2018 Expedition
Once again I had the privilege to lead 33 dedicated people to work in the poorer areas of India for our annual trip. This is now the 12th year that HOI has sent a team to work in the slums of Siliguri in West Bengal. Our trips just get bigger and bigger, and we saw over 5655 patient visits, most of whom have never seen a Dr previously, so you can imagine the type of cases we see. As our 14 new graduates commented, we learn so much here in these few weeks that we are now more prepared to see anything in practice, so they are much more prepared to embark on starting their successful chiropractic practices.
HOI now has over 850 students in our 7 schools, who previously had none or little education, so they are able to change their opportunity for a different life out of the slums, and get out of forced child labor. This is the reason why HOI has put so much emphasis on education, and we not only pay for their education, but we also pay for the teachers wages and school costs. The growth we have seen in these children has been phenomenal!
Our empowerment program has now 2799 women in it, and the growth in these illiterate women is nothing short of spectacular. They are all making substantial money as a second source of income (their average family income is still below $2 a day) from the mini grants that we have given them, and this allows their children to go to school. As they have learnt to sign their names from their children in our schools, they can now vote and apply for loans. Most importantly they now have some self-esteem, and now are working in groups for strength and security, and have cut back on domestic violence by 80%, and child trafficking by 50%. They have even been able to make a lot of their villages “dry”, by stopping alcohol consumption and thus avoiding major problems. Six years ago, we could not get one of these women to stand up and say their name, and now they are successful businesswomen with enormous self-esteem.
The other two areas we help support, the orphanage Ashagram and the school for the severely mentally and physically disabled, Flame of Hope, are also thriving. It is amazing how these children continue to develop and prosper with some love and attention. All of our schools are given clothing, sporting equipment and worming to help them get through the year.
This year we had new graduates from Murdoch, Macquarie and for the first time from New Zealand, and the growth in these people was sensational. They now understand the advantages of chiropractic care even for some of the toughest cases imaginable, under harsh conditions. Also one of the lecturers came from CQU chiropractic school, and was so impressed that he wants their program to be involved as well. Unfortunately we were restricted by accommodation constraints, and as the trip was over subscribed within a week, RMIT graduates could not come, but will be invited next year as a priority.Throughout the year prior to us leaving, we all work very hard to fund raise to pay for all these financial commitments, and this year we raised over $90,000. Remember every one on the trip pays for all their own expenses such as airfares and accommodation. We are now making the trips into a seminar, where each night highly experienced and accredited chiropractors give lectures to the groups so they can gain CPD points, plus valuable experience. This way it makes the airfares and seminar fee tax deductible, which were not previously. I would especially like to thank Drs Warren Gender, Brett Dellar and Marti Harris for helping me with the lectures.
I want to thank all of thechiropractors who’s daily help taught all our new graduates to grow at an enormous rate, and to our fantastic 3 CA’s who organized our thousands of patients, besides taking their blood pressures.
All of this would not be possible without our sponsors, especially Jim Kidd Sports stores, which gave over $15,000 worth of clothing, plus CAA National, CAAWA, CAANSW & CAAQLD who all provided financial support. Also Thuli Tables (USA) gave us portable drop pieces, and APE Medical who supplied us with blood pressure monitors.
This is my last year of leading teams for HOI, as I need to concentrate on my 3P Program, which deals with the 20,000 children who die daily from preventable disease. However we have an excellent HOI Board, who are more than capable of taking HOI to an even higher level. You can also help by becoming a member of HOI as your $100 annual fee will help enormously with our work over there. No other charity gives better value for money, as all of the money raised goes to our projects. For membership application please contact Dr. Brett Dellar at brett.dellar@pinjarrachiropractic.com.au
I am going out on a high as I watch the incredible growth of HOI over the years. Our name is now so strong over there, we can now write out referrals to send our patients for whatever treatment they need whilst we are not there. Most importantly we have now been involved in taking over 300 young chiropractors, who have had their lives changed forever! These young Drs now understand what chiropractic is really about, and they will be among the leaders of our profession in the future. They also understand that chiropractic is all about giving and not just about taking, and it is this premise that has made chiropractic what it is today. Thank you for the privilege of being part of this fantastic program.
DR NOEL PATTERSON
2018 Team Chiropractors
Noel Patterson
Marilyn Patterson
Martin Harris
Lorne Clarke
Winnie Wong
Warren Gender
Jessica Thatch
Jed Shepherd
Vanessa Carroll
Scott Bevz
Brett Dellar
Pamela Bourke
Lindi Vanzwan
Rebecca Parker
Katherine Macrae
Kaitlyn Dayman
Selam Bernhanu
Sara Craggs
Jacquelyn McCaskie
Teagan Ingham
Emily Arnett
Hayley Surgeson
Anne Chang
Rebecca Bonwick
Gracie Atkins
Tim Leering
Casie meara
Chiropractic Assistants
Vonda Gender
Kim Dellar
Shar Moody
