A band of brothers heals the poor
Grouped under Basanta Welfare Foundation, they move on holidays with costly and sophisticated medical equipment, examine poor patients, performs diagnostic tests and prescribes medicines.
The team includes specialist doctors who carry equipment like Ultra Sonogram and ECG machines to serve the poor, destitute and agriculture labourers.
They set up a temporary camp and examine 150 to 200 patients and perform at least 50 diagnostic tests on a day.
"We have just started. We want to be a model for others who will help the destitute. Only a desire is needed for this. I dream of a day when none of the poor will be left out of treatment facility", said group leader Dr Shafiqul Alam, his eyes shining with determination.
Well-known for his personal charity and involvement in socio-cultural activities, Dr Alam thought of creating such a group long ago, seeing the plight of destitute people desperately seeking treatment at hospitals.
Lack of poor patients' ability, harassment by brokers, poor facilities at hospitals and pathologies made him decide to float the Basanto Welfare Foundation several weeks ago.
Senior Medical Officer of Rajshahi University Dr Fakir Abu Zahid and Dr Sheikh Akhtar Ahmed joined him first with a mission to treat the poor at remote villages.
College teacher Dilip Ghos, cultural activist Naimul Huda Liton, development worker Abdul Latif Chanchol and social worker Saifur Rahman Zintu joined hands to help the doctors.
On Friday, their camp at Chanduria village was a blessing for some 300 indigenous families in five villages. Poor indigenous people from nearby Babul Dang, Chumra Pukur, Ratoil and Nichpara villages in Tanore upazila flocked to their camp to avail facilities they never got earlier.
Many of them were suffering from various diseases like Kala Azar, night blindness, intestinal disorder, bronchitis, kidney ailment and gallbladder stone.
Two government community heath centres in the villages are closed for long. The villagers seldom go to the Upazila Health Complex because of what they say lack of attention and hassle by brokers.
A total of 175 indigenous men, women and children were examined at the camp on Friday. Tests for diseases were done for many of the patients. Thirty-six of them were selected for better treatment at hospitals.
Five-year old Joy Saren was detected having a swollen lever. The group took the child to Rajshahi for better treatment free of cost.
"We wish they come (to our village) once a month", said Bikas Marandi, an indigenous man in the village.
Forty year-old Prokash Saren had no words to praise the team. "We did not know so many of us were suffering from complicated diseases", he said.
Basanto Welfare Foundation so far organised about a dozen such medical camps in rural areas.
"We are performing costly tests free of cost and prescribing medicines ", said Dr Alam while talking to this correspondent.
"We hope to distribute free medicines at camps in future", he said while examining a patient.
"We have limitations. We dream of a charity hospital in Rajshahi", he said.
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