Let me explain:
Apparently, the High Highness the Maharaja does not pay for health care for his many, many servants. Instead, he asks Veerni to come and provide care for free each month. So, there we are providing care at the servants' quarters (a set of apartments provided for his staff), serving mostly women and children whose fathers work for the Maharaja.
We arrived at about 11 a.m. and set up our two large boxes of medications and some equipment (a scale, a blood pressure monitor, and not much more...) And then, for the next four hours, we treated anyone who came by. The problems ranged from vertigo to a leg that is now incredibly disgusting due to a snake bite that happened six years back (the man has been a gardener for His Highness for forty years--and still works, despite having one good leg). And anemia seems rampant (which I found a tiny bit curious considering that I have not yet had a meal without iron-rich lentils). Each time we diagnosed something, we dug into our boxes and gave the necessary meds (sometimes for 1/2 price, sometimes for free). We treated people who come each month (so we can track one chronic condition) and others who only come by when absolutely necessary.
The most harrowing case was a women who broke her tibia and is now unable to do her job (I believe she works as a chef). Instead, her 14 year old daughter has now been taken out of school to earn a wage and then to care for the family in the evening. Chances are, she won't be going back to school now that she's been pulled out. But one can hope that when her mother's condition improves, she'll be given the opportunity again to complete her education.
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