After two years of absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the volunteers in Kolkata are back on the front line, generously sharing their expertise and experience with Calcutta Rescue staff.
Dr. Juliet Evans, who came to Kolkata a few months ago with her husband Edward Blake, explains what she does:
"I am looking forward to living in Kolkata for a year and undertaking a training course in global health and leadership. As a trainee GP from London, I'm excited to learn about medicine in a different environment and I'm looking forward to developing valuable skills for my future career.
During the year I will be working on a number of projects to develop new services and strengthen existing ones. What has impressed me about Calcutta Rescue so far is the wide range of medical services provided. My first project is the care of HIV patients at the Tala Park Clinic.
I have observed the patients' journey from diagnosis to treatment and am looking for ways to make care more efficient. I am working on a new initiative to care for the HIV-positive LGBT+ community. These people often live in poverty because they are doubly stigmatized by their families and society.
As a result, they are heavily involved in sex work, which leads to a high HIV infection rate. Unfortunately, there is very little support from the government. We hope to set up a mobile street medicine team to provide counseling, education and medical care. I am grateful for the great support from my husband Edward, who is accompanying me on this adventure. As an accountant, he helps with the administration of Calcutta Rescue.
Our different approaches to a challenge have strengthened our ability to work together as a team to navigate the ups and downs of life in this extraordinary city! It was great fun walking the streets of the city during the Durga Puja festival in October, with crowds of people visiting shrines (pandals) set up all over the city. We are looking forward to the next chapter in our lives here!