Medical Camps
Healthcare is a crucial and imperative need, throughout Pakistan. Society For Youth’s approach to making healthcare more accessible, and equitable is grounded in three key initiatives. Our leaders observed and highlighted the persistent lack of medical and healthcare access in numerous communities across several locations. We identified multiple remote and poor communities, where accessing healthcare, physically and financially, is difficult.
Furthermore, we also learned that women and children may face increased challenges in accessing healthcare. Daily wage laborers often aren’t able to skip work to visit the local hospital, which may be farther away and may mean sacrificing a day’s worth of earning. Additionally, stay-at-home mothers often feel restricted due to childcare responsibilities, and normally don’t prioritize traveling to the hospital.
Healthcare access remains most pressing challenge, especially in the post-covid world, in under-resourced neighborhoods in Pakistan. SFY’s key healthcare goal is to make medical-care access more equitable and affordable. SFY launched the #YouthHealthProject2021 to make a meaningful contribution to the healthcare landscape. These camps constitute makeshift clinics where volunteer doctors conduct check-ups and prescribe medicine.
SFY organized a total of 8 medical camps in 5 different cities. 1 each in Karak, Abbottabad, and Swat, and 3 each in Mardan and Swabi. SFY leaders, and volunteers, served an average of approximately 260 patients/camp, with total of more than 2,050 patients served in all 5 cities. Notably, we served more than 300 patients each in Bakshali and Parrai, camps in Mardan and Swat respectively.
Organizing these medical camps have been a phenomenal and trying experience in public leadership for SFY leaders. For all SFY leaders involved, this was their first time leading public service healthcare projects, especially in applying their grassroots skills in various cities and mobilizing enormous resources to successfully complete the string of projects. Collectively, our leaders and volunteers contributed approximately 513 hours of community service, with creating nearly 70 volunteer opportunities.In the practicing the art of grassroots organizing, it’s not only incumbent that we utilize current structures of leadership. But it’s necessary to establish new structures of leadership. SFY leaders have been intentional in creating these additional avenues of community-based, and community-led medical projects. In all the camps, SFY sought to provide financial support and mentorship to groom local leaders in serving their communities. SFY’s work is especially grounded in locally based partnership and leadership. Notably, we want to acknowledge E-Hands for their foundational partnership in Swat’s medical camp.