Images of Kalinga

A collection of several hundred images, organized into sets, is available for viewing here.

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To those considering volunteering....

Before closing out this blog I’d like to add a few comments for those considering serving with Unite for Sight.

I appreciate UfS requiring volunteers to do a bit of reading about global health issues, about eye care, and about cross-culture encounters.  I found the most useful aspect of the training to be the visit to a local eye hospital.  Not only did I learn about eye health and the operation of an eye clinic, it was a great opportunity to meet local health providers and establish a relationship that may continue beyond my 10-day service at Kalinga Eye Hospital. 

I found the requirement to collect used glasses burdensome. This part of the program is obviously designed for US residents, who have to do little more than place an order for a box of used glasses with an organization such as the Lions or Rotary.  As there are no ongoing collection campaigns in Dubai, finding the required number of glasses here was going to be a huge undertaking.  Fortunately, UfS was flexible and allowed me to raise extra money in lieu.  Be sure to ask if you’re having similar difficulties.

The most problematic aspect of the UfS volunteer experience is the bit where they ask you for money up front in order to participate.  The effect is to establish a relationship of distrust. Perhaps UfS has implemented this policy to protect itself from wasting time on frivolous candidates.  UfS assures potential volunteers that it is easy to raise the minimum fees required for participation, and if this is so, then why not require fees to be raised before committing to the volunteer, rather than requiring a deposit? 

Looking back

Ten days passed very quickly. 

I’m happy with my experience at Kalinga Eye Hopsital and glad I took the challenge.  The staff was welcoming and friendly, the accommodation was adequate, there were few mosquitoes, the food was clean, and I was able to complete my photography project.    

It was helpful to have a fellow volunteer, one who was there when I arrived and so could guide me in getting settled and with whom I could commiserate.  It was also a pleasure to meet such a unassuming, compassionate young man.  Thank you, Connor.  

I arrived at an off-peak time of the year when patient traffic is light.  In a way this was disappointing, not being able to see how the staff operates in full swing. On the other hand, the slow pace meant more chances to chat with staff, more time to work on personal projects, and to be able to feel properly rested. 

I hope my time at the hospital was of some value.  I wrote three grants, edited an annual report, wrote an introduction to another, taught a few English lessons, and shot about 1200 photos.

If you are reading this and considering a stay at Kalinga - do it.  Feel free to contact me here if you would like to discuss something further.  Just add a comment and I'll be notified that one is waiting for posting approval.

A big thank you to all the people who donated money to the cause;  to UfS, particularly Rachel Turkel, who guided me through the application and predeparture process;  to Moorfield Hospital Dubai for letting me hang out with their staff for a couple of days, and to all the lovely staff at Kalinga.  May your work continue to grace the people of Odisha.

Jeff

Out my back window

The view from the Operating Theatre sterilization room

Saddening today to see the news about Bodhgaya.  What was once a rather quiet corner of the world will now be wrapped in fences, patrolled by security guards, and made to feel less comfortable than before.  All in the name of religion.  Ignorance seems to grow rather than abate.

I finished writing two more grants, a rather formulaic and (by the third one) tedious process.  The applications are for funds to construct classrooms and lavatories at rural schools, as well as staring a micro-finance project among poor rural women.  Worthy aspirations all. I hope my work helps them secure funding.

In between I shot two surgeries and this time I was able to follow the entire process from registration to completion of surgery.  I was also fortunate that the doctor and nurses I shot today were the same I shot on the first day, so it may be possible for my photography assignment to use the best of both.

Today was Sunday, so that means traffic is typically higher at the hospital.  It was in fact the biggest crowd I've seen yet.  Apparently the rainy weather has mostly passed and people are more likely to get out. In the coming weeks, in fact, several camps are being run – just in time for me to miss them.

Perhaps that will be something to look forward to on my next visit.

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The boss returns

Spent the morning with the hospital manager Sunil, who walked me through the clinics and in many cases acted as my director, suggesting several shots I wouldn't have managed without his authority and direction.  Staff quickly complied with his requests to love here or there, or redo certain actions that we could get a better or different capture.  It was great to have him with me!

