Assist in this busy community hospital or with the attached special needs centre

This hospital provides affordable medical care to people from low income families in Delhi. The hospital facilities include clinics for both children and adults. The patients pay only a nominal contribution for their treatment. They also run a nursery school inside the hospital grounds for young children from the local slum and have a unit for children with special needs.

Your Role: Your role will depend on your experience, qualifications and interests. For gap year students with no previous medical training you could divide your time between teaching at the school, observing in the hospital, dispensing medicines, giving basic treatments, and giving your support at community outreach programmes. This is a great project for people who want to get exposure to the medical profession as you will be able to spend time observing how things are done in the various hospital departments, as well as visiting and assisting with community health initiatives. Volunteers with more experience can have a more direct input in areas such as patient care and taking blood samples.

Volunteers who choose to spend a portion of their time teaching will be working with children in the nursery school, helping to teach basic English - alphabet, songs and games etc. There are also afternoon tuition classes where you will be a tremendous help. These are held for previous nursery students who have been sponsored by the hospital into mainstream education. You can also help in the special needs clinic provided you have the requisite qualifications or experience.

Community outreach programmes take place in a mobile medical unit which leaves from the hospital and goes regularly into slum areas and offers affordable diagnosis and medicine. You can help with keeping records and dispensing medicines. It could be especially useful if you have prior experience, otherwise you could always learn these things on the job.

What you Gain: If you are looking to pursue a career in medicine, this is an opportunity for you to explore the field, get valuable experience and then make an informed decision. If you are pursuing medicine, this placement will add to your work experience.