Create a healing garden for Pallium India.

Annie and Ian Wallace are volunteers from New Zealand working at Pallium India based in the state of Kerala, India. Pallium India is the hub of palliative care in India and is a charity organisation receiving minimal assistance from the government. As an organisation it is the only source of pain medication for the underprivileged in this region.

Pallium India interprets palliative care in its widest sense. It provides:

1. care and support to children and adults who are dying, plus their families,

2. medical and vocational support and training for those with paraplegia,

3. educational programmes for health professional and volunteers both locally and regionally.

The Pallium India facility has an inpatient unit with ten beds for symptom management as well as an outpatient clinic and training rooms. There is also a rehabilitation half-way home within the hospital for those with paraplegia. Here people are supported to learn new vocational skills so that they can return to work and support their families.

The hospital building is leased, for free, from the Dental College next door. The grounds currently consist of a rocky carpark and an undeveloped rear yard. We hope to develop a landscaped entrance and provide a healing garden for patients, families and staff alike.

The garden and landscaping would have multiple roles. They would provide:

1. Meaningful work for those staying at the paraplegia rehabilitation half-way home (watering and planting, weeding, etc)

2. Additional fruit and vegetables for the inpatient unit,

3. A restorative tranquil place for reflection and connection with nature, and

4. A new compost system via a bio-waste plant to recycle existing and future food waste.