Note: The picture above shows two of our volunteers, Dr. Ekaterine and Dr. Nada Alnaji feeding formula to a baby who needed our services at Hope Foundation hospital. The formula will provide this baby with the calcium that is necessary to prevent rickets.
In the last three months, Hope Foundation hospital has provided treatment of rickets for 50 children! Our committed health workers are continuing to administer door-to-door nutritional surveys to members from the Cox Bazaar community in efforts to raise their awareness of rickets and how it can be prevented with adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D. We have updated the ‘Overview’ section of this Global Giving page to provide more information on prevalence of rickets in the Cox Bazaar, Bangladesh area, and on our personal action plan for treating rickets. Please feel free to give it a glance. The update explains that Hope Foundation provides treatment for rickets and makes arrangements for patients with advanced cases to have surgery where they are referred to Ma-O-Shishu Hospital in Chittagong, Bangladesh. However, we are excited for that to change! In 2013 we will benefit from the services of a very qualified surgeon from France, Dr. Thierry Craviari, who has volunteered to perform rickets correction surgery in-house at Hope Foundation hospital to any of our patients in need.
Thank you kindly for keeping track of our page, our progress and for GIVING! We hope you can see how much your donations have improved the quality of these children’s lives. If you want to learn more about this cause or any other projects of Hope Foundation, please ask. We would love to fill you in.
Ayesha Siddiqua was married by the age of 12 and gave birth to her first child by the age of 14. Her birth attendant during labor discouraged her family from taking her to the hospital for delivery. Due to the limitations of a home delivery, she suffered from an obstructed labour and developed a Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF). For four years, Ayesha coped with the effects of urine incontinence. Although she visited 7 different hospitals to receive treatment, the constraint of poverty always remained an obstacle. Finally, she came to Hope Foundation's Cox's Bazar Hospital for Women and Children where she was welcomed by Dr. Arrowsmith and his team of medical assistants. After receiving her surgery, Ayesha expressed her desire to become a trained delivery assistant in order to prevent women from suffering the same complications.
Dr. Arrowsmith successfully operated on 20 other patients in addition to Ayesha. The complex nature of fistula surgeries attracted doctors from Chittagong Medical College and Chittagong Ma O Shishu Medical College who learned by watching the procedure. Jolene Webes, a Canadian National Nurse, assisted in the surgeries and trained the nurses on staff how to achieve quality care for post-operative fistula patients. Due to increased numbers of patients, Dr. Arrowsmith will be returning to Bangladesh for another fistula camp in November 2012.
Thank you for all your support and donations! Great work has been accomplished and it was all because of your help. Please stay updated on our progress by checking our website for the latest newsletters from the field: www.hopeforbangladesh.org
Earlier this summer on May 12th, Hope Foundation held a fundraiser at Mehfil Restaurant in Sunrise, FL. Over 100 supporters attended the dinner. Among the guests were Mr. Nurun Har (member of Parliament) and Dr. James Howell (Professor of Public Health and Associate Dean at Nova Southeastern University). We were thrilled to see the community support for a good cause and look forward to utilizing the funds raised for our various projects and providing nutritious meals for our patients.
Thank you all for your support and contributions. Great work has been accomplished and we could not have done it without you!
