Coimbatore : Beneficiaries Meet of the project 'Hope after Fire,' a joint initiative of the Rotary Club of Coimbatore Metropolis and Ganga Hospital for reconstructive surgery for correction of post burns deformities was held at the Ganga Hospital. Since 2012, under this project, as many as 727 major reconstructive surgeries have been performed free of cost to benefit 440 needy patients. The value of these procedures amount to Rs.3.60 crores, till date.
Coimbatore : Beneficiaries Meet of the project 'Hope after Fire,' a joint initiative of the Rotary Club of Coimbatore Metropolis and Ganga Hospital for reconstructive surgery for correction of post burns deformities was held at the Ganga Hospital. Since 2012, under this project, as many as 727 major reconstructive surgeries have been performed free of cost to benefit 440 needy patients. The value of these procedures amount to Rs.3.60 crores, till date.
Explaining about the project ‘Hope after Fire' (HAF), Dr S Raja Sabapathy, Ganga Hospital Chief and HAF Project Director, Department of Plastic, Hand, Microsurgery and Burns said, "Even more than the statistics, it is the narration of their stories by the beneficiaries themselves that moves the audience comprising of Rotarians, donors, hospital staff, NGOs and eminent citizens. For every patient it has been a life-changing experience. This Beneficiary Meet helps in spreading awareness about HAF among the public.
In India, 10 lakh people suffer from major burns every year and 1,80,000 people die. Of the survivors, about 60 percent of them are left with severe deformities. Most of the time, the deformities are of the face and hands. The deformities of the face make it difficult for them to mingle in society and hand deformities cripple them from earning a living. It is a living tragedy not only for the burn survivor, but also for the whole family. More Indian women die of burns than AIDS and Malaria put together.
Survivors need not suffer because most of these deformities are correctable. Many families are not able to afford the necessary medical care. If both hands get affected, they become totally disabled and they have to depend on other people even for basic activities and hence they lose sight of their self-worth. To provide relief to these suffering people, the project ‘Hope after Fire ‘was conceived in 2012 by Rtn. President Venkatesh of Rotary Club of Coimbatore Metropolis and Dr. S Raja Sabapathy. The idea was to provide surgical correction to deserving people, free of cost. The project was inaugurated by film actor Suriya on March 10, 2012.
Relief of severe burns contractures require major surgery and long term follow-up physiotherapy. When it is done in smaller camps, major procedures cannot be done. Further, they may also require multiple stages of surgeries. Only when this is done in a centre which is equipped to do these procedures, correction of the very severe and major deformities are possible.
Surgery for the correction of severe burn deformities are skill-intensive and could cost a lot. In addition, they require multiple stage surgeries, follow up physiotherapy and special splints and garments. Unfortunately, all these are not available under one roof in many places and so most people with burn deformities end up suffering much. Many lose their jobs and most survivors struggle with daily tasks too.
Surgeries done under this scheme are life changing to people and five survivors shared their experiences about the value of the project. The Rotary Club of Coimbatore Metropolis President, Rtn K K Chugh and the Secretary Rtn N Janakiram Raju underlined the Rotary International’s commitment to support such worthwhile projects everywhere. Noted speaker Marabin Maindan Muthaiya delivered a motivational speech at the event.