Training of Doctors in Flood Preparedness

I must write about part of my experience while training four groups of doctors in the State of Bihar in flood disaster preparedness. The training had been organized by Unicef and the Disaster Management Institute of the Government of Bihar. The training support was given by RedR India, and I was part of the RedR India team. In the first two trainings in Supaul and Madhepura we had to go beyond the training module as I and my co-trainer also had to work on improving the training module and schedule to help it more useful for the other eight trainings to follow. My third training was at Darbhanga where the district health administration was sluggish in organizing the program, and so had to wrap up the program in just five hours of total work in the two days. Then six such trainings in six other districts followed in which I was not present. The last of the trainings was in the district of Katihar, where I joined my co-trainer Dr. Prabir Chatterjee who was also my co-trainer in Madhepura. In Katihar the doctors and health personnel were very much interested in the training and wanted to know more and more. But, unfortunately, some of the IEC materials, training tools and some organizational faults on the part of the district personnel ensured that the program was not a big success. 

Looking back, it was time for me to share some very interesting and personal moments with my co-trainers. Learn from them and learn to be a better health conscious person, as all my co-trainers were professionally medical doctors. Thank you Dr. Ravikant, Dr. Prabir and Dr. Sanjay 

Training Doctors in Flood Preparedness - Madhepura

Next our halt was in Madhepura, and instead of Dr. Ravikant, Dr. Prabir Chatterjee was supposed to join. I spent the day of 8 July resting and preparing some reports and formats. In the evening, I reached Madhepura and Dr. Prabir was waiting for me. We stayed at the Emmanuel Mission Hospital in Madhepura. The training was at the District Hospital with 32 participants, mostly doctors and a few health officials attending the training. Mr. Imran, the District Health Manager was helpful and kind although he could not give much time. (Thank you Imran for organizing the training, importantly for shifting the training venue from the lean veranda in the first floor to a wider veranda in the ground floor. Madhepura is in fact looking at another flood as river Kosi is carrying more water than the actual rainfall which is due to lots of rains in Nepal, the river's catchment area. I could also meet Dr. Augustine, a man from Tamilnadu, and lives here at the Emmanuel Mission Hospital as the hospital administrator. He is highly committed to live (with his wife and cute little child) on a small salary that this hospital offers to him. The hospital also needs some voluntary support. Doctors can volunteer to serve and to conduct operations here. Nurses and medical students can come and work as volunteers. And those who can may support with financial help. After completing the training on 9th & 10th of July at the Madhepura district hospital, I left for Darbhanga to start the next training for doctors on 11th & 12th, with much hope!