| HOSPITAL
VISITS IN KOLKATA BY BAPS CHILDREN
70 Children Visited Over 700
Patients in 11 Hospitals
05.31.2004
Kolkata, INDIA
Overview
- 774 patients were visited
- 11 hospitals were selected
- 70 boys and girls aged between 6-14 were carefully selected
and trained
- The visits stretched over two weeks
 From
April 19 to May 1, 2004, 70 children from the BAPS center
in Kolkata participated in the ‘Prayer for the Sick’
project. This project was uniquely designed to enable children
to visit patients individually in hospitals in the city
and pray for their quick recovery.
The project produced two very powerful results:
- Patients were helped with genuine concern, understanding
and care
- Children were introduced to a form of social service
for the ill
 In
1997, boys and girls visited 8 hospitals and met 774 patients
in Kolkata. This year a total of 70 boys and girls between
the ages of 6 and 14 were carefully selected and trained
to visit 11 hospitals and to meet over 1000 patients in
the city.
The 11 hospitals chosen were:
- Sri Sri Lakshminarayan Trust Maternity
Home & Hospital – Bhawanipore
- Health Point Nursing Home – Bhawanipore
- The Gujarat Relief Society Hospital – Pollock
Street
- The Calcutta Gujarati Hospital – Radha Bazar
Street
- AMRI Hospital near Dhakuria Bridge
- B. M. Birla Heart Research Centre – Alipore
- Kothari Medical Centre – Alipore
- Calcutta Medical Research Institute – Diamond
Harbour Road
- Bellevue Clinic – near Minto Park
- The Vishuanand Hospital – Bartalla Street
- Woodlands Hospital & Medical Research Centre –
Alipore
 During
the visits, BAPS children met each patient, introduced themselves
and explained the purpose of their visit. They then inquired
about the patient and their illness. Thereafter, they would
sing a small prayer and present the patient with a prayer
card and a fresh rose. On average, five to seven minutes
were spent with each patient.
Many of the patients were so overwhelmed with the loving
prayers of the children, they brought to tears, saying,
“Our own children do not come to see us and these
children, who we don’t even know, are lovingly praying
for our fast recovery!”
 In
Kothari Medical Centre, one relative said, “In 1997,
when I was admitted in this hospital, your children had
prayed for my speedy recovery. Today, we meet again when
you have come to pray for my daughter who is hospitalized.”
At each hospital, the management, administrators
and medical personnel overwhelmed. The children, too, found
the visits worthwhile and satisfying.
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