KOZHIKODE: Leaving an inspiring example, the members of the Students In Palliative Care (SIPC) are set to celebrate a joyous Onam with the inmates of the Institute of Palliative Medicine (IPM).
On Uthradam day, September 6, the SIPC members will celebrate Onam with special programmes and have Onam meals with special dishes. Since 2004, the SIPC members have been spending one of their Onam days with the inmates.
Jose Pulimoottil, coordinator of Footprints, a rehabilitation initiative for the uplift of paraplegics by IPM, says that around 100 SIPC members hailing from various educational institutions and professional colleges in the district will spend one full day with the inmates of the centre.
“Special arrangements have been made for the celebrations. The celebrations will kick start with a pookkalam competition, which is to be held at 9 am on the day. Various Onam games and a special Onam feast will follow the competition,” says Jose.
Detailing the celebrations, Ramshad T K, SIPC volunteer, and a student of Mukkam Mohammed Abdul Rahman Memorial Orphanage College, says the inmates will be taken to the Santhwanam Vanam located near the IPM, where the contests are scheduled to be organised.
“For paraplegics, it may prove difficult to participate in some games. But the helping hands we extend are adequate to strengthen them both physically and mentally,” says Ramshad.
The SIPC volunteers devote a whole day for the inmates.
“Being SIPC volunteers, we are obliged to spare some time every day for palliative care amidst campus life,” says SIPC volunteers Sulaij and Mohammed Hussain.
Though they are busy expanding its wings to new spheres, IPM director Dr Suresh Kumar and chief instructor Mohammed Saif stand by the volunteers in their novel initiative.
“IPM has always set an example of palliative care. We have been able to create an environment of social inclusion, taking out the inmates from their world of boring isolation,” says Dr Suresh Kumar.
“Such celebrations will certainly improve the communication between patients, their families and the palliative care team,” says Saif.