Free Social and Health Awareness Camps

Al Mustafa Welfare Trust has organised Free Social and Health Awareness Camps around Pakistan. These Camps were of the great assistance for the deprived communities of rural areas. The team of doctors and paramedical staff along the aid of hundreds volunteers have distributed free first aid kits, and provided free blood tests, dental check-up, and health related literature among the masses.

Children with cleft lips are cursed, bullied and isolated

This is true story and its happening with thousands of children right now!

Could you imagine a life without a smile?

Sarah was not able to smile for 8 years because she was born with cleft lips.

She was her parents only daughter but born with a cleft lips. As is common with the children born with cleft lips, she was not able to eat or speak properly and suffered from malnutrition. She was taken as cursed by society and frequently bullied at school thus isolated from her peers. Her parents could not afford cleft surgery and were helpless as the plight of their daughter; we can only imagine how devastating this must have felt.
Shocking, isn’t it? But cleft lips are treatable and Al Mustafa specializes in cleft surgery.
It costs just £150 to give smile back on the faces of children like Sarah.
Alkhamdulilah, Thanks to generous donors like yourself, AMWT was able to carry out free cleft surgery for Sarah in 2011. Just one week after the surgery Sarah beamed’’ Now I can go to school and play with my friends’’. Remember, it cost just £150 to give Sarah back her smile.

Her story is real, and it’s happening to children in countries around the world right now.  According to World Health Organization, child with cleft lips born every 2 minute in the world.  There are approximately 170,000 children born with clefts annually and 90% sufferers can't afford surgery. There are 10000 babies are born with clefts like Sarah in Pakistan every year.

Al Mustafa is dedicated to help the children like Sarah. We believe that every child born with a cleft anywhere in the world has the opportunity to live a full productive life with dignity in the society. We have helped hundreds of children to smile like Sarah in 2011.

AMWT organises free plastic surgery camps for treatment of children born with cleft lip and palate once a year. Camps are arranged in the poorest parts of the world where the higher number of clef lip and palate cases are located. Such as Pakistan, Kashmir, Bangladesh, India, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda. Each camp carries out up to 50 surgeries. The surgeries are carried out at camps and complex cases are referred to the network of Al Mustafa medical centres or nearby private hospitals.

AMWT also organize seminars and public lectures for awareness of this issue. These events help to increase the interaction of cleft patients with the society and reduce their feelings of deprivation and isolation.

Project of 400 Tons of Rice for flood victims of Pakistan

Al-Mustafa Welfare Trust distributed 100 tons of rice among ten thousand flood victims in Pakistan in 2010. These generous amounts of rice were provided by the Government of Taiwan. The distributiontook place at all the provinces of Pakistan including Azad Jammu & Kashmir.

Alhamdulillah, as a result of that satisfactory distribution, once again The Government of Taiwan has sent 400 tons of rice for the distribution among 40,000 flood affected people of Sindh. The Ship containing 400 Tons of Rice in 20 Containers has arrived on 18^th of March 2012. The team of Al Mustafa Welfare Trust is ready to perform all the tasks from the clearance of goods till the distribution, inshAllah.

The rice will be distributed in the following areas:
Mirpurkhas, Samaro (Umerkot), Nawabshah , Daur , Bandhi , Khadro, Shahpurchakar , Sanghar, Shahdadpur, Badin, Judho, HyderabadTando Adam,Moro, Thatta, Sukkur, Dadu, Jacobabad, Shikarpur,Thull, KandhkotKashmore, Meherd, Qamber, Shehdadkot, Sehwan Shareef, Deherki, Khairpur.            

The distribution will be completed within two months, inshAllah. The distribution process among 40000 families will require RS 20, 00,000. Al Mustafa will not able to carry out this project without your generous support. Please help us generously to reach with food to the flood affected families.

