A Story of person who committed to save lives of climate affected thalassemia patient children
This exciting story is about Abdul Fatah, a thirty four years-old passionate and dedicated man who lives in the climate-affected city of Johi-District Dadu. He is married and works as a master tailor. He is one of those rare characters who transformed his life into a passionate social worker from a simple income earner.
He made the decision to dedicate himself to blood donation in order to save the lives of children with thalassemia. Sharing his motivation said, “Four years ago, when I visited local health clinic to meet my friend working there, a very poor person along with little children entered into clinic, appearing to be worried, asking for o+ blood group for his thalassemia patient child, doctor asked me about my blood group, luckily I had same blood group and donated happily, at that time I knew how child’s life becomes so miserable after thalassemia and how parents feel hopeless and helpless.”
This real-life experience made him realize to help those in need by donating blood, particularly to thalassemia patient children and others. Over the years, he made hundreds of blood donors and contacted blood banks, donated blood to 4-5 thousand people across Sindh. He established trust among blood donors and blood banks.
The real challenge for Abdul Fatah began with the super monsoon flood of 2022 where his hometown Johi, District Dadu also adversely affected. Hundreds of thousands people were compelled to flee to safer locations, such as spontaneous camps, host families, or government-announced relief camps. The city of Johi looked like Ireland. Children with thalassemia, who frequently required blood, and other patients struggled to meet their immediate medical and blood needs as a result of the limited communication.
Abdul Fatah was also apprehensive by the flood because his own family was also pressuring him to leave the city, and more than 45 percent of the city’s families had relocated temporarily to safer locations. Explaining the dire need for blood donation in flood emergency, Abdul Fatah said, “Road communication to hundreds of villages and district head quarter adjourned, which made difficult to approach blood donors in emergency conditions for blood donation.”
Widespread floodwaters brought pandemic disease which turned into a terrible health emergency; regular blood donors, new cases, and medical laboratories also looked to him for assistance as he considered most active blood donor. “Believe me; I was very upset because it was so difficult for me to emotionally and financially manage my family during a flood emergency and to respond the needs of thalassemia patients similarly, I was sore and depressing whenever I received a call from a person in need, hence I moved my family to a safer location and decided to keep working with flood-affected people”
He gained confidence and began providing mobile boat emergency medical assistance to the most vulnerable flood-affected families trapped in flood-enclosed villages, rescuing them and transporting them to the nearest medical facility for treatment and blood assistance. At the same time, he posted solidarity messages on social media to support children with thalassemia to encourage new blood donors to save their precious lives. It was hour’s long exercise to bring thalassemia patient from villages, provide them blood and send them back after refreshing”. It wasn’t easy for the person who also had to deal with the flood trauma along with family and helped others as well.
It wasn’t going well; He had to mobilize resources to rent out a boat to save patient families stuck in flood-affected villages. “I was feeling so relaxed once these children received their regular blood, since working many years I know the pain of family and how innocent child spends life after becoming thalassemia patient “.
Abdul Fatah not stopped there; he not only extended his work to thalassemia patients but also began organizing mobile medical camps in flood-hit villages to provide free treatment services to vulnerable climate affected people at their doorstep in support with various charity organizations and philanthropists.
This flood experience has given him more strength and courage and he wished to establish a blood bank in his town.