The big boss rolled into town last night.  Sarang is the guy who founded the local NGO that made the Kalinga Eye Hospital happen.  His story is inspiring and you can learn a little bit more about him here and here.  In person he’s somewhat charismatic, as a good leader needs to be.  You feel like you've known him even though you've just met him.  He’s good at praising others he’s just met, building them up so that they feel good about helping him.  We had a short chat outside the hospital - we caught him as he arrived – and then he sat me down in his office for something more serious.  He wanted my advice, as someone a bit more mature than the average college-age volunteer, about how to improve Kalinga.  Quite a tall order.

Unfortunately, I don’t have experience running a medical institution, nor any institution outside a classroom of 20-30 students.  I said I’d have to consider it and respond at a later date.  In the meantime, work was waiting, a couple of urgent grant applications.  I got one finished before turning in for the night.  One more to do this morning before one more day of shooting surgery.  Tomorrow morning I leave for a two-day tour of the area’s Buddhist archaeological sites.

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Dhenkanal fauna

Pasture fields surrounding the hospital

The Annual Report

Grinding a lens

I spent three hours this morning editing a 3000-word annual report of an NGO affiliated with the hospital.  The writing was 95% comprehensible but needed a good deal of polishing.  Following lunch and a nap the director and I walked through the hospital so that he could show me what additional photos he requires, specifically directing me on several occasions to shoot from this angle or that, and directing patients and staff where to stand, and how to move or pose.  There’s a room with several spiffy instruments that I haven’t seen used since I arrived.  The director says he’ll be downstairs with the patients tomorrow to insure the instruments are used and we get adequate photos.

I have also been asked to review the hospital’s website and make suggestions.  This was mentioned to me when I arrived but there was little we could do with the loss of internet service for about a week.  If anyone reading this has any suggestions, have a look here and send me an email or add a comment to this post.  Sunil will be most happy to have your feedback.

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Police me

Vision test

I saw the superintendent of police yesterday for what was little more than a meeting conducted out of formality.  I sat in front of his desk and he asked me what state I was from.  Florida, I said. It’s a hot place, much like here.  Is that near Canada, he asked.  No, Canada is in the north, Florida is far south.  Oh, so not near Canada, he said, and switched gears, asking me about my work.  I’m an English teacher at a women’s college in Dubai.  It’s a government school.  All my students are Emirati, I explained.  Those women are all illiterate and their husbands prevent them from getting educated, he observed.  Well, they’re in college, so they completed primary and secondary school to get there, so they’re not really illiterate.  And in fact in the Emirates today females are now better educated than males.  He asked what I was doing at the hospital, and concluded by indicating the meeting was over and I could go.

There has been no demand for English lessons since we completed our second lesson two days ago.  My feeling is the girls don’t really care and were being polite, or were simply curious about me.  Or perhaps my lessons simply aren’t interesting. No one has since approached me to ask if we are having class in the evening.

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I don't much like winter either

Shoe shop, Dhenkanal

Back-posting

Since internet service was not available when I arrived, I was unable to post here for many days.  I'm making that up by back posting entries I saved to my local hard drive.

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Trauma and Conjunctivitis

I've produced two more one sheets on trauma and conjunctivitis.  For the first time in my life –outside of course work – I am photographing on assignment.  I feel empowered by the task and the responsibility and want to do a good job.  The one sheets may not be used by the hospital and were done simply to show how my photos could be used to demonstrate the patient flow for a few example cases.  I will hand over the photos and layouts to the hospital and it will be up to them to decide how to use them.

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Sunset from the roof of Kalinga

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Proceed carefully

The offending image

Followed patients as they registered this morning and captured perhaps a good series of a young man presenting with conjunctivitis.  Haven’t yet reviewed the images so not yet sure.  I was following another couple when Sunil interrupted and said we had to visit the police station to register my presence in the district.  The police superintendent wasn't at home when we called, so we’ll have to visit again tomorrow.  While waiting for Sunil to carry out some other business, I walked around the nearby tank.  The driver told me “no” when I made to move toward the local temple, and when I tried photographing an area of the tank where three old women were bathing (clothed) I was again told “no.”

