ADRA Health Project

Pondicherry

Pondichéry, English formerly Pondicherry, is a Union Territory of India. It is a former French colony, consisting of four non-contiguous enclaves, or districts, and named after the largest, Puducherry[1]. It is also known as The French Riviera of the East (La Côte d'Azur de l'Est). Of late, Puducherry is also considered an educational hub of southern India, having about 7 medical colleges, 7 engineering colleges, and 10 arts, science, and technical colleges functioning within its territory. Many medical and engineering colleges are also reported to be in queue.Pondicherry consists of four unconnected districts: Pondicherry, Karaikal, and Yanam on the Bay of Bengal and Mahé on the Arabian Sea. Puducherry and Karaikal are by far the larger ones, and are both enclaves of Tamil Nadu. Yanam and Mahé are enclaves of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, respectively.

Pondicherry still retains much evidence of its history as a French colony. The design of the city was based on the French (originally Dutch, the plans of Pondicherry dating from the end of the seventeenth century (1693-1694) are preserved in the National Archives at The Hague) grid pattern and features neat sectors and perpendicular streets. The entire town is divided into two sections, the French Quarter ('Ville Blanche' or 'White town') and the Indian quarter ('Ville Noire' or 'Black Town'). The history of French India is led by Joseph Francois Dupleix, governor general of the French establishment in India, and rival of Robert Clive. Dupleix was primarily responsible for the Carnatic Wars. At first Dupleix was successful in resisting the attacks of the English East India Company, but he lost in the later battles.
There is also French influence in the layout of the city. The numbering of the houses is unique compared to other cities in Tamil Nadu, in that all with the even numbers are on one side and the odd number are on the opposite side of the road.

Beach in Pondy, you can see the Gandhi monument in the background

French War MemorialRaj Nivas, oficial residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Pondicherry and French Governor before that.

Beautiful Hindu temples are found obviously throught the city, complete with elephants
French Cafe by the ocean, one of my favourite places in townFrench section of Pondicherry. This section of town is utterly different from the chaotic and more entertaining India section. Walking through the street it sometimes reminded me of Buenos Aires (only some streets...)
View from Hotel windowDowntown Pondy

Baseline survey

The health baseline study consisted of going to around 20 villages, most located on the coast to evaluate the impact the tsunami had on the health of the communities. A lot of dicussions took place involving the whole community. I was also able to see some of the material damaged caused by the tsunami, not nearly close to the impact it had on the people psychologically...

Cuddalore

Cuddalore (Tamil: கடலூர்) is a fast growing industrial city and headquarters of Cuddalore district in the Tamil Nadustate of southern India. Located south of Pondicherry on the Bay of Bengal, Cuddalore has a large number of industries which employ a great deal of the city's population. However, one industrial pocket -SIPCOT - has also secured it a place in the dubious club of global toxic hotspots owing to the area's high levels of pollution.