The Clinic entrance

Below is a summary of useful and important information you should know about volunteering. More details about the Clinic and the city are available in the Sambhavna Volunteer Handbook. All volunteers are required to read the entire Handbook upon arrival at the clinic.

VOLUNTEERS ARE VALUABLE TO SAMBHAVNA

Volunteers contribute significantly to the work of Sambhavna. We encourage individuals to think of projects that would be meaningful and enjoyable for them as well as helpful for Sambhavna and the people who come for care. In the past volunteers have carried out medical research, produced materials for health education, interviewed doctors in the city, watched and made paintings of birds visiting the herbal garden, hauled manure, produced reports on various subjects, and completed many other helpful projects.

APPLYING TO VOLUNTEER

If you are interested in coming to Sambhavna (or would like a group of your students to visit), please contact Sathyu Sarangi, the Managing Trustee, by email with your CV or resume. If you already have a project in mind to work on or have certain talents that you think may benefit the clinic, please let him know.

LENGTH OF YOUR STAY

Volunteers need to stay at Sambhavna for a minimum of two weeks in order to do something worthwhile. It can easily take up to three days for a volunteer to orient him or herself to the local situation as well as make sense of the work going on at the clinic and communities. We accept volunteers who wish to stay for long periods of time, such as six months to a year.

STARTING WORK

Once you have arrived at Sambhavna and are ready to start working, we strongly recommend you spend the first day just getting to know the clinic and its work by meeting the people who work here. If you do not speak or understand Hindi, you can get most information from staff members that speak English. Some of the staff members may be too busy with their work and you may have to wait a few days to meet everyone. Make sure you have met all the staff members you will be working with or need help from. Please remember you will not have anyone supervising your work or providing guidance unless you ask for this help. If you are having trouble with your project, please seek assistance.

A SAMPLING OF PAST PROJECTS

Nisha, Bhopal
Health survey of 50 infants (under 5 years) in one community

Sanjay Kumar, Bhopal
Interpreter from Hindi to English and vice-versa for several visitors

Jonny Nash, UK
Interviewed with "doctors" not qualified to practice medicine

Maya Shaw, USA
Evaluated the BMHT health care system

Nirali Bora
Made a Health Education booklet for women

Nicolas Cadot, France
Worked on the compost pits

Aude and Jean Baptiste
Gardening and related activites

The Clinic from the garden

The clinic uses solar panels to produce electricity

DOCUMENTATION & PRESENTATIONS

All volunteers are expected to document their work. The length of your stay will determine how much documentation is done. We ask volunteers to write-up a final paper of observations and/or explanation of your work here.

WEEKLY VOLUNTEER MEETINGS

There is a volunteer meeting every Tuesday at 6 pm. These gatherings are to introduce any new volunteers, review any rules that may be unclear, discuss any dormitory conflicts, and talk about what each person is working on and how it is going. Rachna or a volunteer chosen by everyone will facilitate the meeting. Items to be discussed can be raised by any volunteer. You can announce the topic you wish to discuss at the beginning of the meeting or beforehand if you deem it important to do so. Notes from previous meetings are located in the Volunteer Notebook in the Volunteer Room.

LIBRARY AND DOCUMENTATION UNIT

The Library and Documentation Unit holds the world's largest collection of archives on the disaster. There are thousands of newspaper articles which go back to December 3rd, 1984. There are many medical studies and references which cannot be found elsewhere. If you would like to use data and information from studies located in the Library for articles, please make sure you ask permission first.

The Documentation Centre

The Library

SUGGESTED LIBRARY READING LIST

We suggest that before coming to Bhopal you learn a bit about the disaster and its aftermath. Below are some suggested resources which you will find in the Sambhavna library. For sources online you can refer to www.bhopal.net, www.bard.edu/bhopal, and www.studentsforbhopal.org.

- The Bhopal Reader, Ed. Bridget Hanna, Ward Morehouse, Sathyu Sarangi (www.cipa-apex.org)

- Clouds of Injustice: The Bhopal Disaster Twenty Years On, Amnesty International (www.amnesty.org)

- Sambhavna’s Report: The Bhopal Disaster 1984 - ?

