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.

The Spadework

It was in February 2009 that Dr. Charak, with Dr B D Sharma and Sh. K N Padha from Jammu, visited Billawar and met the doctors and hospital staff at the Sub-District Hospital there. Areas for conducting the OPD's and pharmacy were selected. Matters pertaining to the operation theatre were discussed. Sites for cooking as well as boarding and lodging of the team were identified. Information pamphlets were handed over there for distribution in the surrounding areas announcing the dates for the camp. The medical and paramedical personnel at the hospital were highly cooperative and we remain beholden to them.

Arrival at Billawar: Setting up the Camp

The SOSMT team left Delhi on the evening of April 4, 2009 by train. A surprise inclusion in the team was Dr. Gerlinde Buechinger-Schmid, a retired surgeon from Germany. She had chosen to be part of the SOSMT team and eventually happened to be an active member of the surgical team. The team arrived Kathua station at 5:00 AM on April 5, 2009. Therefrom, transport to the Sub-District Hospital Billawar was provided by the health department of Jammu. The team reached Billawar by 8:30 in the morning. The ambulance from Delhi carrying sutures, instruments and surgical consumables had already arrived here during the night. After settling down, the OPD's were started in the afternoon and patients selected for surgery for the next morning.

The Camp Activities

A total of 2156 patients were examined and treated in the outdoors during the camp days. Out of them, 87 underwent major and minor surgical procedures. Of great help this time was the participation of Dr. Sangeeta, a gynecologist, who managed a large proportion of the female patients. Thanks to her, we performed several gynecological surgeries during the five operative days (Monday to Friday; April 6 to 10, 2009).