
A wonderful person named Marta Miquel from Barcelona was waiting for William and I when we arrived to Puri, Orissa. Marta is a friend of Albert Rigat, a young man from Barcelona who had visited the Hospital by chance on a visit to Orissa last year. She is a Doctor that works from an Ambulance for the Govt. of Catalan. For her work, she faces amazing challenges at random times of the day and night. On the suggestion of Albert, Marta wanted to see the Citta project in Orissa for a possible collaboration for around 5 months in 2009. She was hoping to take some time off of work and contribute to a place she felt could really benefit from her skills and help push her to new challenges as well. She was very happy to see that the hospital and surrounding area are definitely places she feels comfortable collaborating with. After some contemplation and consideration on the rooftop of the hospital as the sun rose, she had an Epiphany! The best use of her skills would be to do outreach while in Orissa to villages. Teaching them first aid and how to deal with patients prior to reaching the hospital in Juanga. The first or “golden hour” of care to a patient is crucial to their survival. Patients now arrive to the hospital with dangling limbs or on their back where the tongue can easily asphyxiate them prior to their arrival to the hospital. Marta wants to be able to provide small First Aid kits to the villages and William suggested he gets the Boy Scouts he is affiliated with in NJ to fundraise for such First Aid kits.

