<i>A small personal initiative now a big help for many</i>
An elderly patient being treated at 'MA Khaleque Hospital', a charitable health centre, at Kajoli village in Sreepur upazila of Magura.Photo: STAR
A small charitable dispensary at Kajoli village under Sabdalpur union in Sreepur upazila has come as a blessing for the poor in the area. Though it is not well equipped, for nearly 18 years, the 'MA Khaleque Hospital' in this remote village, 25 kilometers off Magura district town, has been rendering a commendable service to the local people, providing initial healthcare and medicine free of cost. Every day of the week except for Friday between 9 am and 5 pm, on an average 100 patients avail treatment and medicine for common health disorders like fever, stomach ache, cuts and bruises. The poor are provided with necessary medicines free of cost while the well-off gets the prescription only. Md. Shamsul Azam, a retired engineer and noted industrialist in Dhaka set up the healthcare centre on his own initiative in 1994 on about 30 decimals of land and named it after his late father Alhaj MA Khaleque. Since its inception, Shamsul Azam has been personally bearing all expenses of the dispensary. Currently, the annual expenses, including salaries of a doctor, a qualified nurse, a trained rural medical worker and three other staffs, stand at Tk 6 lakh. “The hospital has fulfilled my dream,” said Shamsul Azam adding, “I set up the health centre to help the poor and it is performing quite well.” The place has become a first aid centre for all kinds of patients in the area. If the ailment is grave, the doctor immediately refers the patient to upazila or the district level hospitals for further treatment. For the local people Shamsul Azam's charitable dispensary has become a 'sacred' place. The upazila health complex is situated about eight kilometers while the district's hospital is nearly 25 kilometers away. “The most notable success of this initiative is that it has created health awareness among the local people,” said Md. Serajul Islam, chairman of Sabdalpur union parishad (UP). “We can now say it proudly that none in Kajoli village dies without medical care since the opening of the health centre,” he added. Zahida Khatun of Kajoli described how the villagers had to travel to the district headquarters and spend huge amounts even for common illness like fever. “This is a great relief for all of us in the village where a qualified doctor decides what to do next when someone falls sick,” Zahida Khatun said. Abdus Salam, a primary schoolteacher, said that nobody now sends a patient out of the village before consultation with the doctor at the health centre. “Even if the patient is in a critical condition, we first take the patient to the local hospital and then arrange further treatment as per the doctor's advice,” Abdus Salam added.
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