2024

March 2024 – Sanmukh and Narinder Singh Surgical Mission

This March, FFPF suscessfully sponsored 111 surgeries at the Julia Hospital in Jamkhed. 76 total patients were served, of which there were 42 women and children. These surgeries included hands, burns, and general surgeries. 14 team members participated from the Czech Republic, Italy, Uganda and Switzerland

February 2024 – Subhash Khanna Dental Mission

FFPF successfully sponssored the first Dental Mission at Julia Hospital. Huge accomplishments were achieved this month to meet the high need for dental hygenie awareness as well as dental care and treatments. The future is bright as we expect to sponsor more dental missions soon.

• 3  rooms were fully furnished with dental chairs and equipment for  comprehensive dental care
• Over 600 dental treatments took place in this week alone
• Our team consisted of 2 Canadian and 4 Indian dentists with support staff
• Dental patient reviews and follow up care have been taken over by Loni University professors and dental residents for continutity of care

February 2024 – Dwivedi-Sareen Surgical Mission

The first mission of 2024 was completed this past February. It was a surgical mission that took place at the Julia Hospital in Jamkhed.

Over the past year, we have medically assessed hundreds of people, from which we have selected 150 patients. In November 2023, we held our benefit dinner, which sponsored all the patients who were served during this camp.

Here are the members who participated in the February 2024 mission:

Dr. Bruno Mastropasqua	Surgeon
Dr. Dominique Tremblay	Surgeon
Dr Geneviève Coté	Anaesthesiologist
Dr. Christina Aron	Anaesthesiologist
Dr. Dwivedi	Anaesthesiologist
Ms. Elena Sanzari	Administration
Nathalie Brisebois	Physical Therapist
Lucie Demers	Nurse
Patricia Sasseville	Nurse
Dr. Jaskaran Singh Thind	Dentist
Heloïse Gingras	Dentist
Jessie Li	Medical student
Maria Casandre Medor	Surgery Resident
Roselyn Lu	Pharmacy Student
Sabrina Sanzari	Pharmacist
Roman Perriera	Translator
Jonathan Gaudreau	Filmmaker
Janila Dargan	Project Assistant
Claudine Levesque	Coordinator
Vinod Dargan	Project Manager

2023

February – Suyagya Vasishta Arya Surgical Mission

After the spread of the Covid-19 disease, which started in early 2021, three surgical missions had to be cancelled. The funds that had been earmarked for these missions were used to provide the village of Jamkhed with materials for the prevention and treatment of Covid-19: oxygen, intravenous drugs, masks, and facilities for quarantine. The houses in the rural villages are very small and have only one room, so isolation is impossible.

Thanks to the funds the Freedom from Poverty Foundation raised during the November 2022 fundraising dinner, 3 humanitarian surgery missions have been carried out. Indeed, our surgical camps resumed this year after a 2-year break following the Covid. In February, 11 professionals from the greater Montreal area went to Jamkhed, India.

All our camps are held at Julia’s Hospital in Jamkhed, Maharashtra. Several hundred people have undergone surgery. The surgeries we do (perform or execute) help change the future of these people. For example, they can walk or regain the use of a hand lost in an accident. In addition, our pharmacists have worked with village pharmacists to improve the management of high-risk medicines to create algorithms and carts for using medicines in emergencies.

We performed mostly orthopedic surgeries with the aim of restoring a person’s functionality to break the cycle of poverty.

Here are the members who participated in the February 2023 mission:

Bruno Mastropasqua	Surgeon
Dr. Jason	Anaesthesiologist
Dr. Dwivedi	Anaesthesiologist
Nathalie Deichendes	Nurse
Alex Somma	Communications
Sabrina Sanzari	Pharmacist
Claudine levesque	Coordonnateur
Vinod Dargan	Project Manager
Geneviève côté:	Anaesthesiologist
Nathalie Brisebois:	Occupational Therapist
Michelle Bonapathie	Résident

2020

In February, we sent Sixteen professionals from Montreal, Quebec, and a team from Australia consisted of an orthopedist and a communications officer, which allowed us to perform 64 surgeries. Our team focused on orthopedic surgeries, restoring persons’ functionality and breaking the cycle of poverty.

Unfortunately, the covid-19  pandemic forced us to cancel three missions. We redirected funds initially earmarked for these missions towards covid-19 prevention and treatment equipment for the village of Jamkhed: oxygen, intravenous medication, mask, and quarantine facilities. 

In rural villages’ homes are small and have only one room, so isolation is impossible. 

The following are the members who participated in the February 2020 mission:

Bruno Mastropasqua	Surgeon
Guy Grimard	Surgeon
Nicolas Hamelin	Surgeon
Mylène Servant	Anesthésiste
Dr. Dwivedi	Anesthésiste
Serge Gilbert	Anesthésiste
Lucie Demers	Nurse
Danielle Despres	Nurse
Alex Somma	Communications
Suzanne Mathieu	Nurse
Luce Plamandon	Inhalo therapist
Sabrina Sanzari	Pharmacist
Claire Deschamps	Dentist
Hussein Assi	Interne
Pascale Grimard	Externe
Vinod Dargan	Project manager

2017

The Freedom from Poverty Foundation donated specialized medical equipment to the Julia Hospital in Jamkhed for procedures specific to the needs of the population. For example, a Dermatome was donated so that skin grafts can be performed on people who have suffered from large burns. The sterilization room was also updated thanks to donations of equipment from the Foundation.

The community of Jamkhed demonstrated their immense gratitude to the Freedom from Poverty Foundation. Many of the patients who received operations in 2016 were waiting for us at the Julia Hospital to express their thanks for the major change we have made in their lives.

A total of 3 surgical missions took place in 2017 and 224 patients received operations. The Freedom from Poverty Foundation funded the Italian, Australian and Quebec surgical missions.

2016

The Freedom from Poverty Foundation performed its first surgical mission. A team of specialists from Montreal provided care to 77 patients, performing mainly orthopedic operations and scar contracture release with skin grafts. The operations were performed on people with one or more handicaps, from birth or the result of an accident, that have kept them dependent or unable to work. A team of medical students provided the postoperative care. They worked by video conference with an occupational therapist in Montreal, Ms. Brisebois.

Patients receiving operations: 77

A total of 2 surgical missions took place in 2016.

2015

The Freedom from Poverty Foundation donated medicine and medical supplies to prepare the operating rooms for future surgical missions. It also organized the logistics for the surgical missions with surgeons and healthcare professionals from different countries: Montreal, Canada; Milan, Italy; and Canberra, Australia.

2013

The Freedom from Poverty Foundation provided funding for a program that trained workers in the community in the construction cement houses. The formwork technology introduced in 2011 is still used today.

1988-2008

The Freedom from Poverty Foundation built a school that provides primary and secondary education from which over 10,000 students have since graduated. The Foundation also introduced technology into its programs, making computers are available to the students. Mobile clinics were created and have treated over 60,000 patients. Many medicals missions have taken place including cataract surgery in partnership with the Eye Foundation of America.