Kawal visit and a Medical Camp

Thats what our first project for conservation at Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary was. As the project leader it doubled the pressure to complete work at a most critical time and also balance trying to plan out this project which is something I am seriously passionate about. It was a task to get together the right group of people and plan out a whole bunch of things to prepare for it. Over all this was the funds which I had to submit a proposal for. It was approved by the company and we went around buying the medical supplies, contacting doctors, and buying a bunch of freebees that we would give the villagers. Saving the environment is directly related to developing people and bringing them out of their primitive ways of living. If only the government took this seriously, Kawal would have been a beautiful haven for animals and for the people. Today it is nothing but a disturbed habitat running into thousands of kilometers of beautiful forests that few rare species of animals occupy. But as you walk through the forests, they are largely barren. if you're lucky you might spot a bear or a nilgai or some deer and langur species in the jungle. But it is a really huge piece of land that houses proportionally less animals. Tribals live right in the core of the forest area and make their living farming and earning a maximum of Rs. 10000 per month. With no medical facilities in the vicinity, and being disconnected from the rest of the world, these villagers lead a life that is constantly taken advantage off by politicians and the like. Relocation programs have been planned and never executed for obvious political gains. Not that relocation are greatly successful owing to the level of corruption that creeps in with such projects. People are often rudely thrown out and not given even the basic facilities that are actually 'free' from the government. Mostly people in such remote locations don't even know whats available to them.

The medical camp is a way to win their confidence as they mostly don't trust anyone. We worked with an NGO working for tiger conservation to access them. The medical camp went well after frantic running around for a doctor who would agree to help us without any fees. We got three young doctors who were most welcome to a young group like ours. They most willingly joined in and wrapped up the camp without any fuss and questioning. We actually had 75 tribals visit in a population that is less than a 100. It was mostly evident that most of them had come to get our freebees and made a silly excuse of an ailment to the doctor. The women were thrilled by the free earrings and went back to bring more women and daughters to get some more. Most others, though had genuine problems could not clearly describe what their problem actually was. We documented each persons details. A huge responsibility was lifted off suddenly when the camp was completed. The doctors now got curious to know more about what we were trying to do. We had a good discussion over a really good lunch at a dhaba. The doctors wanted to be in touch and even visit the forests with us. It would not be possible this time, but we had made friends with three really cool young doctors. We could do with the contacts for the next projects.

The exceptional team work and hard work demonstrated by each member spoke loudly of how passionate they were of this project. I hope the enthusiasm continues.

Some pictures I took after sunrise.