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A plan emerges

I met with Sunil yesterday.  We went over some of the registration procedures, filled out forms, and later my bill for room & board was presented.  We also had a chance to discuss my work at the hospital.  He wishes to prepare documents outlining the hospital’s community outreach program.  I've already prepared a one page summary and now he wants something more detailed as follow-up. 

He asked again what I hoped to do here.  This is frustrating as I have communicated on more than one occasion, directly and through Unite for Sight, my desire to do photographic work.  I showed him the three page layout I did of surgery a couple of days ago and he told me he wants a set of photographs that can be compiled in a book to demonstrate the hospital’s workflow, including photos of all types of tests and surgeries here at Kalinga. 

Surgery at Kalinga

No direction has yet been offered, so after breakfast I took my camera down to the lobby with the intention of shooting whatever presented itself.  Partly the exercise was to have others get used to me carrying a camera.  It turned out to be a good a day to make my move.  Sunday is the busiest day at the hospital and while there weren't throngs, there was a steady stream of patients.

Sleep and food

What you can see in front of the hospital if you get out early 

The internet has been out since I arrived.  Dhen mentioned they had hoped to have me review the hospital’s website, but that is now not possible.  He said yesterday that it will be tomorrow earliest before the problem may be fixed.  It’s nice not to have it.  There is more time for reading, meditating, and reflection.  And now I find myself perhaps with time to write, something I haven’t done much since Kathmandu.

I have slept quite a lot in the last two days.  10 hours last night, 12 the night before.  Typically I sleep only 7 or 8. Part of this is catching up with lost sleep during a night of travel, but perhaps it is also catching up with sleep over a very long semester.

The food here has been rather basic – rice, potatoes and lentils, with a smattering of okra and some kind of gourd.  But mostly potatoes.  Not a bite of fruit since I arrived, nor any tea or coffee. 

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Lurking

The Mahindra

Day 2 at Kalinga and I just finished an English lesson with 20 of the paramedics.  These women function somewhere between a nurse’s aid and a nurse.  They are all female, largely single and below 30 years of age, and have been with the hospital for a few months to a couple of years.  Their training seems to have been conducted through the hospital, and not an external institute.  I was told before I arrived that I might be doing English lessons.  I wasn’t terribly excited with the idea of doing what I always do, but when I was asked for lessons so earnestly by one of the paramedics, I could hardly refuse.  Especially since there’s nothing else on my to-do list.

I arrived in Bhubaneswar yesterday morning after a grueling night of travel and only a couple hours of fitful airplane sleep.  The 4WD Mahindra with no aircon and only the slightest suspension made for an exhausting hot, windy, noisy, bumpy ride to the hospital.   Fortunately after I was shown my room I was left alone until lunch.  I don’t remember the last time it felt so good just to lie down.  Sleep was pretty good, too. 

Since then I’ve been waiting to meet with the director to find out what he might have in mind for me.  He asked me to help composing with a couple of promotional letters, but so far that’s been the entire extent of my involvement with the hospital.  There is another volunteer, an American college student, who has been here 10 days already and seems equally bereft of direction.  He jokes that what he does most is lurk about the hospital.  This seems like an awfully poor use of labor on the part of hospital management.  They know when people are arriving and what their skills are.  They should have a plan that can be set in motion as soon as the volunteer arrives, but it seems they may be having difficulty conceptualizing how best to use this resource.

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Training Day 2: Surgery

My second day at Moorfields began with a walk through the surgery wing with the theatre manager, who explained how the layout of the facility is designed to create a circle that reduces opportunities for contamination.  All surgical tools and materials are labeled and inventoried so that should there be an episode of contamination, it is then possible to go back and trace all potentially contaminated items. 

