There is a sea of mosquitos swarming near the tents. The air is hot and the temperature is 104 °F. There are hundreds of children who are roaming around without any proper clothes or shoes on their bodies. Most of them belong to families who have just fled the neighboring villages in interior Sindh, Pakistan to escape the catastrophic floods caused by the heavy monsoon in their village.
Amongst these countless people is the face of Taj Bibi, a widow cradling her child close to her chest as she carries him around. Her child was burning with a hot fever for the past two days. However, there was no medical support at the relief camp she was in. When Taj Bibi heard that a medical camp had been set up by Indus Hospital & Health Network (IHHN), she immediately rushed with her child. “Please treat him, he has very high fever for two days, I am worried sick about him, I have no one to go to”.
Taj Bibi was forced to leave her village in Sindh (Sujawal) when the water levels were declared dangerous by the local government. She picked up her two-year-old son and came with her sister’s in-laws to the relief camp in Thatta, Sindh. Her son had been sick but since there was no medical team available at the site, Taj Bibi had no option but to wait helplessly.
Upon running some tests in IHHN’s medical camp, the team discovered that the child was suffering from Malaria. The staff immediately enrolled the child for malaria treatment. Taj Bibi was amongst the lucky ones who got treatment in time. But there are thousands who still await!