Our target group is : the Poorest of the Poor. The poorest of the poor. But where do they live and how do we reach them? Slums are constantly on the move: people move within the city, local conditions change and the presence of other NGOs must be taken into account. After all, we don’t want to set up parallel structures but fill gaps with our medical services. With the help of local consultants, we were able to select even more sensible locations and have been working in these since the beginning of the year.
Salzburg doctor Brigitte Ritzer is on site and senses that the patients there are particularly needy. Our help is still urgently needed. This is already her 7th mission in the metropolis of millions. Dr. Brigitte Ritzer reports from Dhaka:
“I am once again in Dhaka. The medical team and the accommodation are familiar to me, but most of our locations are new.
These are slums where few other NGOs are active and where people have to live in indescribable conditions.
The living conditions in a slum next to the railroad are particularly bad. The trains rattle past every half hour, 3 meters in front of our hut. Then the earth trembles, a cloud of dust rises and you can’t understand a word. We do this for a few hours a week, but the inhabitants of the slum have to endure it every day.
The slum dwellers fetch drinking water from a water pump. People also wash themselves there. As everything is open, of course, in clothes that then dry on their bodies – a disaster for the many skin diseases.
Residents here in Dhaka do not have to pay rent on the railroads, so these are often the first accommodation for newcomers to the city from the countryside. However, the railroads can decide at any time to bulldoze the huts overnight after a short warning. That’s why they are particularly shabby here: planks and scraps of plastic and jute sacks in between and wallpapered inside with newspapers, 1 family in 1 room, in 1 bed, more likely a cot or sleeping on the floor at all. Those who can, leave these Bahnslums again, but many do not succeed.
I saw a patient today who lost a leg in an accident two years ago. There are hardly any prostheses here, or they are prohibitively expensive. The man was a day laborer. He can no longer do his job. There is no insurance for him – now he is begging. The patient has 4 children, one of whom is severely disabled. I already had this one as a patient here with me. How will he ever escape this misery? How will he be able to send the children to school?
Another example shows the situation of a female patient. A young woman with severe lung disease. Her husband has died and so she has to look after her four children alone. Three of them go with their mother to the garbage dumps to collect paper or other recyclable materials. This is the only way the family can earn a living. None of the children attend school.
There are other examples, the list would be long.
Life here is exhausting, even for us doctors. But as I realize every time, I am very happy to be here. How good it is to be able to help. We can at least alleviate the suffering of these people a little.
Best regards,
Brigitte”
