Specialized medics and surgeons from Al-Balsam International Organization, a nonprofit focusing on providing health care for the world’s deprived, have arrived in Tanzania’s capital, Dar es Salaam, on a second humanitarian relief mission for performing operations for the underprivileged in the east African state, especially children.
Upon arriving in Dar es Salaam earlier in March, deployed doctors were quick to schedule appointments. Pre-existing critical cases were attended to first, with the medical staff conducting primary medical examinations and scheduling surgery for infants in need of immediate attention.
Waiting at the makeshift hospital set up by Al-Balsam International, the parents of children voiced their joy at the salvation offered by the volunteering medical team.
Kinda Nimasi, aged seven, suffers from underdeveloped genitalia and is currently being attended to by the Balsam medics.
Recalling the struggle of finding advanced healthcare in Dar es Salaam, Kinda’s father told Asharq Al-Awsat that his family was at the verge of losing all hope.
“There is no potential here (Tanzania) to carry out such operations, and I do not have enough money to treat my son abroad,” Nimasi confessed, adding that what was complicating matters further is that his son’s condition requires specialized surgery at an early age.
He added that he was thrilled to end his son's suffering without needing to pay steep charges, which would have amounted to an estimated $3,000.
An average Tanzanian citizen’s annual income, according to the latest World Bank data in 2017, is about $2,920.
Another beneficiary of the mission is Goma Bhatti, a patient suffering from a rare condition whereby parts of his reproductive organs were displaced and lodged inward.
“Because of the poor financial circumstances of my family, the procedure was impossible to perform at an earlier date. With age, the situation worsened, forcing me to live with my condition despite its side effects,” Bhatti said.
But after getting assigned to one of Al-Balsam’s medical teams, which was in turn briefed on the condition and conducted needed tests, Bhatti underwent life changing surgery.
“I am living the best days of my life having returned to normal,” Bhatti remarked.
Dr. Zakaria Habib, Consultant Pediatric Surgeon at Al-Takhasusi Hospital in Riyadh, partaking in Al-Balsam’s mission in Tanzania, said that the organization's second visit to Dar es Salaam focused on pediatric urology and neonatal follow-up in intensive care.
At this stage, the organization is working to help 20 cases of children between the ages of two and nine, he noted.
Al-Balsam is devoted to bringing about change in the field of humanitarian medical relief worldwide, serving patients in areas with limited potential, all the while enhancing health care programs for poor communities everywhere.
