Medical Missions to Rural Garo Hills

Drs Denyl & Dorothy Joshua

In 2016 I first visited Garo Hills. I was fascinated with the beauty of this part of Meghalaya.

The Call

Amidst the beauty and the warmth and love of the local Garo’s, there was a deep need for good
medical care. Having completed our DCH from CMC,Vellore , Dorothy and I had accepted the call to
be posted in Mizoram. It had been two and half years since we came to Mizoram that we received
the service call to help the Medical work in rural Garo Hills. We knew that it was a divine call when a
Mizo parent having spend few years in Garo Hills said “ The Mizos love you but the Garo’s need
you.”

When it all began

We started our journey in a small village called Jengjal in West Garo Hills. Using a small abandoned
rented building we were able to help the children in the surrounding villages.

Challenges :

We saw the challenges and the potentials at the grassroots. The major challenge was the poor
health seeking behaviour by the locals, lack of committed medical staff, poorly equipped medical
facilities all combined with poor connectivity to access to basic health care.

The local villagers were accustomed to traditional methods of healing and would often seek medical
help only when things get complicated.

The biggest challenge was to change the mindset and build trust in the medical care.

Transforming into a Maternal and Child Centre

We were grateful to God for bringing in a committed medical team and a gynaecologist and
Paediatrician couple Dr.Paul and Dr.Suzie Francis to join the team. We saw us growing into a
maternal and child health centre.
We started a labour room and got an operation Theatre made. We were conducting deliveries and
operating..

We were able to help get a level 2 NICU as well.

The challenges were high but we could see that education and timely help could prevent major
complications.

Connecting with IAP, Meghalaya

Within a year after moving to Garo Hills we got in touch with IAP, Meghalaya Branch and realised
that we were not alone and had a family to look up to learn and be guided.

We especially were grateful to all our seniors and the members who took time to connect , support
and also hear what we had to share. This was probably the most beautiful part of our stay in Garo
Hills.

Overtime we were able to engage in different activities of IAP and as well as attend CMEs whenever
we were able to make time. It also gave us the privilege to grow in our speciality and also to stay
connected.

Training and empowerment the cornerstone

We quickly understood that the need was far beyond what we could deal with. With accessibility to
health care a major challenge we felt it was paramount to be able to empower the local Medical
Officers at the PHCs.

Thanks to the DM&HO and the Health officials at State and local level who gave us the opportunity
to be part of training our Medical Officers who were working like foot soldiers at the battlefield. It
was heart warming to network with them and be a support in whatever ways possible.

We were part of the training for Neonatal Resuscitation and SARS program which was very
comprehensive.

Conclusion

We saw the infant mortality rate gradually decline over the last 5 years and saw transformation in
the rural health care of Garo Hills. With Jengjal Subdivisional Hospital, we are now part of a bigger
network to bring about greater blessing to the community.
We take with us memories, experiences of a lifetime and friends who are our family.

Thank you IAP, Meghalaya, you made us feel special.