About Thanal
Thanal Palliative and Paraplegic Care Society
is an NGO active in the field of palliative care and paraplegic rehabilitation since the last decade. At present, Thanal has a total of 19 units, 12 Out-Patient Clinics, 5 Equipment Distribution Centres, more than 500 trained volunteers and 15 ambulances in Ernakulum District.
We conduct about 250 home care trips every month in different areas of the district. Through every home care trip, we provide nurse assisted palliative services to the needy patients. Presently 9000+ patients are registered and receive various services from Thanal. So far we have provided service to around 10,00,00 patients.
Thanal Paraplegic Care is a well-functioning network of paraplegic patients, consists of 500+ members. Promoting self-employment activities, distribution of assistive equipment, providing various aids for treatment and education etc. are the areas of our operation. We conduct regular outdoor activities like sightseeing trips, social gatherings and other enjoyable exercise for paraplegic patients for their relaxation and refreshment from their four walls of the room. Apart from these, the patients’ family is also our concern. Providing financial aid for medicine, ration, educational support to their wards etc. are the common activities coming under this category.
Appreciation for the services during Kerala Floods
During the Kerala Flood 2018, Thanal did a commendable job for the affected persons with disabilities. We introduced the idea, ‘Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Management’ and formed special teams for the search, rescue and primary rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. We were able to save 160 persons and their bystanders through these activities and played an important role in making Ernakulum district a completely safe place for persons with disabilities during the disaster. United Nations delegation recognized this and appreciated our effort by mentioned this as the best practice in their PDNA (Post Disaster Needs Assessment) report. The excerpt from the report is given below.
“Thanal Palliative & Paraplegic Care Society was at the frontline of the rescue
efforts in Ernakulam district. With volunteers trained in paramedical care,
Thanal rescued 160 PWDs and elderly plus their bystanders. Thanal’s ability to
operate successfully can be attributed to two factors. Firstly, Thanal had a strong
community-network which they were able to efficiently harness immediately
through social media. They had organisation knowledge of households with PWD
and geriatric patients, which effectively acted as a vulnerability map; Thanal was
able to target and prioritise those households. Secondly, Thanal was among the
participants in KSDMA’s training programme on disability-inclusive DRR, which
strengthened their capacity to respond in an organised manner."
Source: Page 317, Kerala Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) Report, August 2018
Donate To Thanal
Giving a donation to Thanal can help us to reach more patients requiring palliative and paraplegic care and transform their lives for the better.