OUR ACTIVITIES

OUR ACTIVITIES - 2006-2007

1. HEALTH AWARENESS FOR WOMEN

MOTHER FOUNDATION conducted health awareness sessions for women in rural area. The resource persons delivered talks on the following matters.
Women continue to face disadvantages such as restrictions following menarche, no freedom in decision-making with respect to marriage, childbearing, the abuse of domestic violence, exertion of male authority and control especially over sexuality, the problems associated with dowry, etc. Women from the scheduled castes suffer these disadvantages doubly.
97 percent of adolescent girls have any anaemia. Twenty-nine percent of them are mildly anaemic, 50 percent are moderately anaemic and 18 percent are having severe anaemia. It has been found from the survey results that except severe anaemia the percentage of girls in all othe categories of anaemia diminishes marginally with the increase in age from 10-14 to 15-19 years. The incidence of any anaemia is higher (97 percent) among adolescent girls who are currently unmarried compared to that among their married counterpart (95 percent).

Except mild and severe anaemia the occurrence of anaemia in all other categories is found to be higher in rural areas than in urban areas. The prevalence of any anaemia varies marginally with the educational attainment of girls. The level of anaemia is higher among Hindu adolescent girls (97 percent).

Adolescent girls from schedule tribe are more likely to suffer from any anaemia. Adolescent girls from households with low standard of living are slightly more likely to be anaemic in case of any and severe anaemia and adolescent girls from households with high standard of living are slightly more likely to be anaemic in case of mild and moderate anaemia.




2, MEDICAL CHECK-UP FOR CHILDREN

MOTHER FOUNDATION conducted medical check up for children with the following objectives.

 To improve schooling habit among non-school going children
 To check the high dropout in the schools, at primary level.
 To create awareness about the value of health education in the community.
 To increase the enrolment in the school at Primary Level.
 To take care of health of Children.
 To give more emphasis on girls’ education.
 To sensitize parents regarding importance of education
 To motivate the parents to send their children to formal schools.

The schedule of camps is shown below
Date Venue Camp Leaders No.of participants
Dr. G. A. Vishwanath

ACTIVITIES FOR 2007-2008

3 MEDICAL CAMPS
Mother Foundation conducted medical camps three times in different locations. The camp details are tabulated below.

TARGET GROUP VENUE DATE NO. OF PARTICIPANTS PARTNER

WOMEN
GENERAL PUBLIC
GENERAL PUBLIC Thaai Foundation, Madurai


HEALTH CHECK UP FOR SCHOOL STUDENTS
The health status of a school-aged child has a direct influence upon his educational accomplishments. One avenue for promoting a healthy student population is to ensure that they have available to them a broad range of health services. The provision of these services is a joint responsibility of the parent, the school, and the community. Ultimately the success of the school health program will depend upon the degree to which each student learns to take responsibility for his own attitudes and behaviors, which affect his individual health status.




Mother Foundation’s School Health Check Up program believes in the pursuit of excellence. In that pursuit, we embrace the following values:
1 Child and Family Focus: We believe that all children and their families have the right to the highest quality school health program delivered with respect for each individual.
2 Family and School Involvement: We believe that families and school faculty are important resources in providing the highest quality comprehensive school health program. In an environment of trust and shared responsibility, we will promote teamwork, educational and personal growth.
3 Continual Improvement: We believe that by incorporating on-going evaluation into comprehensive school health, we will promote school health services, which are community appropriate, cost effective and efficient.
4 Collaboration: We believe that quality comprehensive school health is the result of mutually beneficial partnerships between our program, schools, the community and other health and education organizations.

Our vision is to offer school students the capacity to obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services and the competence to use such information and services in ways which are health enhancing to them as individuals and as community members.
1 Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention
2 Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid health information and health promoting products and services.
3 Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health enhancing behaviors and reduce health risks.
4 Students will analyze the influence of culture, media, technology and other factors on health.
5 Students will demonstrate the ability to use goal setting and decision making skills which enhance health.
6 Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health

Mother Foundation conducted 2 school health check up camps. 145 students were benefited by this program.

SCHIZOPHRENIA CAMP
Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling mental illness. It affects men and women with equal frequency. People suffering from schizophrenia may have the following symptoms:
Delusions, false personal beliefs held with conviction in spite of reason or evidence to the contrary, not explained by that person's cultural context
Hallucinations, perceptions (can be sound, sight, touch, smell, or taste) that occur in the absence of an actual external stimulus (Auditory hallucinations, those of voice or other sounds, are the most common type of hallucinations in schizophrenia.)
• Disorganized thoughts and behaviors
• Disorganized speech
• Catatonic behavior, in which the affected person's body may be rigid and the person may be unresponsive
The term schizophrenia is Greek in origin, and in the Greek meant "split mind." This is not an accurate medical term. In Western culture, some people have come to believe that schizophrenia refers to a split-personality disorder. These are two very different disorders, and people with schizophrenia do not have separate personalities.
Schizophrenia and other mental health disorders have fairly strict criteria for diagnosis. Time of onset as well as length and characteristics of symptoms are all factors. The active symptoms of schizophrenia must be present at least 6 months, or only 1 month if treated.
Estimates of how many people are diagnosed with this disorder vary. The illness affects about 1% of the population.

