Jan. 26, 2009, Khairo Dero: Ali Hasan Mangi Memorial Trust held a medical camp in the village of Khairo Dero, district Larkana, in Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh on Jan. 24-25. Orthopedic surgeon Dr Farooq Raja and Air Commodore (Retd) Khalid Iqbal very generously donated their time and services for the camp.
Dr Raja saw 125 patients during the two days he spent in Khairo Dero and assessed several cases in need of corrective surgery, braces, leg elevations and specially fitted shoes. Following these diagnoses, we plan to arrange for these patients to be treated as required. Sikandar Ali, a 25-year-old man was diagnosed with `bamboo spine’ because of which he is unable to stand or walk. Ali Hasan Mangi Memorial Trust donated a tricyle-wheelchair to him which enables him to be mobile and independent. As part of our policy of community participation, each patient will make a contribution, no matter how small, to his or her own treatment.
Dr Farooq Raja examines a patient who lost a foot.
Our co-ordinator Shahzad Ali shows Sikandar how to use his new tricycle-wheelchair
We also provided urgent medicines to cases of injury and infection and will be arranging basic medicines such as pain killers, asthma and hypertension medication, ear and eye drops etc for distribution next month.
Dr Raja also provided training to some of the young, educated women in the village who can help patients with basic physiotherapy to alleviate joint pains. He also advised us about how to initiate a basic hygiene awareness program in the village targeting women. We hope to begin this in the spring.
Air Commodore (Retd) Khalid Iqbal spent time speaking to the villagers and held a community motivation meeting. During this session, community leaders, teachers and farmers were briefed about our projects and plans and their feedback and input
was sought. As a result, we were able to motivate the locals to band together and provide voluntary labor for our on-going sanitation and sewerage disposal project. We plan to form a committee of volunteers who will advance and spread the process of community participation.
We thank our donors for their generosity and support and express our deepest gratitude on behalf of the people of Khairo Dero to Dr Raja and Air Commodore (Retd) Iqbal for their heartwarming participation and service.