[Brad] Week 3

This week, I had the chance to accompany Hope's Mobile Medical Unit, a "clinic-on-wheels" that serves Delhi's poor.  The van is tiny by American standards and jammed full of medicine and supplies.  The MMU is staffed by a driver who also dispenses medicine, a doctor, and the MMU coordinator who helps assist with patients and logistics.  I was allowed to squeeze in and document the experience, and was amazed at what I saw.

The doctor sees and diagnoses patients from the passenger seat of the van, and if medicine is required, it is dispensed from the side at a nominal cost (~15 rupees per day, ~55 rupees/US dollar).  In the two hours the van stopped, 20 patients were treated.  This was a smaller turnout than was expected, but the coordinator informed me that the day's rain limited the amount of patients who could come out.

As you can imagine, the MMU is a wonderful service that helps many people throughout Delhi, but perhaps most interesting to me was thinking about the excellent example of India's diversity found right inside the car (not even mentioning the diversity of the communities served!).  The driver is a Catholic, the doctor a Muslim, and the coordinator a Christian.  In fact, at one point I was confused to not see the doctor in the car and was informed that it was time for him to take part in one of the day's prayers.  I am simply amazed that so many faiths and backgrounds can coexist so well in the country, especially remembering that as many as 1600 languages are spoken here everyday.  Considering this, it's amazing to think that a Catholic, Christian, and Muslim were able to treat a Hindu temple caretaker.  Only in India, I suppose.

Namaste!