About Us

MOTHER FOUNDATION has a vision of creating a hospital in Tamil Nadu where the poor could receive free advanced medical care, especially mental health care, in an atmosphere of love and compassion. The poor do receive basic medical care through various charitable clinics, but advanced care is beyond their dreams. MOTHER FOUNDATION will work through to create a highly sophisticated, 200–bed and teaching hospital. MOTHER FOUNDATION exemplifies the use of science and technology to maximize health service for the poor, offering medical care in mental health and other specialities.

At this point of time NIMHANS-Bangalore is the only major psychiatry centre in India that practices and trains formal systemic family therapy. MOTHER FOUNDATION is embarking on the path to reach that level, excel and surpass as a private held Academy –par-excellence in India. The broad vision of MOTHER FOUNDATION is:
• To promote, through academic and professional endeavors, growth and development of mental health, social sciences and allied subjects in tune with the global trends and developments in these fields.
• To develop the Institute into an advanced centre for service, training and research in the broad area of mental health and social sciences.
• To study the molecular, neuropsychiatry, psychosocial and transcendental aspects of the brain-mind-behavior axis and to evolve suitable techniques for alleviation of mental and social problems.
• To provide and assist in providing services of research, evaluation, training, consultation and guidance related to mental health and human science activities.
• To undertake communication of health information through awareness programmes, print and electronic media viz., journals, research papers, proceedings of conferences, symposia, text books, manuals and hand outs.
• To augment and maintain library and information services in furtherance of the object of the society.
• To co-operate with international and national agencies engaged in research and training or clinical practice or social work in the area of mental health and social sciences and to arrange for interchange of personnel, material and data.
• To educate the public on mental health and social sciences.
• To do all such lawful acts and things, either alone or in conjunction with other organizations or persons as the society may consider necessary which facilitate the attainment of any or all of the objectives referred to or implied above.

MOTHER FOUNDATION, The Mind Centre, was established in 2006 to provide affordable medical psychiatric care in a patient–friendly atmosphere and in a spirit of compassion, previously beyond the reach of the common man. MOTHER FOUNDATION provides dedicated patient care and endeavors to improve its services on a constant, ongoing basis. The beneficiaries, who received either free or concessional treatment, account for a staggering 63%. Even the remaining 37% enjoyed highly subsidized treatment.

The special feature of this institute is its multidisciplinary approach in patient care, research and training programmes and also in the promotive, preventive and curative aspects of clinical services in the area of Mental Health and human behavioral science. The manpower development programmes at the Institute reflect the extent to which we have succeeded in bringing together and nurtured behavioral sciences, social sciences and ancient health systems in Mental Health.

Dr. G.A. Viswanthan, a consultant Psychiatrist, the member of this mental health care hospital & institution had a humble beginning in March 2006. It is in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, serving the 7 neighboring districts (17 million people). With growing practice, other psychiatrists, psychologists and a host of psychiatric Social workers formed his team.

Since the inauguration of MOTHER FOUNDATION, we have made remarkable progress. This has only been possible through the dedication of the doctors, psychologists, psychiatric social workers, nurses and other health care professionals of this institution. The most significant element in the establishment of the MOTHER FOUNDATION is the compassion of Dr. G.A. Viswanthan, whose vision and constant encouragement were the inspiration to create this facility with only the objective of relieving the suffering of individuals and their families who suffer with them. Dr. G.A. Viswanthan’s life of selfless service has helped so many, not only through curing mental illness, but also by bringing hope, clarity and peace of mind.

Services

Services:

* Arrange seminars on family planning, environment and all other social service topics.
* Social service for rural development, women’s development, poor children’s education, taking the orphaned kids to picnics and old-age people care.
* Conduct free medical camps, blood donation camps and cleaning camps.
* Assistance for others social event fund raising program like donation collections, old books, old dresses, old computers, etc.
* Organize awareness rally programmes on AIDS, road safety, eye donation & pollutions.
* Comprehensive Vocational Training Programmes and career guidance.
* We always ready to respond to the crisis situations and undertake the relief work where ever needed.
* Helps street children who have no other form of support.
* Conduct school and college competitions in GK, arts and sports to develop student’s knowledge and creativity.
* Organize self-help groups for men and women.
* Help poor women’s marriage.
* Provide technical, legal and management guidance to self-help groups business.
* Provide free food and note books for poor children.
* Distribution of aids and appliances to handicapped patients. ( eg. Tricycles, wheelchairs, callipers, braces, ctev shoes etc)
* To work against corruption in the society and to save human rights and help the persons whose human rights are violated.
* To eliminate the child labourer and bring them in the main stream of education.
* Give awards for best services in all industry like best social servicer, best school teacher, best sportsman, best NGO, best student, best public servant, etc.