Kolkata :
Much like the campaign on polio, another one in right earnest will start soon. And this time Kolkata will be the city to anchor it. The audio visual campaign, that is presently getting designed will have voices of Babul Supriyo, Kumar Sanu, Abhijeet and Jolly Mukherjee to stress on the fact that cerebral palsy can largely be prevented through pre-natal and neo-natal care. The campaign is being spearheaded by a man, who is better known in the city for some of the iconic structures that he had created, but whose life is now governed by a tragedy – the death of his 27 year old son, Abhishek, a cerebral palsy patient.
Gautam Mitra, who now lives in Zurich on business, started by setting up an NGO for cerebral palsy patients in Switzerland, which attracted a lot of attention there. Enthused by that success, he has now come to Kolkata to start his Bishwa Bandhan, an NGO that will work to spread awareness and also provide supplementary support to children with cerebral palsy and their parents.
During his heydays as a structural engineer and consultant to Tata Steel, some of the structures that Mitra built were, Nazrul Mancha, the steel galleries of Mohammedan Sporting after the wooden ones got destroyed in a fire, the traffic diversions on Vidyasagar Setu, the mini bus shelter at BBD Bag and pedestrian over bridges at Ultadanga and Manicktala. But such accolades have stopped having any meaning for him anymore.
In Switzerland he continues to build tunnels, overbridges, pre-fabricated structures and other constructions using cutting edge precision technology, that is coming of age in Europe today, but only when he is not engaged in a dialogue with the WHO or state authorities in Zurich regarding his cerebral palsy awareness programme. Though he accedes that the level of awareness is very high in Europe, the fact that a large number of babies are born prematurely or with extremely low birth weight as a result of artificial insemination arising out of growing numbers of infertility cases, incidences of cerebral palsy are very high in Europe.
Bishwa Bandhan, which is headquartered in Zurich, has already partnered with WHO there and started its two pronged intervention – spreading awareness among pregnant women that cerebral palsy is preventable and supplementary therapy can make life bearable for children who are born with the problem. The NGO is making waves with its awareness campaigns that stresses on the fact that in most cases when sufficient volumes of oxygen do not reach the brain, babies develop cerebral palsy, so a great stress needs to be laid on administering oxygen on the mother during birthing. It has also started a unique music therapy on children with palsy to help rejuvenate them.
“We are trying to replicate the Zurich model here,” Mitra said. He is presently in the city to start up the the Kolkata chapter of Bishwa Bandhan. A teaser campaign on prevention of palsy will be up soon and the audio visual is getting readied now. Just like in Zurich, where the initiative is being partnered by WHO, Bishwa Bandhan here has tied up with the Institute of Child Health, the Indian Medical Association, leading gynaecologists and fertility experts. They are all enthisuastic about the impending campaign. “It is true that a large number of cerebral palsy patients would have been born normal had oxygen been administered on the mother well, this would not have happened. It is not a genetic disorder. Hence, a systematic campaign is a must. All stakeholders in the birthing process, right from the doctor to the nurses and even the mother should be made aware of this,” said Apurba Ghosh, director of the Institute of Child Health.
The Indian Medical Association has also thrown its weight around the campaign. “There are plenty of pre-natal routine procedures that are not followed in many cases. Again forcep birthing causes a lot of damage since it obstructs the flow of oxygen to the brain. When babies are born pre-mature or with low birth weight, oxygen deficiency is a related hazard. Inorder to maintain WHO standards, one has to eliminate negligence at every stage and that is possible only through an intensive campaign,” said Shantanu Sen, secretary of IMA Bengal chapter.
A 6000 square feet space at Red Cross Place off Raj Bhavan is being prepared as therapy space of Bishwa Bandhan for children with cerebral palsy. “We will experiment with different kinds of music and colour to excite and activate the slow moving brain of palsy kids. Physiotherapists will also work on their limp limbs and make them as active as possible,” Mitra promised.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Jhilmil Pandey, TNN / July 07th, 2015