The Indian Army organised a Medical Aid and Child Health Awareness Camp in the far-flung border village of Mankote of Mendhar tehsil in the Poonch district. A team of three Army doctors (including a lady doctor) and five civilian specialist doctors from Sub Divisional Office, Mendhar provided valuable services to the locals residing along the Line of Control (LoC).
The primary objective of the camp was to raise awareness among the residents of remote villages about Child Health Care and emphasise the significance of including millets in their diet. This initiative is particularly relevant as the year 2023 has been designated as the “Year of Millets” by the Government of India. Students from four schools, namely Govt Girls Middle School, Mankote, Govt Higher Secondary School, Mankote, Govt Middle School Chowki, Sagra and Government High School, Sakhi Maidan actively participated, shedding light on the importance of millets which constitute a substantial portion of their diet in these regions. An army officer as well as a student from Government Girls Middle School, Mankote gave speeches on the necessity of sustaining a millet-inclusive diet. Another student from Govt Middle School Chowki, spoke about Child Health Care. The Army later distributed booklets containing diverse millet recipes and medical kits to the schools.
The camp received significant participation from children, adults, and women an approximate strength of 350 children, 90 women, and 190 men benefited from the free medical checkups and medicines offered. Ch Imran Zaffar, DDC Mankote, Mr Khadin Hussian, Sarpanch Mankote, Mrs Zanib Khatoon,Sarpanch Sagra and principals of all the schools were present during the event and expressed their gratitude to the Army for organising such essential medical camps in the remote locations along the LoC, where accessing specialist medical assistance is challenging.
