At the Registration Desk ...

by  Apsara

A young volunteer walked into Mahavir Jain Hospital at 11.50 AM on 12th May, 2026. She was guided by one of the faces of FWO, Kuntal, to the first place all patients of the camp would pass through. The daunting, brown registration desk. By 12 pm, amongst the hustle of multiple faces throughout, the desk enveloped 3 main ones - a member of the Rotaplast team (Terri), and two other volunteers. It's periphery saw two older volunteers, Sambhav and Nirmal.

FWO, the force behind it all, Friends Welfare Organisation (FWO) was established in 1995 by individuals committed to serving underprivileged communities through free healthcare. For nearly three decades, FWO has focused on providing free reconstructive plastic surgery to people with complex conditions such as facial deformities, cleft lip and palate, severe burn scars, acid attack injuries, and trauma from serious accidents. Through 28 annual surgery camps, more than 4,500 individuals have received treatment, helping them regain function, dignity, and confidence.

While free cleft lip and palate camps exist in India, specialised care for extensive burn deformities remains scarce. To address this gap, FWO partnered with Rotaplast, USA, to organise advanced reconstructive surgery camps at no cost to patients. These camps are made possible through the voluntary efforts of FWO members, medical partners, outreach partners, and volunteers, with FWO covering all treatment-related expenses – including travel, surgery, medication, and meals – typically ranging from ₹1.5 to ₹5 lakhs per patient.

Back to the desk - Patients started arriving with their attendants. Their names were cross-checked in the system, in case they were returning patients. Terri noted and printed out their details along with a photograph of them and the affected area. Avni, along with the occasional Hindi translation, assembled all the forms into a numbered file, which went straight to the medical staff, never to the patient. Meanwhile, I filled out FWO's intake forms, eyes and legs darting between the patient information sheet, Terri's tablet, and Aadhar cards, all while wrestling the carbon sheets that had their own agenda.

Today saw most of the patients (majority of whom were women) coming in from Assam, by train. There were 3-5 children as well. Though this was an all expenses paid treatment camp, I applaud the patients for placing their trust in them and coming this far. It’s a huge leap of faith.

Post registration came screening. Vitals, bloodwork and intensity of burn scars were assessed. Would they qualify for surgery, to be taken inside the OT? Only time would tell.

Lunch carried on in a ‘catering + shamiana for guests during a grihapravesha’ type of fashion. The pulao, paneer and rasam rice settled my raging hunger. The pappad, curd rice and mango ice cream were obviously the cherry on top of the cake. One of the volunteers tried her best at explaining curd rice (all hail mosaranna) to a few members of the Rotaplast team – I’m not sure how successful that was.

The day moved with quiet reassurances from the volunteers, that the patients unconsciously needed. The Rotaplast team were not daunting in the least and got straight to the point. And thus, screening day ended, slowly nurturing the seed of hope planted in them.