- Bhopal: The Inside Story, by T.R. Chouhan (www.cipa-apex.org)

- Five Past Midnight in Bhopal, by Dominique Lapierre and Javier Moro

If you are interested in obtaining any films on Bhopal, you may email the Bhopal Memory Project or Ryan Bodanyi

THE VOLUNTEER ROOM

The Volunteer Room is a place for you to work as well as socialize. During clinic hours (8:00 am to 2:30 pm) it is used as a work space. There are desks and electric plugs readily available, and it is one of the best places to pick up the wireless signal. After the clinic has closed the space can continue being used as a work space or as a place to talk, read, and listen to music. Smoking is never allowed during clinic hours, but after hours the tower accessible from the volunteer room may be used for smoking.

ENTRANCE AND EXIT SURVEYS

All volunteers are asked to fill out an entrance survey upon arrival and an exit survey upon departure. These surveys are designed to help you reflect on your experiences and pass on knowledge to new volunteers, as well as to enable Sambhavna to keep complete records of who has volunteered and take in any suggestions for improvement of the volunteer program.

HOW TO GET TO THE CLINIC

Location of the Clinic:
Bhopal is split in half by two lakes: the large Upper Lake and the small Lower Lake. The boundary between the Upper Lake and the Lower Lake is what separates Old Bhopal from New Bhopal. Sambhavna is located in Old Bhopal.

The address is:
Sambhavna Trust Medical Clinic
Bafna Colony
Berasia Road, Bhopal 462 001
Madhya Pradesh, India
Tel : 91-755-2730914 / 2743157
Email : sambavna@sancharnet.in
Website: www.bhopal.org

We are in between two well-known areas of Bhopal - DIG Bungalow and Qazi Camp. Neither of these places are ‘landmarks, but using these key words will help identify the location for most rickshaw and taxi drivers.

Getting to the Clinic:
To get to the clinic, ask a auto rickshaw driver to take you to "Sambhavna Aspitaal" in Bafna Colony. Some rickshaw drivers may know where this is and won’t need directions. For those who do, Bafna Colony is on Berasia Road after Qazi Camp and behind the "People’s Hospital" on the right side of the road. When you first arrive in Bhopal we can arrange to have someone pick you up (we especially encourage this if you are arriving late at night). Please let us know in advance when you will be arriving in Bhopal.

Railroad Station and Rail Information:
For information about booking a train to and from Bhopal you can visit http://www.indianrail.gov.in/

When arriving in Bhopal, be sure to get off at "Bhopal" station. There is a second station called "Hahibganj" which is very far away from the clinic. It is best to exit the station from the Platform #6 side rather than the Platform #1 side because it is closer to the clinic. Auto rickshaw rides should not cost more than 40 Rs.

Note: Both New Delhi and Mumbai have special tourist train booking offices, as do a number of other cities around India (though not Bhopal). Tourists can usually book trains the day of their departure (see the Indian railways website for more details). In Bhopal be sure to book your departure in advance as sometimes trains are sold out.
Rachna or Sathyu can put you in touch with a travel agent in case you need one.

Airport:
The airport is further away, about a twenty-five minute rickshaw ride. If your luggage fits in a rickshaw we recommend you take this instead of a taxi because it is cheaper for you and it is easier for rickshaws to drive on the small roads of Bafna Colony. Flights are available to Bhopal from some major Indian cities.

DORMITORIES

There is one dormitory for men, one for women, and two guest rooms. Each dormitory houses up to six people and the guest rooms can each house two. The dormitories are kept strictly for the separate sexes; volunteers of the opposite sex should not socialize in the other dormitory. Couples who come to Sambhavna to volunteer together may ask to stay in a guest room, but we cannot guarantee availability. After 11 o’clock, dormitories should be quiet if anyone wants to sleep. Each dormitory has a bathroom with both western and Indian style toilets and showers. Guest rooms have western toilets. Each volunteer is given a cabinet which can be locked. More information is listed in the full Handbook.

