Lending a helping hand

At a relief camp at Mithan Kot

“We barely fled with our lives. 7-feet waves washed across the entire village when the Muzaffargarh Canal overflowed” narrates Muhammad Hanif of Basti Kandi Wala, a village at a few kilometers from Mehmood Kot. Standing near a crowd of displaced populace, Hanif tells that there is no chance for a normal life, not at least for a long time, “As long as waters recede completely, there’s no going back. And even when it does, we’ll have homes to build, marshy lands to deal with and above all, the rent that is to be paid to the landlords.” His village comprises of about 30-35 houses. The residents of nearly all of them are currently stationed at Qureshi wala, by the Kot Addu road.

The area had been cut off both ways for about a week when the road drowned under-water. At one side, Mehmood Kot and at the other, Kot Addu was inaccesible. Even now when we headed for the region, a 200-m strip was being over-flown with a strong current of water, though not deep, yet constantly cutting at the road and diminishing it’s size. “For a week, we were stranded, with no food or relief from the authorities or anyone.” Ghulam Asghar, aged 35 relates. “However CM Shahbaz Sharif made a visit yesterday and now tents are being pitched up for the affectees” he points to a cluster of tents nearby. According to the locals, a government person had been assigned by the CM to maintain NIC lists of the affectees and then allocate them tents accordingly.

Medical Relief Camp by Azm-e-Nau*:
After a week-long effort, Azm-e-Nau had been able to procure a fair amount of medicinal provisions(to the cost of 1 lakh), four doctors from Nishtar and a dispenser. Initially the plan was to pitch up a tent at an appropriate location and then stay there for the rest of the day. However, considering a lot of scattered clusters of tents and people, we decided to go mobile. Three stops at different localities, including Qureshi wala, were made and some 350 – 400 patients were diagnosed and treated with basic medicines. Some cases required immediate infusions due to severe dehydration. Many eye infections were also reported, probably an outcome of using contaminated water for washing purposes. Throughout the check-up, a log of the diagnosis was continously maintained. This, we did to keep track of the more prevalent diseases and make our arrangements accordingly for future excavations.

Following are the results:
The most prevalent problem was skin allergy which was involved in some 40% of the cases. Skin infections, infected wounds, rashes and boils, all were not only frequent but had grown worse because of the lack of clean water. Many who’d been wandering in flood waters, either to fetch goods from inundated homes or to some other purpose, had their affected skin in very bad state. Boils were common among children and a majority of elderly patients reported fatigue and weakness.

Here is a more detailed statistical analysis of our log record:

Malaria: 40% patients had acquired it, especially in areas where water had somewhat receded and left behind swarms of mosquitoes thriving upon low-level inundations. Majority of the cases were found among children and those in early teens ranging from ages 1-15 years.

Gastro: 60% patients reported being suffering from gastro. The distribution was more pronounced in the age brackets 1-15 years and 15-30 years.

Eye infections: Although there weren’t many eye cases, the ones we came across were most notably affecting children with 40% of the diagnosed children suffering from it.

Diarrhoea: Diarrhoea was more or less common in nearly all age groups. 30% patients suffered from it and some of the cases were pretty severe. We thus infused them immediately with drips.

Lack of clean water, stifling climate and profuse sweating all contributed to many cases of dehydration. Some of them had to be treated with infusions. For others, ORS suspension solutions came in very handy. Doctors highly recommend it to tackle dehydration and it’s a cost-effective solution. There were obvious cases of malnutrition too, with children and elderly in 50+ age bracket among the major sufferers. Upon a friendly inquiry with the locals, it was revealed that food disbursal was often a tug-of-war where the strong, especially young males, were able to scoop majority food items and the weak and elderly faced inadequacy.

Future expeditions:
All in all, the trip was fruitful in that we were able to expend whatever resources we had brought together for the intended purpose. It also gave us a first-hand experience of people’s plight and the needed medicine. We realized we need to add eye drops and skin ointments to our supplies.
Once back, we are planning for another expedition. News have been pouring in of Jampur’s inundations and road link to Rajan Pur being inaccessible which means both areas are recieving minimum food and medicinal supplies. We thus intend to make journey there within a week or so, since it’s the most remote areas which need most help.

Meanwhile, here’s a sincere piece of advice for those who are arranging medical relief trips: Since you’re buying medicine in huge stocks, buy them off a phamaceutical company directly and NEVER from a normal medical store. You’d be astounded at the remarkable discounts you get, mostly in the range of 30-40%. Also, local pharmaceuticals are the best choice if you want maximum medicine in lesser resources. One may question their efficacy but according to many doctors who’s advice I sought before opting for them, there is a very small difference in efficacy. And that a well-reputed pharmaceutical does indeed make the best choice to buy off medicine. So use your resources effectively and make the best choice!

*Azm-e-Nau is a student, non-profit organization working solely for social welfare and to promote youth’s social and national role.

- Salman Latif