Thursday, February 27, 2014

Play therapy and a snapshot of children who I saw today.

Sneha, not looking so happy today... Mom is always very patient with my broken Bengali.

Amir, always has big smiles when he sees me.  

Shishir has a whole gallery of art he has created on the wall in his room.

Looking very serious as he scribbles.  

Colouring a picture to pass the time.

I am excited to announce that I have found an excellent woman to do play therapy with all the children on the cancer ward.  She is an Australian physiotherapist who has previously worked in Africa.  She is starting to develop a play therapy program which will incorporate aspects of music, movement and art.

These activities will make a huge difference for the children on the ward.  They will get to continue to learn and develop both mentally, emotionally and physically while they spend time in hospital.  This will help them to cope better with the stress of hospitalization.

What types of activities will the kids do?  All kinds of things:
-art projects with paints to allow them to express their creativity and show their emotions
-craft activities to develop their fine motor skill and explore textures and shapes
-movement and dance with music to help them keep their muscles strong and build strength
-looking at books to improve language and literacy skills
-and many other things to just plain have fun!

Palliative Care Outpatient Clinic in Mumbai, my dream for Dhaka!

Palliative Care Outpatient Clinic in Mumbai, my dream for Dhaka!


February!

Well, it has been 6 weeks but I'm still alive and working hard!  I have been to Mumbai recently for the first international conference of the International Children's Palliative Care Network (ICPCN).  It was excellent!  I met paediatric palliative care providers (doctors and nurses) from all over the world.  It was especially good to meet those who are also working in Asia. Palliative care for children is a very small and under-developed area in most countries in Asia.  Singapore has a well developed system and India's palliative care system is small but growing!  Definitely an inspiration for their neighbours in Bangladesh.

I met dedicated people working, most often alone and without much support (financial or otherwise) in Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, China, and Samoa.

Coming from Bangladesh, Mumbai seemed civilized!  The cars stopped at red lights and the cycle and auto-rickshaws which Dhaka teems with were absent!  There are some pockets of beautiful colonial architecture as well as nice views of the Arabian Sea.

The calm traffic which such a nice break from Dhaka.

Clothes washing area.  Many people in Mumbai send their clothes here to be washed. 

Gateway to India built for the arrival of King George V.

Taj Hotel.