Free Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery Appeal

Problem

Cleft lip and palate are birth defects and are the most common congenital facial deformities. A cleft is a fissure or opening—a gap. A cleft lip can be either unilateral or bilateral. With a unilateral cleft lip, the gap is only on one side of the lip under either the left or right nostril and might extend into the nose. Babies born with a bilateral cleft lip have a gap on both sides of the lip, and they may have a deep split in the lip that extends into both nostrils. A person with a cleft could have only a cleft palate, only a cleft lip, or both a cleft lip and a cleft palate.

Every year more than 170,000 children are born with clefts. Cleft lips and palates occur in approximately 1 per 500-700 births, the ratio varying considerably across geographic areas or ethnic groupings. Clefts occur more frequently among Asians (about 1:400) and certain American Indians than Europeans. Clefts are relatively less common among Africans and African Americans (about 1:1500). Cleft lip alone and cleft lip with a cleft palate occurs more often in boys, while cleft palate without a cleft lip occurs more often in girls.

(Source: World Health Organization International Collaborative Research on Craniofacial Anomalies)

• 170,000 children are born with clefts every year
• 1 in 700 children born have a cleft lip or cleft palate
• 10,000 babies are born with clefts in Pakistan every year
• 300,000 cleft lip and palate sufferers in Bangladesh
• 35,000 children in India are born with cleft every year
• 90% sufferers can't afford surgery

Causes

Cleft lips and palates are due to the non-fusion of the body's natural structures that form before birth. Generally, facial clefting results when medial, lateral, and maxillary nasal processes on either left, right or both sides of the forming craniofacial complex do not fuse completely. Suspected causes include genetic (inherited) and environmental factors (like maternal diseases due to certain medications or vitamin deficiencies).

Cursed and Isolated

Children with cleft lip and palate may have had to cope with bullying or teasing. Sufferers with cleft lip/palate are less likely than non-affected peers to marry. In Uganda babies with cleft are called Ajok which means “Cursed by God.” In many parts of the world babies with cleft are killed or abandoned right after birth.

Also, children with cleft lip and cleft palate also difficulties with eating, hearing loss, dental problems, such as cavities and missing or malformed teeth, speech and language delay.

How We Work

AMWT organises free plastic surgery camps for treatment of children born with cleft lip and palate once a year. Camps are arranged in the poorest parts of the world where the higher number of clef lip and palate cases are located. Such as Pakistan, Kashmir, Bangladesh, India, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda. Each camp carries out up to 50 surgeries. The surgeries are carried out at camps and complex cases are referred to the network of Al Mustafa medical centres or nearby private hospitals.

AMWT also organize seminars and public lectures for awareness of this issue. These events help to increase the interaction of cleft patients with the society and reduce their feelings of deprivation and isolation.

It Just Costs £150 to give Smile

£750.00 can provide cleft surgery for five children

£450.00 can provide cleft surgery for three children

£150.00 can provide cleft surgery for one child

£75.00 can help train a surgeon

£30.00 can cover costs for an overnight hospital stay

We will welcome any contribution

Free Eye Camp For The Flood Victims of Kot Adu, District Muzafargur

Kot Addu is a deprived area of district Muzaffargarh  in the Punjab, Pakistan. The area was on the front hit of floods in 2010. The flood has washed away the major part of the Kot Adu and left the inhabitants in huge despair. The flood water had destroyed the infrastructure such as roads, schools, hospitals and private properties. The masses have lost their crops and cattle as the 90% of the residents depend on the livestock and seasonal crops. AMWT had set up relief camps for the flood victims in the area for months after the flood. These camps had provided free accommodation and food including medicines and temporary education for children. AMWT has also rehabilitated 100 houses and installed various water pupms and tube wells for flood victims in Kota du.

Though there have been various developments but situation is still vulnerable after two years of floods. People have no jobs and lack of access to reasonable health facilities.