I've had my share of being left in hospital or doctor waiting rooms, but until this week only as a patient.  A surgery was scheduled for first thing in the morning of my visit, but was delayed because one of the doctors was involved in a minor car accident and had to sort things out with the police before he could get work.  And so we had to wait, and as a result all the surgeries for that day got pushed back.  

I observed three surgeries and was most impressed by how busy the staff were.  There was no down time, no time to have a coffee and discuss a case.  As soon as one procedure was complete, the doctors and nurses washed up and went on to the next.  I didn't stay the whole day, but I imagine many of the staff on many days eat on the run, if they eat at all.  To be able to keep up such a pace requires great confidence in one's knowledge and abilities.  I was suitably impressed.  

And I image I may be even more so once I arrive in India.  But perhaps in a different way.  The Moorfields theatre manager was telling me about some of his procurement issues and how he is often able to leverage the hospital's name and reputation with suppliers.  Part of that reputation comes from the use of leading procedures and technology, a condition that will be quite different in rural India.  

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First day training at Moorfields

I was surprised how easy it was to gain access to a hospital.  I emailed, followed up with a phone call and was then penciled in for a couple of days.  I showed up, was introduced around and spent the day sitting in with doctors as they consulted with patients.

It was an amazing day.

All the things I had been studying came to life:  seeing patients being given eye exams, hearing people use words that I had only read, meeting patients with conditions I had only imagined.  It all seemed very vital and alive, quite unlike the rather lifeless medical texts.

The first ophthalmologist I was assigned kindly provided a private anatomy and pathology lesson.  As patients came in for consultation, he showed me how his instruments were used and even let me have a look at a patient's eyes.  Mid morning I switched to a second ophthalmologist until a VIP patient necessitated my departure, after which I visited with the optometrist.  Following lunch I was supposed to sit in with a retinal specialist, but he had a couple of emergency surgeries, was running far behind in his consultations, and obviously didn't have time for me. A male nurse kindly walked me through the visual acuity test and his routine for gathering basic data before patients meet with doctors. And I finished out the day with one of the ophthalmologists and about a half dozen of his patients.

I'm scheduled to observe some surgeries this coming week and look forward to learning a whole lot more.

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Online Eye Health Course completed

Well, at least I've been through all the material and just finished the 30-item multiple choice test.  When I submitted my test, I received the following notice:

Your Online Course results have been sent to Unite For Sight. You will be contacted regarding the results.

So, let's see what happens.  I'm allowed to take the test up to five times, but I don't think that will be necessary.

I was happy to see the test writers had a little fun in their work.  One of the questions read as follows:

Aqueous Humor is produced by the _____.

1. Ciliary muscles
2. Ciliary body
3. Tear ducts
4. Aqueous Comedians

I just looked at my email and find I have been notified that I have passed the exam.  Now I'm qualified to be confused.  ;-)

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India Visa Round 4

I got a call yesterday that my passport was ready for delivery.  This afternoon the courier arrived, I presented my receipt, signed for delivery, and am now in possession of a 6-month Indian Employment Visa.

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India to Japan booked

It's going to be a long day of travel to Japan.

Bhubaneswar to Kolkata

Flight 1              Thu, 11 Jul 2013  IndiGo

                         19:25 — 20:20 

                         Bhubaneswar → Kolkata

                         55m, 0 stop

Kolkata to Bangkok

Flight 2             Friday, July 12, 2013

                        02:00 — 06:10

                        Kolkata → Bangkok

Change of plane required. Time between flights : 4:50.

Bangkok to Osaka

Flight 3            Friday, July 12, 2013

                       11:00 — 18:30

                       Bangkok → Osaka

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Vaccinated

Today concluded my three week course of vaccines.  I don't have the receipts in front of me, but the course ran about 1200AED for Hep A & B.  Typhoid vaccine is still scare in the UAE (and not available at City Hospital).  Also picked up a 22 day course of malaria prophylactic (a Malarone generic from Mylan) for 800AED.  Malaria seems to be quite prevalent.  This report from 2011 has the state of Orissa reporting 23% of all India's malaria cases and 20% of its deaths from malaria.

