Blue nightingales reach out to A’pura’s marginalised

Imagine being ill, and unable to afford the services offered by a hospital. Added to this, what if age or the illness itself, did not permit you to leave your house? How helpless would you feel? No one deserves to be in such a position.

Unfortunately, many people are. But help is at hand. Help comes in the form of seven blue-clad figures, walking the streets of Kotahena and Payagala, giving the destitute the treatment they so desperately need. And it’s not just treatment and care for the patients. For these nurses, treatment is all about reaching out on a personal level, not just to the patient, but to the patient’s family as well.

People who have benefited from this service are happy and comforted in the knowledge that when illness becomes too difficult to cope with, there is someone out there who will give them the help they need. Happier still would be the people of Anuradhapura, knowing that the same relief has now reached them.

The third in a series of projects undertaken by SHARE- Samarasinhe Healthcare Assistance and Rehabilitation for the Elderly, the new healthcare service established in Anuradhapura on January 31 offers much the same services as its two counterparts-free healthcare, nursing and overall support to the marginalized.

Founded in November 1999 by Celine Samarasinhe, SHARE is a UK and Sri Lankan registered charity with 19 employees. It offers a community nursing service to those who cannot afford the nursing care they need. These services include free doctor’s visits, medication, weekly physiotherapy for the disabled and stroke patients, help with personal hygiene, free meal packets, providing dry rations to members of the family, weekly health talks to members of the community to bring about awareness and prevention of diseases and providing walkers, wheelchairs etc when the need arises.

Focusing on a holistic approach, the nurses see to the needs of the family members as well. The centre in Payagala established after the tsunami, apart from nursing the injured, helped 240 families traumatized by the waves to get their lives back on track by way of a rehabilitation programme. Mrs. Samarasinghe spends most of her time in England, but makes regular visits to Sri Lanka to train staff, update their practical and clinical knowledge and monitor their activities.

“My training as a nurse took place in England,” she says, “But I wanted to give something back to the country I grew up in.” And she has fulfilled her goal. Helping around 400-420 people a month in her charitable work, Mrs. Samarasinghe is eager to accomplish more through her new project in Anuradhapura.

“My work has been extremely rewarding, and I find that the act of sharing is the best experience one could have in this kind of work. Even the nurses have found this to be true,” she says. “In addition to the valuable service provided to the community, SHARE has also promoted more respect for the nursing profession. Community nursing is something that requires many skills, and brings with it many challenges. The nurses have faced up to these challenges very well.”

In its ninth year, SHARE continues its mission to the community. This is not easy, considering that each centre requires a sum of Rs. 1 mn. per year. Much of the funding is done in England but firms like HNB and A. Baur and Company have also stepped forward as donors.