Hyderabad: Appreciation can make someone’s day, probably even change a life. The initiative taken by Helping Hand Foundation (HHF) in setting up a primary health care centre in a mosque at Vattepally in the Old City has come for fulsome praise by AICC president, Mr Rahul Gandhi. This has spurred the NGO to replicate the idea. Interestingly, other city leaders have chosen to shrug off the initiative which is having a positive impact on the locals.
In a letter received here on Tuesday, Mr Gandhi commended the initiative taken by the Masjid-e-Ishaq and the HHF to facilitate community health services to about 1.5 lakh marginalised people in Hyderabad. “I salute your resilience and I am confident that you will continue to make a positive difference to your region in the field of healthcare,” the AICC president remarked.
Encouraged by the response, HHF has resolved to redouble its efforts to provide medicare to the poor and needy. Requests for setting up similar health centres is pouring in from different slum areas in the city. The HHF is scouting for mosques with spacious premises to set up health centres since that way, it will not have to pay for the space. “We are speaking to different masjid committees and are shortly going to open a health centre in Kalapathar area”, says Mujtaba Hasan Askari, Managing Trustee, HHF.
Ever since the Masjid-e-Ishaq threw open its doors for the sick early this month, about 35 to 50 patients have been visiting the health centre every day with various complaints. Not just Muslims, poor persons from other communities are also making use of the health care facilities offered here. On the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi, a multi-speciality health screening camp was also organised.
The HHF health centre has become a hit from day one unlike other ‘basti dawakhanas’. It also offers referral links to 30 plus government hospitals. This is apart from free diagnostics, nutrition kits for pregnant women and TB patients and insulating vulnerable sections from unscrupulous quacks. As a result even complicated cases are being handled here by referring patients to the Osmania General Hospital, Nizamia Tibbi Hospital and other government hospitals. What's more, even free transport is being provided to the patients.
"When a patient comes to us he incurs zero cost", says Mr. Askari whose organisation specialises in rising to medical emergencies.