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India Visa Round 3

I took a day off from visa fetching to rest and take some exercise at the gym.  This morning I was back at it with a visit to BLS, the India visa service.  Everything appeared to be in perfect order.  All the papers were there, with the vice consul's signature and instructions approving a 6-month work visa.  The clerk found, however, that the computer was set up to process only 1-year work visas.  Please wait.  We have to get the 6-month form from the embassy.  I left them with the papers and the money and a couple hours later I got an SMS that the application and payment had been accepted.  Now I have to make another trip to the office to pick up the receipt, which I will need to claim the passport when it is delivered next week.  

Almost there.

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Goal reached!

Many thanks to all my friends, colleagues, and acquaintances for helping me meet my fundraising goal.  This is equal to 40 sight-restoring cataract surgeries.  What you have contributed is an amazing gift, the ability to see again, to regain independence, to once more be a productive member of the family and community.  Thank you.

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India Visa Round 2

I went to the consulate this morning fully expecting to stand in line with a room-full of Indians.  To my surprise, there was no line outside the building when I arrived shortly before 9:00.  Security had my name on a list.  I went through the metal detector and upstairs to another security guard who had a copy of the same list.  He put a number 1 next to my name, indicating I was first to arrive, and shown to a sofa, where I watched a beautiful video on the Golden Temple for about 30 minutes before being called into the office of the vice-consul.  He offered me tea and we had a nice chat about my interests in India, photography, volunteer work, and religion (he had noted "Buddhist" on my application).  40 minutes later he signed my papers, wished me luck, and I was off.  No lines, no hassle.  Tomorrow I go back to the visa agent with signed papers and make formal application.

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India Visa Round 1

Guaranteed there is a paper or process that has not been foreseen, that has not been mentioned in the instructions.  Nothing is as easy as it seems.  Especially if it seems easy.  

The Indian embassy outsources its visa services to a private firm that didn't mention in their instructions that for employment visas preapproval from the consulate is required.  That means a visit to the consular offices.  But before you go, an appointment is required.  Call this number.

Repeated calls for over two hours resulted in no answer.  The phone just rang and rang.  A call to the receptionist was not helpful.  To my surprise, an email was.  A reply came within an hour asking me to come in tomorrow morning.  

I'm terribly afraid some essential paper will be missing from the small sheaf already in my visa folder.  

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A view of Kalinga Eye Hospital

Born from the son witnessing the suffering of the father.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZOYGZjPAnM

Flight booked

Dubai → Bhubaneswar Thu, 27 Jun 2013

• IndiGo6E 22
• DXB 22:20Thu, 27 Jun, 2013Dubai - Dubai (DXB)
• 3h 25m
• 03:15 DELFri, 28 Jun, 2013New Delhi - Indira Gandhi Airport (DEL), Terminal Terminal 3

Transit time: 3h 45mChange Planes

• IndiGo6E 257
• DEL 07:00Fri, 28 Jun, 2013New Delhi - Indira Gandhi Airport (DEL), Terminal Terminal 3
• 2h 5m
• 09:05 BBIFri, 28 Jun, 2013Bhubaneswar - Biju Patnaik (BBI)

Training at Moorfields

I confirmed today that I will be doing eye health training late May at Moorfields Hospital.  I'm surprised that I could call and ask to shadow their staff for a couple of days and be so graciously accommodated.  In the meantime, I've got a bit of studying to get ready.   My curriculum is outlined below.

Imagine living on $0.48 a day

This is the official poverty rate in rural India.

What would your life be like?

Two young men wanted to understand, and so they did a little experiment.  They went to live in an Indian village.

They ate parboiled rice, a tuber and banana and drank black tea: a balanced diet was impossible on the Rs. 18 a day which their briefly adopted ‘poverty' permitted. They found themselves thinking of food the whole day. They walked long distances, and saved money even on soap to wash their clothes. They could not afford communication, by mobile and internet. It would have been a disaster if they fell ill. For the two 26-year-olds, the experience of ‘official poverty' was harrowing.

