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Thus was the case when Dr. Leslie Mathew MD MBA FACHE chair of Healthcare Management Majors returned home to India last fall to visit a region of his native land he had only recently explored. I wanted to see what could be done to provide healthcare services to an underdeveloped rural community in Jamtara District Jharkhand State India. The region is about five hours by road from the big city of Kolkata Calcutta of old explained Dr. Mathew. The area in which he would be working had seen little economic growth in recent decades and quality healthcare was hard to find. The region was however home to an excellent English- medium school for grades one through 10. Established 20 years ago the Edwards English School EES has a current enrollment of more than 1300 students and it was here that the majority of Dr. Mathews research and work would take place. Because of a lack of resources and the tribal nature of the area Dr. Mathew found a great deal of resistance to change and so the process of introducing a program of even basic healthcare could take quite a while. When the schools board was approached about implementing healthcare at the school there were concerns because of the risks associated with medical treatment. The school could not accept the responsibility if for example a child had a negative reaction to an immunization. In addition there would be the need to first establish trust with parents prior to any medical screening or lab testing of students. And even if a program of basic healthcare services were to be started there would be no one available locally to sustain and grow the effort after Dr. Mathews departure. What then could be done The consensus was to pursue basic health education. The challenge now lay in simplifying big concepts into understandable practices for school children. For example the young people were taught that the transmission of illness occurred through unsanitary conditions. An easy remedy for this as Dr. Mathew pointed out is the frequent washing of hands. But when students approached me asking What about the soap I realized that soap was something not readily available by the water taps in the school. Something simple that most of us take for granted and that could have a real impact on the existing health situation was a scarce commodity. It took a couple of weeks to get plastic soap dispensers for use by the students. Unfortunately these dispensers were no match for the wear and tear of 2600 hands and they soon had to be replaced. Several more weeks were required to obtain metal dispensers that could withstand the rigors of daily use. This was a significant beginning to training these children in basic hygiene. At the end of four months in addition to having collected data to assist in developing programs to provide healthcare in Jamtara and similar regions Dr. Mathew and those with whom he worked had gotten the ball rolling on something more. Individuals from EES and others in the Jamtara region will be considered to take part in a one-year distance education program that trains people to become community healthcare workers. In addition a 400- page health education curriculum developed by doctors from the Christian Medical College Vellore one of the top medical schools in India and written in Tamil is being translated into English for use by EES faculty. Four teachers at EES also met with Dr. Mathew outside of the teacher training sessions he conducted and are expecting to continue the work of introducing health education materials to the other faculty and students. Reflecting upon his time in Jamtara Dr. Mathew observed that his perception of reality was challenged For most of us the conditions I witnessed and experienced were primitive. There was poverty minimal healthcare shortages of food and basic resources. But there was also a level of contentment a caring community and a sense of happiness that most of us would envy. It makes you stop and think. ALUMNA PROFILE Sabbaticals are highly sought-after opportunities for educators in all fields. They provide a chance to do research gather data or create new work. But in keeping with the service-centered mission of Franklins College of Health Public Administration a sabbatical can also be a time for giving back. MATHEW Dr. Leslie FormostofustheconditionsIwitnessedand experiencedwereprimitive.Therewaspovertyminimal healthcareshortagesoffoodandbasicresources. FACULTY PROFILE 16. Clocktower 2015 alumni.franklin.edu A Litte Soap Goes A Long Way 16. Clocktower 2016 alumni.franklin.edu