Not that long ago, EHA’s Madhipura Christian Hospital was considering closing its doors. Its district is one of the poorest, and there was rampant corruption and a strong caste system in place. The few patients who came in traveled on horseback since they had no cars or motorcycles. In this underdeveloped area, 63 percent of the people live in poverty.

But over time more staff members were added and the hospital grew. Five years ago they had just 70 people on staff, and now they have grown to employ 230 people. The team at Madhipura seeks to provide quality health care at an affordable cost. In the last year, they treated 37,400 outpatients and 3,800 inpatients. The staff delivered 1,270 babies and performed 1,118 surgeries.

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The staff at EHA hospitals deal with so much more than medical issues. They must constantly fight backward and oppressive ways of thinking, especially in rural areas. Here are a few vignettes from Madhipura Christian Hospital:

~ Harsha is part of the untouchables caste, also known as the rat-eaters. He is not allowed to attend school inside the building, but he may sit outside a window and listen. His father is not allowed to walk down the main road in their village.

~ Rachna gave birth to 13 daughters but refused to have her tubes tied. She knew she was of no value to her husband and he would leave her if she did not bear him a son. Rachna’s heart was not strong enough and she did not survive her 14th pregnancy. Her 13 daughters are now motherless.

~ Twelve-year-old Anima was brought into the outpatient department by her mother-in-law, who stridently exclaimed that Anima married her son 4 years before but there had been no baby yet. She demanded that Anima be examined to make sure she can bear children. This means, of course, that she married at the age of 8. In this area, it is not uncommon for girls of 18 or 19 to have already borne three children and had their tubes tied.

These prejudices and ways of thinking are ingrained in the villages surrounding Madhipura. It is a constant effort for the community workers to educate the people in healthier and more reasonable ways to think and act in order to improve their health and well-being.

Eight-year-old Raja was working in a restaurant with his father when he injured his lower leg. He received minimal treatment before the pandemic hit and forced them to return to their rural village. There was no money for further treatment and his leg continued to worsen.

Raja’s village is one place where Madhipura Christian Hospital operates a health camp. Someone informed the staff that there was a boy whose wound needed dressing. The health team found Raja, isolated and malnourished and with a festering wound on his leg. They dressed his injury but recommended he be brought in to the hospital.

Once there, Raja was diagnosed with a tropical fungal infection called Madura foot, along with severe malnutrition. He was treated for three months at the hospital and then discharged after his mother was taught how to dress the wound. Raja is gaining weight and his leg and foot are slowly healing. Without the quick action and long-term care provided by Madhipura’s medical team, Raja would likely have lost his foot and possibly his life.

Pranav, though coming from the lowest caste, seemed to have a bright future. He was advancing steadily through school and received good grades. At 15, he and his family were optimistic about his future. Sadly though, his world was shattered when his mother fell ill. Upon learning of the expensive treatment required, a relative offered good pay if Pranav could come with him to work in a factory in a nearby city. With no other choice, his father sent him to work.

The promise of good money turned out to be false. Pranav worked long hours every day without receiving any pay. After six months, when he finally worked up the courage to ask for his dues, the owner beat him. Though he had fallen ill from the grueling labor, Pranav was still able to escape from this place and return home. As he was recovering, EHA’s community health staff visited his father, a farmer, to provide skills training.

After learning of Pranav’s situation, the community project was able to assist in funding his return to education. His father now makes more money with the new lessons he has learned, and his mother has also recovered from her illness. His family has a bright future because of the tremendous gift of Madhipura Christian Hospital’s community health staff.

In the rural communities surrounding Madhipura Christian Hospital, unexpected expenses sometimes combine with low crop yield rates to produce devastating results. Many farm workers do not own land. Those that do usually have no more than an acre. As a result, it is typical for locals to work as day laborers on larger farms in the area. Because of this, most workers have no financial protection when the unforeseen occurs. Often, in the face of these vicious cycles, communities lose hope.

From natural disasters to health crises, life can present a host of trials, just as it does anywhere else around the globe. Left without any other options, many men develop mental illnesses and suicidal tendencies. To mitigate their financial distress, some families choose to migrate, opening themselves up to manifold risks. If the parents leave home to work in a city, their children are sometimes left without adequate supervision, creating vulnerable and dangerous situations.

Madhipura’s community health program has worked to create farming cooperatives that advance skills training for these local workers. Community health staff are able to help by enhancing efficiency and cutting out the middleman. By encouraging communal labor efforts, farmers are connected to a network of support when the inevitable droughts come.

Madhipura Christian Hospital has not only been successful in advancing the livelihood of farmers, but also in advocating for workers’ rights with local government agencies. Because of their work, the District Agriculture department is partnering with EHA to help advance best practices in the local farming industry.

It had been ten years since Sheila had noticed the swelling on her upper lip. Now, the miserable growth defined her to many people in the community and interfered with her speech and eating.

She had tried having it treated at several medical facilities long ago, selling her land and livestock to pay for it. She even took out a loan, for which she was still making endless payments. Nothing had helped, and she reconciled herself to living with the swelling until it got the better of her.

The growth of the swelling was mercifully slow, but at this point she was basically waiting to die. The growth had begun to ulcerate and significantly interfere with her ability to eat. It was at this point that Sheila was pointed out to Madhipura Christian Hospital’s palliative care team. They immediately brought her in to the hospital where she underwent an excision of the swelling with no complications and an excellent cosmetic result.

Sheila has now recovered and rediscovered her beautiful smile which lights up her face each time she visits Madhipura. Her ability to speak better and eat comfortably has resulted in improved nutrition and quality of life. The scarf that once covered her face to hide her unsightly deformity is now used only for decoration. Thanks to the careful treatment of the medical staff at Madhipura Christian Hospital, Sheila has a new lease on life.