The Rotary Club of Geraldton North, Australia, The Rotary Foundation and the Rotary Club of Calcutta donated a Toyota Innova 7 seater vehicle to Ruma Abedona Hospice for providing emergency relief service to terminally ill patients. 1st January, 2007 was not only New Year's Day, but also the Charter Anniversary Day of the Rotary Club of Calcutta. It was on 1st January, 1920 that the Rotary Club of Calcutta received its Charter from the Rotary International. At a special programme held on 1st January, 2007 at the Rotary Sadan, Past Rotary International President, Rtn. Raja Saboo, who is the only living Past RI President from India , handed over the vehicle to Mr. Santanu Chakraborty, Director, Ruma Abedona Hospice.A large number of Rotarians, including some visiting Rotarians from abroad and many specially invited dignitaries participated in the programme

Ruma Abedona Hospice for Palliative Care Celebrated the ‘World Hospice & Palliative Care Day’ on Saturday, the 7th October 2006 at their Rishra Premises. There were many distinguished guests and local dignitaries, main speaker on the was Prof. Dr. Prabir Sur {Director, ‘Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education & Research’ (PG Hospital & Medical College) & Head of the Dept. of oncology} and Chief guests were renowned musician Bickram Ghosh and actress Jaya Seal Ghosh.

Prof. Sur Spoke on the urgent necessity of Palliative care and to create awareness in order to invite community involvement and participation. He also talked about the scarcity of the supply of morphine tablets and injections due to the ‘red tape’ involving various Government agency hence the use of substitute drugs that do not have the same effect.

Bickram Ghosh stressed on qualitative life rather than quantitative and particularly so when someone who is terminally ill and has gone past the stage of cure. He and his wife Jaya extended a helping hand towards this great cause and promised to raise fund by organising a concert with his fellow musicians. His proposal was welcomed by the Chairman of the Rishra Municipality, Mr. Dilip Sarkar, who committed all his help and support. Ruma Abedona Hospice is a Charitable Trust providing Palliative Care for those suffering from terminal illness, mainly cancer, completely free of charge and depends on voluntary help and financial help from outside.

Although the word ‘hospice’ goes as far back as in England which then mainly used as a house of rest for the riders and their horses esp. one kept by religious order and gradually becoming a home for the destitute or terminally ill, the concept is quite new in India. The founder and the mainstay of Ruma Abedona Hospice, Santanu Chakraborty, went to great lengths to explain the present day concept of ‘Hospice and Palliative Care’ as well as the work of his own hospice, which is the very first and only one in Eastern India (others in India being Mumbai, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Kerala). RAH provides the outpatient service, day care, and home visits, but Santanu said, they have a lot of plans in near future, like, they are already having a land beside the hospice in where he would like to conceive a fifteen bedded ‘Respite’, which will provide, the inpatient service also. And at the same time, they are optimistic about making provisions for terminally ill AIDS patients.

‘Palliative Care’ is ‘access to care for all’, ‘care beyond cure’, care not only for terminally ill patients but also for the family and close friends. The aims of RAH are to provide support with competence and compassion not only to minimize physical suffering but also attends to their psychological, social, emotional, cultural, and spiritual needs. It addresses fear, anger, and indignity and provides specialized health care

It is now basically a ‘Day Care Centre’ and immediate need volunteers for operations of the centre, to arrange seminars, meetings to promote Palliative Care and offcourse to raise fund.