AMWT has arranged free eye camp in Kot Addu targeting 100 blind people in the flood hit areas of Kot Adu . The camp was organised at Tehsil headquarters Hospital Kot Addu on February 25 to 26- 2012. Member Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, Ahmed Yar Hinjra, inaugurated the eye camp. A medical team of 5 highly qualified surgeons and 10 eye technicians had provided free check up facilities to patients. They operated 100 cataract surgeries and provided screening facilities to over 2000 patients during two days camp.

The majority of patients have bilateral mature and hyper mature cataract that were unable to see for last many years. Many patients like Nisar Ahmad (aged 70) has been operated who were able to see through only one eye due to with mature cataract. Alhamdulillah after operation, they were able to see the world full of colours with their own eyes. All visitors to the camps appreciated the activities of Al Mustafa for the area.

AMWT is grateful to all of its donors and sister organizations for their generous support.

 
Tajammual Latif

Free Eye Camp Updates From Lahore, Pakistan

Lahore is the most historic and populous city of Pakistan. There are 945000 blind people in Punjab which is the the most populous province of the country. AMWT has started series of free eye camps for the different areas of Punjab where 1000 blind people will receive free cataract surgeries.This year, in total we are targeting 5000 blind people whereas 1000 blind people will be targeted from each province including Kashmir. The three days Free Eye Camp in Lahore on 10^th, 11^th and 12^th of February 2012 was of great success. It took place on three different areas; Ghaziabad, Salamatpura and Baghbanpura respectively to target as many blind people as possible. The patients were targeted from the deprived areas of Lahore.

The camps were very busy and elderly people were provided with free transport services as well. There

Medical teams, 5 doctors and 10 paramedical staff, visited camps where they screened out the cataract patients. After completing the eye screening, all cataract patients were transported at Al Mustafa Medical Centre Lahore, where operation theatre was set up to carryout the surgeries. 100 surgeries has been carried out successfully and 2000 people received free eye treatment. All kind of medical facilities including eye check up, medicines, glasses, cataract surgeries and post surgery treatment were provided free of cost. Also, free meal and transport facilities were provided to the elderly patients.

AMWT is thankful to all of its donors for their kind contribution for this good cause and hoping for their support in future for eye camps in other cities.

Project Manager : Tajjamul Gurmani

Updates from Free Eye Camp Karachi, Pakistan

Al Mustafa is fighting against blindness in Pakistan and breaking the poverty-blindness cycle since 1985. AMWT is targeting 5000 blind people during 2012 in Pakistan. AMWT has arranged two days free eye camps on 18^th and 19^th of February at Al Mustafa medical centre Gulshan e Iqbal Karachi this year.


Eye surgeries and treatments were provided free of cost to the deserving patients. The camp was fully equipped with all required medical equipments from lenses to medicines, surgery equipment to glasses etc.

 Also disposable surgery items like syringes, gloves, cotton, cloth pads and other relevant items required for operation theatre were available in ample quantity. A team of 5 doctors and 10 paramedical staff along the management team of AMWT participated in two days camps

 It’s been observed that alike previous years, a huge number of patients visited the camps. Women and elderly people were in higher numbers among the visitors. This clearly shows that blindness prevails more among the elderly people and women. Patients have been also transported from the rural areas to the camps. Initially the screening tests were conducted and patients who needed cataract surgery were admitted in camp. Free operations were carried out by our volunteer surgeons. 50 surgeries have been carried out in two days camps. Apart from that, over 1000 people received free eye treatment and glasses. After the operation, some patients were taken for a day or so where they had been given free accommodation and food. Moreover, our free ambulance service helped in transporting the patients to their homes.

Alhamdulillah AMWT managed to arrange the camp successfully in Karachi. The cost of one eye surgery was £35 and each camp arranged was of £1000. This was not possible to achieve this project without the contributions of AMWT’s kind donors and sister organisations. We are grateful for all of our generous donors to enable us to help the blind people to see the world again with their own eyes.

Project Manager: Ahmed Raza, Karachi, Pakistan