As one commenter observes, these young men didn't have to work for their money, so their particular experience was much less harrowing than it is for those who live this every day and for whom there is no escape.  

Read more here.  

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One week on and half way there

More than half, in fact.  We're now at 1116.  Might it be possible to reach 2000 by the end of this week?  I've had a few promises, and there are several people I haven't yet contacted.  The chances may be good.

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Catching up and firing up

Fundraising has resulted in reigniting old friendships.  I've been in touch with people I haven't heard from in years and feel touched by their generosity, especially after all this time.  

It seems my example may have also stirred passions and interests.  No results to point to yet, but perhaps a couple have been inspired to offer their own service.  

Another $200 in my second day.  Rolling, rolling, rolling ...

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A quarter of the goal in one day!

Yesterday I began sending out personal requests.  I got one donation before turning off the computer for the day and was surprised this morning to log-in and find I've already raised 25% of my goal.  If this kind of giving continues I might be Unite for Sight's top fundraiser this year.  Let's see what happens.  

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Let the fundraising begin

As part of my work with the Kalinga Eye Hospital, I am required to raise money for surgeries.  These are simple surgeries, such as for cataract, that cost little, but are unaffordable for the rural poor.

On the one hand I feel uncomfortable asking friends for money.   Within my cultural background, it's not something done except in extreme emergencies.

On the other hand, there are good reasons - in this context - for doing so.  It provides an opportunity for volunteers to spread the word and educate their network of friends and family about not only the work of the NGO, but the very real pressing conditions of life for so very many people in the world.

It also provides an opportunity for donors to practice giving.  In my experience with other fundraising efforts, many people are eager to help.  They just haven't found a way.  Sometimes simply asking results in a wave of generosity that could not be foreseen.

I have some friends and family I simply can't ask because their situation is somewhat financially tenuous.  On the other hand, most of my friends are comparatively well-off, with insurance plans that cover medical expenses.  I had hernia surgery here last year and it cost me $12.  That was my copay for visiting the doctor.  The insurance took care of everything else.  I consider myself extremely fortunate in this respect.  Imagine not being able to afford even a $50 surgery for something as important as being able to see.

If I come knocking, I hope you will be able to help.  If you cannot, don't worry.  More opportunities to help will present themselves.

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Getting to Bhubaneswar

There are no direct flights from Dubai to the capital of Odisha, so I'll have to start searching for a flight to a major city with connecting flights.

Searching [flight to Bhubaneswar] , Google offers the following:

Flights to Bhubaneshwar, India (BBI)

No non-stop flights from Dubai From Duration Airlines Bangalore, India 2h 0m Jet Airways Hyderabad, India 1h 30m IndiGo Kolkata, India 1h 15m Jet Airways, IndiGo, Air India Mumbai, India 2h 15m Air India, Jet Airways, IndiGo New Delhi, India 2h 2m Air India, IndiGo Port Blair, India 2h 0m Air India Vishakhapatnam, India 1h 10m IndiGo

To Kolkata
Emirates:   DXB  2:05 AM  =>  CCU  8:15 AM  Nonstop  4h 40m
Jet Konnect:  CCU 10:00 → BBI 11:25 Nonstop 1h 25m
IndiGo:  CCU 12:15  → BBI 13:15  Nonstop  1h 00m

To Mumbai

Air India:  DXB 6:20p → BOM 10:45p Nonstop 2h 55m

Air India:  DXB 11:40p → BOM 04:05p Nonstop 2h 55m

Jet Airways:  Dubai (DXB) 03:20pm  →Mumbai (BOM) 07:55pm Nonstop 3h 05m

Jet Airways:  Dubai (DXB) 06:45pm  →Mumbai (BOM) 11:20pm Nonstop 3h 05m

Jet Airways:  Dubai (DXB) 09:40pm  →Mumbai (BOM) 02:15pm Nonstop 3h 05m

Emirates:  Dubai (DXB) 04:10pm  →Mumbai (BOM) 08:35pm Nonstop 2h 55m

Emirates:  Dubai (DXB) 06:45pm  →Mumbai (BOM) 11:20pm Nonstop 3h 05m

Emirates:  Dubai (DXB) 10:30pm  →Mumbai (BOM) 02:55pm Nonstop 2h 55m

Looks like Mumbai is the way to go!

