Postman's dream comes tru

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/l ... s_true.php

A postman has delivered free health care to 100,000 people in Pakistan, after he realised his dream to open a hospital in his home country.

Mohammed Younis, 55, spent the past 15 years raising £300,000 to build the Alma Bi Hospital, in the Hafizabad district in Punjab, 120km from Lahore.

The medical centre opened with a seven-day eye clinic earlier this month, when doctors saw 1,700 people and performed 140 operations.
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A GP service was then set up to provide an ongoing service until £75,000 is raised to pay for four months funding, after which the hospital will become self-sufficient.

Mohammed, of Bradshaw Road, Watford, said: "It's the only hospital within a 50 mile radius.

"Now there are free medical facilities in that area.

"That's why this hospital is so important. It's a lifeline for those people."

Mohammed, a Royal Mail driver and Communication Workers Union equal opportunities representative at the Ascot Road depot, established The Alma Hospital Trust in 1995, to bring healthcare to one of the poorest regions of Pakistan, where 20 per cent of children die during birth and the average life expectancy is 50.

Derek Rocholl, 46, from Pinner, was appointed as the charity's chairman and together they have worked to raise money to build the hospital.

Construction took three years, under the supervision of Mohammed's nephews, Mohammed Qasim and Mohammed Jamil, who managed materials and oversaw the project, using local builders and resources.

And the population of Hafizabad now has a hospital set in two acres of land, with an outpatient unit of 75 beds, two operating theatres and consultation rooms.

The hospital is named after Mohammed's mother, Alma Bi, who died of leukaemia in 1980.

Mohammed, who was awarded an MBE in 2006 for his service to charity, said: "I feel very emotional. It was a dream 27 years ago.

"It will be an achievement for the whole area. The hospital is so beautiful. No hospital has ever been built in that area."

Derek, a self-employed business development consultant, said: "It was quite emotional for both of us.

"There was a mixed reaction from the local people of elation and feeling a bit stunned by it.

"There was also a feeling that they don't understand how people from another country can be so generous. It's really quite heart-warming."

Supported at home by Royal Mail, the CWU, Watford MP Claire Ward and members of the public, the charity also had extensive backing from two prominent figures in Pakistan - Sayed Shauib Shah Nawaz, a local spiritual leader and chairman of the hospital's management board, and Chaudry Liqat Abbas Bhatti, a politician and member of the National Assembly.

Derek said: "We recognised a need was there and involved lots of people to raise money to acquire land and build the hospital.

"Over the years it's been quite a struggle but through Mohammed's persistence and dedication we have got there.

"It's a marvellous project. People in Watford should be proud of it."

For more information, visit www.almatrust.org.

[stubaby]

I know Younis and i know how commited he has been to this cause.
What he and his other fundraisers have achieved is amazing and they must be very proud of their achievements.
Well done Younis and congratulations.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Younis

[IWW Fellow Worker]

What a fine achievement. Well done to him, and everyone who supported him.