The dormitories

Modern or Indian: you have a choice

Wash basins

PHONES, INTERNET AND COMPUTERS

Sambhavna does have phone lines, but these are heavily in use during the day by the clinic. In the evening you may receive incoming calls, but we would prefer that you do not do this very often and that you make sure no one from the clinic needs the office or phone line you are using. The number is (91) 755 2730914, or (91) 755 274 3157. We ask you not to make outgoing calls from the clinic phones. If you need to make phone calls there are cheap PCD/ STD/ISD phone booths near the clinic.

Sambhavna has wireless internet. The signal is the strongest in Sathyu’s office downstairs and in the Volunteer Room directly above it, across from the Documentation Centre. If for some reason the internet is not working properly, there are also many internet cafes nearby on Berasia Road. There are a few laptop and desktop computers at the clinic which can be worked on and used to check email, but they may also be in use by clinic workers. Therefore it is recommended that you bring your own laptop if you have one. If the project you will be working on here needs a computer and you do not have one, please talk to us about it before you arrive so we can make arrangements. Adaptors for foreign plugs can be purchased very inexpensively.

WHAT TO BRING & WHAT NOT TO BRING

Mattresses, mosquito nets, sheets, pillows, pillow cases, and blankets are provided to all volunteers. These items can generally be found in the drawers underneath each bed. Mosquitoes are plentiful, especially in the clinic. We recommend that you take malaria medication during your stay here and bring plenty of mosquito lotion. You may also want to bring adapters for your electronic items, sun block, locks for your belongings, a flashlight or reading light, and shoes which are easy to take off. We do not provide towels, but they can be easily purchased in New Market. We ask that all volunteers either bring a water bottle or use one of the many plastic ones we have accumulated to use at the clinic. Please see section K. below for more information.

We ask you not to bring environmentally-unfriendly items such as laundry detergents and certain kinds of soaps. All of the water that drains from the washing machines goes directly into our garden and detergents will adversely affect our organic plants. If you have questions about what is and is not desirable please contact us.

Sambhavna provides environmentally harmless Sanchi soap free of charge.

Seasonal: If you are coming to stay during the monsoon (late June to early September) we recommend you bring an umbrella and/or rain gear. These items can also be purchased easily in New Market or Chowk. If you are coming during the winter months (December to February) it is recommended that you bring some warmer clothes such as socks, closed toed shoes, and sweaters.

Clothes:
Although volunteers should wear what they feel comfortable in, we recommend that you take into account that Bhopal is a conservative city. Wearing Indian clothes is always a good option, and many female volunteers in particular find they are more comfortable wearing the Indian salwaar kameez.

In the case of shoes, it is best to have a pair which can be easily removed such as flip flops or sandals. At Sambhavna there are many rooms, such as the Canteen eating area and the Pathology Lab, where you need to take off your shoes in order to enter.

WATER AT SAMBHAVNA

All water at Sambhavna comes from the Kolar Resevoir in Bhopal and is in no way contaminated by chemicals. Sambhavna uses Aquaflo & Aquaguard electronic filters to remove all bacteria and dirt. Foreigners are advised not to drink unfiltered water.

FOOD AT SAMBHAVNA

Lunch and Dinner:

Sambhavna provides all volunteers with free lunch and dinner six days a week. On Sunday you may choose to cook in the volunteer kitchen or go out. Lunch is provided in the canteen kitchen downstairs and is available from around 12 noon to 1 pm. Food is pure vegetarian. Dinner is cooked in the upstairs kitchen and is generally ready between 8 and 9 PM. Please advise us if you have any dietary restrictions – food is usually vegetarian but may occasionally include fish or chicken. More details about lunch, dinner, and other food information is detailed in the Volunteer Handbook.

Breakfast:
Sambhavna does not provide breakfast for volunteers. The canteen downstairs provides breakfast generally between 9 and 10 AM and is available for about 5 to 10 rupees. Tea is also available in the mornings at the canteen for a few rupees. You may also choose to make breakfast in the volunteer kitchen upstairs.

LAUNDRY

Instructions for use of the machine are next to it. As already mentioned we ask that you do not bring or use normal laundry detergents. You are welcome to use our soap, called Sanchi soap, which contains no detergents because it only comes in hard form, first you need to grate it and melt it in hot water before putting it into the machine. There are also plenty of clothes lines to leave your clothes to dry.

Up to date washing machine, traditional drier