Visa, please

The Indian government outsources visa applications to a company that has set up an online form creation process.  It works, but only after several attempts.  The form will kick you out after a certain period of time (which saves some of the work, but not all), and if you don't upload a photo you can't save the text data on that particular page.  Unite sent me a sheaf of documents via PDF that will have to be attached to my application, which I will have to now take to an office in Bur Dubai. Hopefully, I won't have to make more than one trip, but I'm prepared to  make more.  That's just the way things happen here.

Yeah, but REALLY, what are you going to do there?

Looks like they do great work. Are you only doing photography?

I guess I'll find out when I get there.  I could end up writing grants, editing English documents, or even teaching English.   

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Yeah, but what are you going to do there?

You are going to take photos. Is that it? It didn't seem clear about what happens to the photos afterward. Also, you implied that you need to pay them to volunteer there---- I didn't understand that either.

I'm not entirely sure yet what my photo project will entail.  It may be the hospital is running a project that requires photography - cases studies, surgical procedures, new website photos.  If they have nothing particular in mind, then I will need to develop something of my own.  I'm thinking of ideas now so that I have a few options when I arrive, but I'll have to be flexible and see what kind of opportunities present. 

I do have to raise money as part of this project, but every last cent goes to funding surgeries.  Part of my job there will be observing and certifying operations.

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Kalinga Eye Hospital

More photos here.

About Odisha

Odisha, formerly known as Orissa, is a state on India’s south-east coast, by the Bay of Bengal.  It is the modern name of the ancient kingdom of Kalinga, invaded by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka in 261 BCE. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April 1936, as a province in British India and consists predominantly of Oriya speakers.  The capital is Bhubaneswar.

Odisha is the 9th largest state by area in India, and the 11th largest by population. Odisha has a relatively long, unindented coastline (approximately 480km), but until recently lacked adequate ports.  The narrow, level coastal strip, including the Mahanadi river delta, supports the bulk of the population, which still relies on agriculture as its primary means of livelihood. 

According to the 2011 census of India, the total population of Odisha is 41 million, 90% of whom are practicing Hindus. The literacy rate is 73% (82% of males and 64% of females) and the proportion of people living below the poverty line in 1999–2000 was 47.15%, nearly double the all-India average of 26.10%.

Adapted from Wikipedia

Serving Odisha

This summer I will be serving as a volunteer photographer documenting the work at the Kalinga Eye Hospital in Odisha, India.

Why photography?  
Since last spring I have been studying photography through the Open College of the Arts.  I am nearly finished with my first course, feeling a bit more confident about my skills, and was looking for some opportunity this summer to further my practice.  Through previous internet searches I was aware of volunteer opportunities for photographers and so started casting about for something that might fit my needs, my schedule, and my interests.

Why Unite for Sight?

I found several interesting journalism opportunities in places such as Sri Lanka and Mongolia, but they required serious fees of several thousands of dollars, much of which seemed to be going to the referral agent.    While Unite for Sight also requires a substantial investment, all funds go directly to hospitals to support eye surgery.  This seems like a much better investment of financial resources.  In addition, Unite for Sight seems to have a rigorous system in place for screening and training volunteers. It's not just a matter of having money and time, but having skills, being committed, and being willing to undergo training (about which I'll write more later).

Why Odisha?  
Unite for Sight supports hospitals in Honduras, Ghana, and India.  As you probably know, I have a special interest in India and have traveled there often in recent years. It's a huge country and there are many parts I haven't yet visited, including Odisha.  The area also has a small number of Buddhist archaeological sites that I would like to explore after finishing my work with the hospital.

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