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Nursing Training Programme, Chennai, India

Following the tsunami of 2004, GlaxoSmithKline has been working with Direct Relief International to support the training and qualification of 420 Nursing Assistants in Tamil Nadu, a region badly affected by the disaster. Through collaboration with the charitable organisation Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, GSK’s support is helping to improve the health system as part of a long term rehabilitation strategy. The training of local young women into nursing assistants is a key part of this new strategy, which also provides a meaningful opportunity for them to contribute to their communities and improve their livelihoods.

In the immediate aftermath of the tsunami, Sri Ramakrishna Math distributed medicines, food, and clothing to the affected population and supported construction of houses and community centers to replace those that had been destroyed. The coastal towns throughout Tamil Nadu sustained significant damage during the 2004 tsunami with an estimated 900,000 people affected.

The qualification of new nursing assistants is a huge benefit to the region where there is an acute shortage of trained medical personnel. The girls chosen to take the course are selected from very poor agricultural and fishing villages and many of them have never once been away from their home.  Many of girls will have already completed their higher secondary education, but due to family financial restrictions have been unable to continue their education further. The course gives the girls an opportunity to receive higher education, the first generation in many families to receive such a gift, and qualifies them for employment outside the traditional industries of fishing and agriculture.

The success of this training program can be clearly seen through the high demand for those who have completed the course.  Over 20 local hospitals have employed the nurse assistants immediately upon graduation, allowing the girls to earn a good wage, improve their economic status, and take part in the delivery of good quality healthcare services.

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