JDC-IDP Earthquake Relief in India: Update September 2003

In January 2001, India suffered its strongest earthquake in over 50 years, resulting in over 15,000 deaths and hundreds of thousands left homeless in Gujarat State, on India’s western coast.

JDC quickly partnered with the local Jewish Community in an emergency distribution program that provided water and other essential items to victims in the hard-hit area of Bhachau, Gujarat State. A partnership with the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) resulted in the establishment of 15 Child Care Centers in the areas of Kutch, Surendranagar and Patan. JDC’s work with Handicap International strengthened services for earthquake victims with disabilities through the provision of staff training and the construction of a new rehabilitation center in Kutch. JDC also teamed up with World Vision to construct 17 Community Education Centers that serve the villages of Bachau, Anjar, Bhuj and Rapar in the Kutch district, with a population of 33,000.

Most recently, the Jewish Community of India, JDC, and MASHAV (the international assistance arm of the Israeli Foreign Ministry) joined together to upgrade a renal dialysis unit at the King Edward Memorial (K.E.M.) Hospital in Mumbai. The MASHAV team of top engineers and medical professionals worked with their Indian counterparts to create a new, state-of the-art unit. Local staff were trained to serve patients and maintain the unit, and linkages are now being developed with professionals in Gujarat State so that citizens there benefit from the expanded and improved services.

Judy, JDC Country Director for India, described the project and its results in a recent report sent from the field:

The need for renal dialysis services in India is great, and in Mumbai, the situation is acute. In all of India, there are only 700 nephrologists -- approximately 1 renal specialist per 1.5 million citizens.

When I visited the K.E.M. hospital, I was gratified to see six Israelis working alongside 15 local Indians, breaking down walls and moving at a frantic pace. The Dean of the hospital said that she had never seen such efficiency and planning.

The Israeli team had worked together on many international medical projects. They knew exactly what they needed to do. Not a moment was wasted. It is worth mentioning that the team, itself, was a microcosm of Israeli society: Michael, the Project Manager, is originally from Chernovitz (Ukraine). Yigal, a native-born Israeli whose parents are from Morocco, is the Dialysis Technician, responsible for training the local staff and ensuring that they are familiar with the equipment and the medical procedures. Alex, from Riga (Latvia), and Yossi, from Belarus, are both engineers who worked in hospitals in their respective countries prior to making aliyah to Israel. Shimon, the electrical engineer, originally came from Romania, and Shlomo, another native-born Israeli, is the expert on ensuring that the required medical gases and air conditioning are flowing. The official "conductor" of the performance was Dr. Yossi Baratz, who, since 1997, has been the Director of Medical and Humanitarian Operations at MASHAV.

All of the equipment and supplies are state-of-the art, and were brought in from Israel. Among the donated items were four new renal dialysis machines, eight hospital beds, and equipment to upgrade four existing machines. The walls, floors, and ceilings were constructed of special materials and coated with chemicals that reject and prevent bacterial activity. New electrical and water purifying systems were installed to enable the water to go through a special process that allows adherence to strict sterilization guidelines. New gas and vacuum systems, special lighting, and equipment to upgrade the air conditioning were also put into place…

…Because K.E.M. Hospital is a municipal hospital that serves the general population, this gift from the Jewish Communities of India, the American Jewish public, and the Israeli Government will truly make a difference in many people’s lives.