THE VOLUNTARY HEALTH, EDUCATION AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT SOCIETY
(Regd.) New No.41 (Old No.19),
Circular Road,
United India Colony,
Kodambakkam,
Chennai-600 024

Ph: 2480 3291; 2481 2774; 2481 8877; Fax: 2472 4427

May 5, 2003.

Dear Arvind,

I give below a brief report on the Adhoi hospital project being funded by VIDE:

Adhoi village in Bhuj district in Gujarat state was devastated with the massive earthquake. Its population, which was 15,000, got reduced to 9,000 after the earthquake due to destruction and migration.

Representatives of VHERDS, a registered welfare organization, visited that area and chose this village as deserving immediate help and assistance since all the buildings in the village, including schools and hospitals had vanished.

Shri Mukundanand Bapuji, a local religious leader, who was already involved in various charitable activities in the area, motivated us to help him in rehabilitating the handloom weavers and in the construction of a model school for orphaned children. With help from NRI friends and organizations like Lions, Rotaries etc., we helped their Trust in rehabilitating 140 handloom weavers whose looms had all been destroyed and also in constructing a boarding school for 400 children at a total cost of about Rs. one crore.

Subsequently, since the Government of Maharashtra had come forward to rebuild the destroyed Government hospital in Adhoi village, Bapuji undertook to provide land near the School itself for construction of the hospital, which will cater to not only the students, teachers and staff of the boarding school, but also to about 11 nearby villages, including Adhoi.

After elaborate discussions, VIDE entered into an MOU with VHERDS and came forward to fund Rs.22.5 lakhs to this hospital project. The total cost of the hospital project is agreed to be as follows: Construction of hospital building as per plan: Rs. 10 lakhs; Furniture and beds: Rs. 2 lakhs; Ambulance-cum-mobile van with accessories: Rs. 5 lakhs; X-ray machine: Rs. 1.5 lakhs and medical equipment and accessories: Rs. 4 lakhs.

The funds were to be released in 3 installments. The first and second instalments of Rs. 7.5 lakhs each, thus a total of Rs.15 lakhs, have since been received. The Bhoomi Pooja for the hospital was performed at the site in Adhoi in the presence of Bapuji, our representatives and other officials on April 18, 2002. We have sent remittances of Rs. 10 lakhs so far to Bapuji's Trust, viz., Health Aid Trust and the construction of the hospital is now complete.

Since medical equipments, accessories were found to be of good quality and the prices were reasonable in Chennai, we have already purchased medical equipments, accessories etc., for about Rs. 4 lakhs and stored in our office in Chennai. We have already arranged to purchase an ambulance van in Chennai. All the equipments etc., will be transported in the Van to Adhoi village with two of our representatives, who will install the equipments in the hospital in person.

We hope to complete the project and inaugurate the same by the end of June or before July 10, 2003. We specially request VIDE and SEEDS to arrange to send their representative for the inauguration of the hospital at Adhoi. We will inform the date soon.

In the meanwhile, we request VIDE to send the last installment of Rs. 7.5 lakhs at the earliest.

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely,

T.P. Radhakrishnan,

General Secretary.