“I Love My Hospital” - echoes across Mon

The trumpet was sounded and with sticks and brooms in gloved hands, the battle cry was taken up across the hospital compound. This is a different kind of battle, just as tricky, but the anticipation of victory is visible in the enthusiasm of each warrior.

The ‘I Love My Hospital’ (ILMH) initiative was launched with a “Big Cleaning Day” by the Konyak Naga Group of Facebook in collaboration with MSF (Doctors Without Borders) at District Hospital, Mon. The response to the clarion call was big news here. For a society that has been in slumber, preoccupied with the myriad problems it faces every day just to survive, the huge response to the ILMH Initiative has astounded the Konyaks, especially the older generation. This sense of belonging, ownership, participatory effort is like none that we have ever witnessed before.

Almost four years ago, when the MSF were first doing the ground work for the Mon Hospital Project, the big question for them was “Why don’t people come to the Hospital?” and today as the MSF are preparing to leave, the biggest fear is “We don’t have sufficient doctors, nurses and other staff to take care of the number of people seeking healthcare every day.” There is no doubt that revival of the District Hospital, Mon has been an enormous success of the MSF project with the perks of an exceptionally well trained staff inculcating a flawless work culture; however the greatest success is the increased level of health awareness amongst the people. It is what will sustain the hospital as well as the people of Mon long after the MSF leaves.

With the intervention of the MSF into management aspects of the District Hospital Mon, it received the much needed direction the hospital had been lacking. Issues were taken up on priority basis and quality of healthcare was given as much importance as quantity. The MSF filled gaps in man power and resources that usually exist in government hospitals. The international organization lobbied continuously with the Government in Kohima and civil societies over the years to bridge the gap between “What is actually needed by us and what is given to us.” There was also a specific team working on the ground, solely concerned with Health Promotion among the people. They studied the people’s perspective on issues, researched their response to different forms of media, created materials and messages for communication and carried out intensive campaigns for promoting health awareness among the people.

All these efforts of the MSF have resulted in people’s awareness of healthcare and its importance for us. Having had a glimpse of themselves at their best, there is a general air of determination in the people not to descend back to their former rugged selves. This feeling, akin to a revolution of sorts, has permeated into the consciousness of every level of the Konyak, from Legislators to civil societies, from Churches’ groups to student bodies, from bloggers to patients, giving birth to the “I Love My Hospital Initiative.”

There was optimism in the air as participants joined the historic launch of the ILMH Project with contributions in cash, as well as in kind, like old news papers for dustbins and brooms and other cleaning supplies; handmade bamboo dustbins in and around the hospital, monthly cleaning day, blood donations, Health Promotion drives etc. Students of different schools and higher secondary schools, Mon Theological college students, Bloggers, KSU members, Bands, government servants, adolescent club, police personnel, NGOs, medical staff and other individuals chipped in to clean their beloved hospital. The festive spirit began right from the formal programme that launched the ILMH Project; where the speeches, skits and songs (by Konyak Artist Moba Inggang), all talked about the Mon district hospital as something precious that should be cherished; till the end of prize distribution to the most enthusiastic group of volunteers—it was epic.

For those who have been closely associated with the District Hospital and the MSF project, thoughts of their exit spurs a mild episode of panic for the future of the hospital as well as the Department. We are well aware that the road ahead will not be easy; that sweat and blood will be required from us all, but on days like today, hope is renewed and victory is within grasp.