Lunch with Gi and Tha

I went to Gi and Tha’s house for lunch today (Sunday), and had a nice, leisurely meal with the two of them and their 13-year-old son, Abai. I got to meet their puppies, which are half german shepherd, half lab, and 100% cute, as well as chat with them about my time here.

Something that came up in the course of conversation was that Gi and Tha would like to see other people starting up ventures that are comparable to THI. They feel that they have created a replicable model, and that a way to make a difference in many people’s lives would be to have similar projects throughout rural India. We spoke about the reasons that people haven’t started similar initiatives, and about what can be done to encourage others to adopt their successful model. They said that when they were in medical school, their whole group of friends talked about doing the kind of work that they’re doing now, but Gi and Tha are the only ones that made it a reality. I had a few ideas for them, many of which involved helping them get more exposure, so that more people know their story and about THI. They have had some positive press, but in general Gi and Tha are enormously modest, and do not like to attract attention to themselves. The two of them are so modest, in fact, that they blush in unison when I mention this as one of their qualities. Thus, they certainly do not go out and seek media attention, and when they are interviewed, they don’t like to boast about their accomplishments. Along these lines, when I mention how much of an impact they have had in this region, their response is that there is so much more to do.

I also suggested that they try to get more people here during their medical training, so that they can mentor the students and instill in them the importance of coming to work in places like Sittiling. While I have learned a lot here, if I had come in with more clinical knowledge, I could have learned so much more. The sheer variety of services that they offer here provide a wide range of opportunities for students to learn new skills in the outpatient clinic, hospital wards, labor room, operating theatre, and field clinic. Gi and Tha are seasoned and skilled instructors, as they basically run a nursing school in addition to everything else they do.

I’d love to help Gi and Tha with this goal of getting more people to do what they are doing, but I’m not sure how to approach this task. Loyal blog readers, what ideas do you have for helping Gi and Tha inspire others to do as they have done?

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