This last month I had to go to Urgent Care twice within less than two weeks. The first one because I had a part of a sea urchin in my foot, along with swimmer's ear and the second time because I cut myself on a rusty barbed wire fence and was not up to date on my tetanus shot. So for me, that meant a thirty-minute walk where I was annoyed the whole time. Annoyed that the urgent care was that far away and annoyed that I had to even go in the first place. I was annoyed later when I had to wait because let's be honest, there is nothing urgent about urgent care most of the time...not in the states. And then I was annoyed that I had to pay $40 USD.
Meanwhile, halfway around the world this last week, there was a Medical Camp held by Hands 4 Zero Poverty (H4ZP). This was made up of one doctor, three nurses, and two local people to spread the news; which resulted in 165 people showing up, not annoyed but grateful that they had an opportunity to get proper medical treatment. Out of those 165 people, there was also a young twenty year old who for three days had been trying to get appropriate medical treatment. But not for herself, she spent three days, going to several people and places, all for the young boy she was carrying.
This is the story of Ali Khan:
Ali Khan is a three and a half-year-old boy, who comes from a family with four other children. The young woman who was carrying him, is in fact, his mother. She was married at age 11 and is now, at 20 the mother of five kids. Her husband supports the family by working, where he makes approximately 7,500 Rupees per month. Which is equal to $105 USD. While he is working though, this young mother takes care of the children and the house. This is where Ali Khan's injuries occurred. Three days prior the mother was boiling water when Ali's older sister (5 years old) inadvertently pushed the pot of boiling water to the floor, where some of the water landed on Ali Khan. This resulted in Ali having serious burns to part of his body. His mother took him to the local hospital the same day this injury occurred, only to have them do a basic wound cleaning. That hospital offered no further assistance. She then sought further help by going to her local community leader, where she was told that she would receive help, but that never came. Which is the reason she came to the medical camp when she heard the news of it going around the slum.
They arrived at the camp at noon where Hands 4 Zero Poverty arranged transportation for Ali and his mother to go to a private hospital. There a doctor saw them at 5:30 pm. Members of H4ZP; Raj, Mohit, and Billy went to the hospital after the medical camp was done, to check on Ali and his mother. They arrived at 6 pm, but Ali was already sleeping. That was the first time, in going on three days of major burns, that Ali had received any antibiotics and painkillers.
According to the doctor at the private hospital, Ali and his mother must come back every day for approximately 14 days, for Ali to continue to have proper treatment for the burns he sustained. Ali's mother committed to brining him back every day and H4ZP will check in with the mother and doctor to make sure this is being done and that everything continues to help Ali recover. With the donations that we have received at Hands 4 Zero Poverty, the medical expenses for Ali's treatment has been entirely covered.
This was Ali Khan's story, but his isn't the only story like this. So while most of us reading this don't give a second thought to getting medical treatment for the most minor things, elsewhere people struggle to find any proper medical attention at all. Remember when I said I was annoyed I had to pay $40 USD for my slow medical treatment? That is at worst, half a days work for me, and the whole thing took a little over an hour. For this family, that would have been almost half a months pay and would have been unthinkably fast. My one-hour complaint, compared to three days waiting. This is what Hands 4 Zero Poverty is all about, working to bridge this divide between people, to ensure that we all have a better future.
