The SOSMT held their November camp at the sacred ashram of Devaraha Hans Baba in the Bhagdevar village, some 700 kilometers from New Delhi. The camp was held in accordance with the SOSMT resolve to hold at least one such camp at this venue every year. The poor people of this area are desperately in need of good surgical and medical care. SOSMT has been holding a camp here every year since the year 2005. Click here for additional pictures of the Nov. 2009 camp activities.

The pre-camp spadework started on October 2, 2009, as Dr. Charak visited Vindhyachal. He left appropriate instructions with the ashram administration to prepare for the forthcoming camp. The operation room and the adjoining area meant for postoperative patients required thorough cleaning. Permission for holding a health camp had to be sought from the local health authorities. Written material in the form of pamphlets announcing the dates for the camp requested to be distributed in the adjoining areas. Simple blood tests, X-rays and ultrasound examinations during the camp were organized in the vicinity of the ashram.

With the blessings of the Lord Almighty and benevolent support from friends and well-wishers, the good work started by the Shri Onkar Singh Memorial Trust way back in the year 2000 continues without impedance. The Trust organized its twentieth free surgical cum medical camp in the picturesque hilly town of Billawar in Kathua district of the J&K State from April 5, 2009 to April 11, 2009, both days inclusive.

The Background

Billawar had been in the mind of the organizers for quite some time. The town was visited by Dr Charak and others in the year 2002 in order to assess the possibility of holding a free camp there. At that time, the idea of considering the Sub-District Hospital at Billawar as the venue for a future camp had appealed to the visiting team. It took this long for Billawar to have its turn.

Medical Relief for India is a non-profit organization dedicated to programs which provide free medical care to the poor and needy in India. 

One such program is the SOS Memorial Trust (SOSMT), a charitable foundation established by Dr. K S Charak. The SOSMT, through Dr. K S Charak's leadership, provides free surgical and medical treatment to rural India by holding week-long camps in select rural areas. Bhagdevar, Vindhyachal and Bani are just a few of the towns where the camps have been held due to the unbridled poverty and severe lack of medical care in these regions. Please take a few moments of your time to watch an amazing video of Dr. K.S. Charak and his team of volunteers at a recent medical camp in India.The video was taken by Samvedana,a non-for-profit foundation in Europe.    

To support programs as the SOS Memorial Trust, the non-for-profit Foundation has been established here in the United States. Find out how you can help support such causes. {Please note, if you are viewing this site from a location outside of the United States and are interested in in supporting, find out how you can help support.}

In a dark, cold corner of an empty room that was soon to be a makeshift operating suite, a young woman along with her husband and small child lay on the hard floor with only a sheet beneath them. The woman was damp with fever and moaning in agony as she clutched her stomach. A volunteer doctor arriving to the rural area for a free medical camp immediately noticed the family and quickly diagnosed the woman with a severe case of gallstones. He later found that she had arrived to the previous camp held six months earlier, only a day too late.  She was unable to pay for the desperately needed surgery to remove her gallbladder, and suffered severe pain and chronic nausea for another six months until the medical team held a camp close enough for her to reach.  Upon hearing of the next camp, she traveled with her husband and baby to the town of Bashohli and slept on the ground until she could receive her urgently needed treatment. She was the first in a line of hundreds waiting for the Medical Camp to open its doors.