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| The women section of the clinic |
Barefoot Acupuncturist Dharavi Clinic is located in the
midst of Dharavi Slum in Mumbai. It’s a precious stone of fraternal help in a
multi-cultural neighborhood.
The neighborhood has an highly active population and life
never ceases on the narrow alleys and streets, making Dharavi an authentic maze
to anyone that doesn’t know the area.
BA Dharavi Clinic is at one brilliant corner of this amazing
maze. You would never guess that at this particular spot someone set up a western style multi-bed clinic to help anyone in
need.
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| Satish and the expert volunteer Valerie |
The Clinic is full of people, and the variation goes from
full to extremely full. 80‰ of the people that come to us mainly have pain
related complaints and post-stroke recovery needs.
Acupuncture is a serious business in this part of the world,
and its exactly that seriousness that founded this project, and more than that,
it provides the clinic results we, as acupuncturists, can observe as the works
progresses. Every person is a single case and response takes its own individual
time, but progression is undeniable as we see the people siting outside waiting
for their turn to receive treatment.
Our team is composed by two indian full-time acupuncturists,
one assistant, and an occasional volunteer that takes part of the project. The
full time acupuncturists amazingly manage alone most of the patients regardless
of numbers – everyone that shows up receives treatment with equal concentration
and commitment.
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| The clinic is always packed |
“I arrive at the Clinic every morning at 9:15am. Our
assistant Mitali, and my colleague acupuncturist Vrushali, are already there
preparing everything that is required for treatments, I say “good morning” to
everyone, and go around to make sure everything is at its right place. Then I
sit on my chair to have my morning chai and prepare myself to work. Patients
start to show and sit patiently at the waiting room with their file on their
hands and the eagerness for their turn. Every time I feel surprised when I look
at them and realize that they come not for regular medicine but for a treatment
with needles. Happiness and satisfaction fills me when I greet them in, and
happy faces greet me back with “namaste”. Some lay down on the treatment beds,
some sit on chairs as they come in and wait for me.
My first patient, Mr Nadar who lives nearby, has pain in his
right leg and he’s coming to the clinic for 2 months now. I ask him how is he
feeling about his complaint, he replies that he has had an improvement of 80‰
and that he feels much better but still some little pain remains. He’s very
happy and rests on the treatment bed with total faith. I start my treatment as
always taking his pulse and seeing the tongue, then I apply acupuncture.
To be able to witness this is pure happiness to me and I’m
thankful to Barefoot Acupuncturists which had given me the way of joyful,
blissful life and inner peace.” Satish, Acupuncturist at BA Dharavi Clinic
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Satish and Walter, the founder of
Barefoot Acupuncturists from Belgium |
“I am suffering since one year from pain in leg and lower
back. I have done so many treatments but didn’t found relief. When I started
treatment at Barefoot Acupuncturists at Dharavi Clinic I got an improvement of
80‰ in my pain. I take treatment twice a week since 2 months. I’m truly
thankful to Barefoot Acupuncturists.” Mr A.M. Nadar testimony from 9.11.12
This article was written by Chetan Sharma, a staff member of Barefoot Acupuncturists
On Saturday, Reality Tours in collaboration with BMW Guggenheim (http://www.bmwguggenheimlab.org)- an urban think tank currently in Mumbai to explore how urban environments can be made more responsive to people’s needs- did a tour of a very different nature! The 26 participants, from Mumbai and abroad, were blindfolded for the full 90 minutes of a custom made tour, which started from the serene park setting of Horniman circle and ended in the equally serene setting of Byculla museum. 
The “bit inbetween” was anything but, as the participants were bombarded with different smells such as the chickoos, tea, garlic and meat in Crawford Market, or the freshly made pau bhaji, or dosas in one of the “Khao Gallis” visited- ie street food where they also sampled some of the local delicacies. They also experienced many of the different sounds that one can’t avoid in Mumbai- honking of vehicles, a mosque’s call to prayer, and of course the sound of people, including some telling them to get out of the way! 
After the tour, the lab facilitated a feedback session where the participants shared their experiences and they were shown video footage of where they had been; a number of different emotions were expressed but the consensus was that it had been a fascinating experience and that they had felt very safe. Well done to the guys from Dharavi- you did us proud! 
