Overview
Families walk for hours regardless of the weather, then patiently wait hours more to be seen and treated. They come from all directions within a 15-mile radius, sometimes carrying their children, sometimes bicycling, sometimes walking in from the nearest train station, a mile away. These patients are in serious need of immediate care. Generations of malnutrition have taken their toll in all manner of pain in joints and muscles, severe and chronic digestive and bowel disorders, skin and degenerative diseases that are rare to see in our society, including leprosy and polio. The children's needs are the greatest and they benefit the most from treatment. Even after four years of life, some children can't hold up their heads, feed themselves, or yet find the balance to walk.
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School and Free Community Clinic in West Bengal, India
