Miao, September 8: The Diocese of Miao, situated in the extreme north eastern corner of India in Arunachal Pradesh, blessed and dedicated its first hospital to St. Mother Theresa of Kolkata on 8 September 2016 with festive gaiety and religious fervor.
Named after the two French Missionaries Frs. Krick and Bourry, who were killed in Somme Village of Arunachal Pradesh on their way to Tibet in the year 1852, the KBM Hospital at Injan village of Changlang District of Arunachal Pradesh is indeed a huge blessing for the people in this District and in the east Arunachal Pradesh, Mr. Rai, the Circle Officer posted here said at the blessing.
The 25-bedded hospital was under construction for the last four years and the process was slow due to lack of fund and unsuitable weather conditions. We are happy that it has become a reality today, Mr. Konkhul Chithan a local leader from Miao said.
The hospital is well equipped with latest tools needed for tests and diagnosis. Sr. Niramla, the lab technician of the hospital said, “Most of the tools today depend heavily on electricity. Though we have a generator as a backup, unsteady power supply may be a concern in the coming days. We hope it improves.”
Bishop George Pallipparambil SDB of Miao Diocese explaining the reason to dedicate the hospital to St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata says, “Mother Theresa and Mercy go hand in hand. We are very proud to say that the only place Mother Theresa visited is in our Diocese. After much difficulty, she visited Borduria village in Tirap District of Arunachal Pradesh on August 2, 1993. He said the Diocese of Miao was so blessed to join the celebration of the Canonization St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata by honouring her with this first hospital of the Diocese.
Dedicating the hospital to honour the Saint of the gutter, a special statue of St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata was installed right at the entrance to the hospital.”
The tribals living in the remote Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh will not have to travel over a 100 km into neighbouring Assam for treatment as this medical facility will be a huge blessing for the people around Miao, Mr. Lungphi, the man who donated the land for the building of this hospital said at the dedication ceremony.
“There is a lot of public demand for a hospital in the area as the nearest hospital is 120 km away in Assam’s Tinsukia. No other medical facility is functional nearby,” Bishop George said at the dedication ceremony.
Even though the hospital is not complete, and a lot of works still remains to be done, the Diocese plans to get it functioning from September to make it coincide with the Canonization of Mother Theresa.
The hospital has very basic facility for treatment of diseases like TB, malaria and jaundice which are common in this part of the north-eastern state.
“People die there not due to some complicated health conditions but because of very ordinary diseases which are curable. Due to geographical distance, no medical attention is available to patients when they need it,” the Bishop said.
Besides nurses from Kerala, they will have two doctors to be available 24/7 at the facility. The Catholic Church also has plans to start a training centre for nurses for availability of manpower.
Also on the cards is a volunteer programme for youngsters who will be trained as village health workers.
The hospital will be manned by Rev. Sr. Dr. Rosetom, a veteran gynecologist from Kerala, Dr. Bhattacharjee from West Bengal, and a team of trained and qualified nurses led by Sr. Elizabth.
“Their task will be to identify the sick and bring him under medical supervision,” the Bishop said.
After the first Catholic bachelor degree college in east Arunachal Pradesh in 2014 in Namsi District, this first hospital is another landmark event in the 10 year history of the young Diocese of Miao.