Our day started with the most incredible welcome ceremony for Project Starfish. The introductions, ceremonial prayers, singing of the National Anthem and candle lighting around jasmine flowers was then followed by beautiful Indian dancing performed by young girls in traditional costumes. It truly is possible to feel right at home despite being in a country thousands of miles away.

We toured various areas of the Holy Cross Hospital thanks to their Medical Director of Pediatrics, Dr. Sudha. There is nothing like witnessing the care being given to a baby born last night at 31 weeks gestation, and we were proud to know that Project Starfish, through their grant from Children Across Boarders, provided the CPAP machine that is assisting in the babies breathing through a non invasive manner. A very special boy that was critically ill and brought in earlier this week suffering from Cerebral Palsy is now being treated with modern medicine. His family had spent a tremendous amount of money for alternative treatments that sadly were ineffective. His marked improvement and smile we received was enough to carry us through our day.

The conditions may be very different from what we see in the States: air conditioning, high end hospital beds and fancy furnishings but the care and compassion these patients receive is a testimony to their commitment to an underserved population. Project Starfish continues to work on providing as much additional equipment as we can with each visit.

Stay tuned for Day 1 of our first camp.

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