Abul Sarah, Pat Arling Abul Sarah, founder of the International Village Clinic in India and a Rotarian from the Bloomington, Minnesota, Rotary club, made a presentation to Lakeville Rotary Club members at their weekly meeting on Aug 16. Sarah, a long-time friend of President Peg Duenow, presented his annual report on the International Village Clinic. Lakeville Rotary Club has supported the Clinic financially with an annual donation for several years. The International Village Clinic was started by Sarah in 2002 and has grown to 60 staff, including four doctors, who provide “curative and preventive care” to residents of dozens of villages in northern India. The curative program served more than 37,000 patients in the last year, while the preventive program provided services to 200,000 people in 60 villages. The Clinic offers 24-hour a day emergency care and treated more than 2,400 patients in the last year. The preventive program features four main initiatives: 1) a nutritional program for pregnant women and children up to the age of 5 years old; 2) vaccinations; 3) a health education program; and 4) family planning services. The Clinic recently hired its first female doctor after she finished her medical internship. The future for the clinic is in education and starting of a school. The first year will be with a preschool/kindergarten class and each year they hope to grow the school with the students and extra classes. |
