a mule for him. Akshay began making good money transporting a shipment each day for a local business owner. A keen and enthusiastic young man, he began to expand his work, completing a full 10 trips every day. Using the money he had saved from his work, Akshay recently purchased a second mule and is continuing to help his family. This financial stability is comforting for both his younger brothers as well as his parents.

Thanks to the hard work of the EHA staff on the community health team in this village, Akshay and his family were encouraged to take the first steps towards social destigmatization and, ultimately, financial stability.

The tenor of the conversation on disability in many surrounding villages is being transformed through the hard work of Landour’s Community Development staff. LCH often works to expand their efforts through partnerships. When successful, advocacy via administrative organizations has incredible results. Finding ways to change the culture, these staff were recently able to have an outsized impact.

In the nearby community of Jaunpur, a little girl with a disability, Ramshi, was able to attend the local school along with all other students. Through conversations with teachers at the school, it became clear that disability awareness and advocacy was important at the institution. The school principal was acquainted with Ramshi’s father, Deepak, and made the decision to invite him to sit on the School Management Committee.

Having a daughter with a disability helped Deepak to become aware of students with even greater needs. A thoughtful and kind man, his contributions to the committee have already resulted in revisions to school policies. Thanks to the networking of EHA staff, Deepak has been able to take an expanded role in supporting his little girl’s education and advocating for the needs of all disabled children in the community.

Mansi initially came to Landour Community Hospital for treatment of infertility. After some testing, the doctors recommended some lifestyle changes and sent her on her way. Soon, Mansi was delighted to discover that she was pregnant, but she and her husband were unprepared for the news that she was having triplets!

The team at Landour walked with her all the way through this unusual pregnancy, alleviating her concerns and answering her questions. Dr. Roopa, several nurses, and the chaplain sat with Mansi and her husband numerous times for counseling and prayer.

Mansi made it all the way to 37 weeks and then was ready to deliver. After an uneventful Caesarean section, she and her husband were blessed with three beautiful daughters, weighing between 2.5 and 3 pounds apiece. The babies were treated in Landour’s NICU for about two weeks and then sent home with instructions and prayers. The girls were brought back in at one year of age, and all were happy and healthy.

The Landour team is thankful for God’s mercies on this little family and glad to have been a blessing in a much-needed way.

When Meena came to Landour Community Hospital, she was depressed. Over the previous two years, she had seen six or seven doctors who had performed 18 D&Cs (clearing of the uterus’ lining following a miscarriage). The gynecologist at Landour knew this was unheard of as she listened to Meena’s story.

Each time one of these doctors had examined Meena, they told her that her uterus still held the remains of her pregnancy which had not been cleared away by the previous D&C, so she needed another one. When Dr. Jacob examined her, she felt that she should look beyond the usual issues, so she ordered several unusual tests. Meena had to convince her family that these tests were needed and worth the expense and difficulty. The family wanted Meena to go to the government hospital for further treatment because it would be cheaper, but Meena stood her ground, explaining that her time with the hospital chaplain was helping to bring back her lost confidence in herself.

When the doctor got the results back, she found out the cause of Meena’s difficulties—she had a cancerous growth in her uterus. The Landour staff continued to treat Meena’s cancer for almost a year, and they had to explain to her that she would be unlikely to be able to become pregnant again. This was hard news for Meena to bear at only 21. The staff prayed with Meena as she continued to spend time at the hospital even after her treatment was done. They told her that God can do impossible things. He answered her prayers and she delivered a healthy baby boy nine months later. Meena is just one of the many examples of God working in and through EHA staff, showing how He blesses His people with abundance.