Understanding People: A New Learning Curve

Kochi, Wednesday: Known to many people across Kerala, Theruvoram NGO works towards the rehabilitation of the people on streets – the people who have been abandoned by their ‘families’ and left to survive on their own. Murugan, the founder and the present secretary of the NGO, considers these people to be his children while affectionately calling them his ‘Theruvu Makkal’ (Street Children). Devoted to the cause, Murugan and his team face no less difficulties. Most of these rescued people are in dire need of medical treatment, mostly mental treatment. The NGO tries its best with what little resources it has. One such program took place on Wednesday (8^th May 2019). A group of five people from the NGO were supposed to be admitted to the Thrissur Government Mental Hospital for them to get treated. Being a government hospital, the hospital provides treatment for minimal charge – the NGO cannot afford the private hospitals for its kids.

Inmates being taken to Thrissur Government Hospital by social work volunteers and Theruvoram NGO founder, Murugan S.

“Being a Social Science student, I never really realised how hard it is to take care of MR (mentally retarded) patients in real life, before interning here. We were a part of everything – from taking care of exhilarating experience,” shares Sandra Oommen, an MSW student from Amrita them to travelling till Thrissur with them, I can vouch that it was an Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Coimbatore), who is currently interning at the NGO.

The day started with Murugan, accompanied by the 6 volunteers at the NGO, trying their best to get the inmates who require treatment, into the ambulance. Resisting because of being introduced to an unknown environment, everybody tried their best to make them comfortable in the ambulance while making sure that nobody gets hurt. The first stop of the day was Ernakulam Government Hospital. It is important to take a report from the doctors over there in order to take the patients to Thrissur. So for the same, the patients were shown to the doctor there, one by one, while she diagnosed them. After that the team had to go to the Court in order to get the approval from the judge, in this case the CJM.

Murugan S, in front of Thrissur Government Mental Hospital.

Later, the inmates were taken to the mental hospital in Thrissur in an ambulance, personally driven by the founder along with the assistance of interns. The doctors there took the inmates in for a treatment period of ten days. While the journey was full of its ups and downs, the inmates were taken to the hospital on time and were provided with good care.

“As a communications student, I did not expect the work to be any thing more than simple documentation work. But, this opportunity served as a medium to understand the intricacies of social work and the work that the NGO does,” says Parvathi Sajiv Kumar, a student of Symbiosis Centre for Media and Communications, Pune. She adds, “It was a different experience for sure. Even though the ambulance did not smell pleasant because of the lack of bathing of the inmates, for sure we faced many difficulties. But the overall experience was amazing. I indulged in activities that I would not have got to indulge in anywhere else.”

Murugan S with Sandra Oommen, Parvathi Sajiv Kumar,
and Aishwarya Nair,interns at the NGO.

A fact to note here is that, as on a normal day, the court was busy with other hearings. The team had to sit with the inmates over there for about an hour but the judge was busy. The CJM, after realising that the team had been waiting for so long, passed the order without even seeing the inmates – that is the level of professionalism that the organisation has followed till date. People might think that the organisation is boasting about itself, but the fact is that even though after facing so many difficulties, the organisation makes sure to do everything in a systematic and professional way, which is also recognised by other people.

Aishwarya Nair, a student of Christ University, Bangalore, says, “It was a fun experience. We did not expect it to take up the whole day. Usually, when one sees a person on the street, they call up NGOs to ‘save’ the person. It is important to realise that there is much more to do after that. As interns, it is amazing that we got to be a part of such a task. It made us understand the work that is put into saving people, and how the public can be a part of it.”

The journey was super tiring, and the team got back to the NGO only by dusk. But the fact is, that this task had to be completed no matter what. After all, it is the responsibility of the organisation to take care of its beloved children.