Louisville Doctor touched by Earthquake
Adeel Haq, a Pakistani-American doctor living in
“I had seen stuff on TV but didn’t realize the destruction was so widespread,” said Haq, 29, who is a third-year resident at University of Louisville Hospital. “There was a sense of desperation that I’ve never seen before in my life.”
With local hospitals destroyed in the Battagram area, no running water or high-tech equipment, Relief International medical teams are currently caring for thousands of patients, roughly 150 a day, averaging 12 major surgeries and 70 minor surgeries. The doctors deliver babies and treat everything from gangrene to broken bones and intestinal illnesses.
After spending two months in the quake-affected region, Haq and his wife, Sadaf, 27, who accompanied him, returned to Louisville with a passion to help the villagers they left behind.
“Right now it’s snowing there, and people need gas stoves that are covered that are less of a fire hazard,” Haq said. “They need wood-frame shelters to replace the tents. When we were there, people were keeping themselves warm with candles. It was my first trip back home since I moved here, at 16.”
Born in
Haq is remembered well by Relief International officials as one of several Pakistani-born American doctors who rushed to help their native land.
“He knew the culture, was able to communicate well and was very instrumental in making sure the Battagram clinic was up and running,” said Flouran Wali, Relief International’s country director in Pakistan. “We are basically catering to people who are displaced, in this tent village … now close to 400 families and growing daily. We’re there, thanks to Adeel and doctors like him, serving the village.”
Since the earthquake, Relief International has deployed seven medical teams, hired local doctors and established two field clinics in the hardest-hit region.
Founded in 1990, the agency has provided health care, built shelters, distributed food and established schools and agriculture projects in large-scale crises across the globe.
In Pakistan, it is also ramping up a program to provide earthquake survivors with income-producing livestock.
A statement on its Web site, www.ri.org, reads in part, “Decisive action and financial support are urgently needed to save lives.”
Before going there, Haq asked members of Louisville’s Pakistani community to financially support the relief effort.
“We sent an e-mail to everyone we knew, and we were able to raise about $16,000 in four or five days,” he said. “We thought people would benefit from cash.
“So besides medical care and food distribution, we did a lot of stuff on our own with that money. We bought soccer balls and cricket bats for children in our tent village. Some of the money we gave to build shelters. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I hope I never have to do something like this again. But the need is still there.”
Reported by Larry Muhammad on Courier-Journal.com
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March 3rd, 2006 at 9:14 am
I’m going to Srinagar on April 5th and would like to help out with the earthquake relief efforts both there and in Pakistan. I have family in both countries and valid visas for both. I am a pediatrician with pediatric ER experience and I am able to both bring and mail supplies ( antibiotics and ambu bags have already been donated as well as albuterol inhalers and spacers for use) before I arrive as well as bring some with me. Can someone point me to some direct contacts for delivering supplies and for volunteering in the area. I plan to be around until April 18th. Thanks
March 15th, 2006 at 12:24 am
God Bless You for all that you do.