From the Chairman’s Desk

February 2016 Newsletter

People and lifestyle in India

India …. A spell-binding country

India is the only country with the largest and most diverse mixture of races. People of different communities and religions live together in oneness. In-dia is culturally a diverse country. People speak hundreds of different languages (18 major languages, with English and Hindi as the official lan-guages). The beauty however lies in the fact that despite all the differences, people live with full harmony and love depicting their varied cultures, traditions and dressing styles. In a country as dissimilar and complex as India, it is not astonishing to find that people here depict the rich glories of the past, the culture, the traditions and values proportional to geographic locations and the various distinctive manners, habits and food that will always

continue to be purely Indian.

IN THE BYGONE ERA

In the past, for hundreds of years, India has been invaded by armies, traders and migrants who brought with them their own habits, faiths, practices and honourings which have all added to the rich feel of Indian life and living. The political boundaries encompass a wide range of ecozones namely high mountains, tropical and temperate forests, swamplands, plains, grass-

lands, delta regions as well as island archipelago.

INDIAN FLORA AND FAUNA

FLORA: There are over 16,000 species of flowering plants in India, which account for 6 percent of the total plant species in the world. There are more than 3000 officially

documented plants in India that hold great medicinal potential.

FAUNA: India’s rich and abundant animal life is attributed to its diverse climate and geography. There are 372 species of mammals in India, some of which include the elephant, the Bengal tiger, rhinoceros, wild Himalayan sheep and the swamp deer. There are 1,228 bird species found in India. They include the peacocks, parrots, kingfishers, cranes and hornbills. Crocodiles, cobra and python are three of the 446 reptile species found. India harbors 60% of the world’s wild tiger population, 50% of Asian elephants, 80% of the one-horned rhinoceros and the entire remaining population of the

Asiatic lion.

P a g e 2

INDIAN APPAREL

Indian dressing is influenced by the background and culture of the past. Indians are well-known for their dressing style and ele-gant apparels worn by men and women. Indian fashions include a wide range of designs for women, men and children. Indians

are influenced by the western styles of dressings.

LINE OF SEPARATION

Indians have some traditional values which cannot be surpassed by anyone. The surname of an Indian is based on his caste or place of origin or his family occupation. Men are still believed to be the head of a family though they no longer continue to be a single earner. Parents are looked up-on with respect and regard. Children are financially supported by their parents throughout their educa-

tion. Inspite of being so westernized, Indians believe that some lines should never be crossed.

- N. Slesser Babu

QUALITY CIRCLE MEETING

The dissemination meeting for the benchmarking (OBA) exercise conducted in 2015 was held on February 17, 2016 at GRETNALTES, Tenali, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh. It was at-tended by Mr. John Kurian George, CEO, FAIRMED-INDIA, Mr. Santhosh, Chief Operating Manager, Dr. Pankaj Thomas, National Program Manager, Ms. Deepali Verma, Finance & Ad-

min Manager and several others. Mr. Slesser Babu, Chairman and Mr. Praveen Das, Coordina-tor from RISDT also participated in the meeting. The deliberations in the meeting focused on

the optimum performance of all the Partner-Projects under FAIRMED-INDIA.

ANTILEPROSY DAY CELEBRATIONS IN RISDT’S DIVISIONS - JANUARY 30TH to FEBRUARY 13TH, 2016

The Martyrdom Day of Mahatma Gandhi, who led the Movement for Indian Independ-ence is celebrated as the Anti-Leprosy Day on January 30th every year. The celebrations shall continue for 15 days from that day and end on February 13th. This year too RISDT has con-

ducted the celebrations during these 15 days in all its 6 Divisions at (i) Peddapu-ram (ii) Kakinada (iii) Rajahmundry (iv) Rampacho-davaram (v) Amalapuram and (vi) Ramachandrapuram. The celebrations paved the way to create awareness among persons at large, about the basics of leprosy and

its successful treatment through Multi Drug Therapy.

P a g e 3

Referral Hospital (RISDT)

Seetayammapeta,

Kathipudi 533 444

Sankhavaram Mandal

East Godavari District. AP, India

90-1-5/1, Swaraj Nagar,

Alcot Gardens,

Rajahmundry 533 101,

AP, India

Phone: +91 883 242 5367

Phone: +91 8868 234 507

e-mail: risdtindia@gmail.com

Website: www.risdt.org

BUSINESS NAME

VISIT OF MR. JOHN KURIAN GEORGE,

CHIEF EXECUTE OFFICER, FAIRMED-INDIA

Mr. John Kurian George, CEO, FAIRMED-INDIA made a whirlwind visit to RISDT Project on February 18, 2016. He had a successful meeting with Dr. M. Pavan Kumar, the District Leprosy Officer/Addl. DM&HO, East Goda-vari district in the morning to sort out certain communica-tion gaps and to streamline the project activities. To this meeting, he was accompanied by Mr. Slesser Babu, Chairman, RISDT and Dr. Jayprasad Palla, RISDT Medi-

cal Superintendent.

In the afternoon he visited the RISDT Project. He in-spected the Leprosy Care Unit (LCU), Project Office and ancillary units. He interacted with the persons af-fected by leprosy (PALs) who underwent Reconstructive Surgeries in RISDT’s RCS Unit. In a discussion with Mr. Slesser Babu and Dr. Jayprasad Palla, he familiar-ized himself with the Project performance. He ex-changed pleasantries with the Press Reporters and obliged their request for a photograph alongwith him. He invited the Emmaus Care Center children for the snap-shot. He instructed the staff to impart better medical ser-

vices to the persons affected by leprosy (PALs).

He visited the Referral English Medium School. He reviewed the progress of the school over the years

and gave suitable suggestions for the improvement of the academic standards. He encouraged the 10th

Standard students to work hard with dedication in order to accomplish 10/10 Distinction Grades in the

Public Examinations, March 2016. He advised the

10th Standard students no to become susceptible to

examination pressure and to write the examina-

tions with quiet composure. He inspected the sci-

ence laboratories, computer lab, and the Internet

Hub. He assured to look into the possibility of

sanctioning 20 additional computer systems to the

computer lab of the school. He evinced keen inter-

est on the “Production Unit of Solar Energy” do-

nated to the Physics lab by Mr. Bruno Jehle, the

founder of RISDT. He expressed satisfaction at

the installation of the firefighting equipment in the

school.