MTI staff interacting with the community
A meeting with the eight resident families, 32 people between adults and children, was held on February 9th in the small Irula village of Anjeneya in Poonjeri
The purpose of the meeting was to develop greater awareness of the risks associated with neglected diseases, raise awareness of self-care and encourage the community to go to the hospital or ask for help in case of need, all things very far from the mentality of the Irula people.
The occasion occurred following the death of Valliammal, a young woman who left two small girls, due to tuberculosis.
The woman has been probably ill for a long time in general indifference, including that of her husband and neighbors.
Unfortunately, the Association became aware of this too late, when there was nothing more to be done: the only consolation is to have made easier the last few weeks of her life, in which we gave her all the attention and care we could.
In the days following the meeting, and thanks to this, we were therefore able to take Valliammal daughters to the hospital and verify that even if very undernourished and having lived for months in contact with the sick mother, they had not been infected by the disease.
We also took the opportunity to bring all the other children of the village to the hospital for a check-up and to vaccinate them against the most serious diseases according to a government scheme that does exist, even if neglected.
On the way to the hospital 
At the hospital reception 
Being vaccinated
During the meeting were also illustrated the various plans of the Indian government in support of tribal populations: economic support plans, for which it serve however to have a bank account; government job employent schemes, for which it serves however a tenth grade diploma; possibility to get rice and basic foods at controlled prices, which however include the possession of personal documents that only few possess… All these things, even these, very far from the irula mentality.
A new program was immediately launched to help the community to obtain the necessary documents to gain access to state aid