Responsible Charity Supports Urgent Medical Needs of an Impoverished Family

Our current poverty beneficiary, Responsible Charity, shares this story of how they’re supporting an impoverished young man with a serious injury and overwhelming medical expenses.

This is Ismail, a 25-year-old man from the slums of Kolkata who recently suffered a double-fracture open wound to his left leg. The bone pierced through the skin, and after treatment offered at Chittaranjan Government Hospital, which discharged him after a routine first-aid treatment, his leg was soon infected.

Ismail is the sole supporting family member for his aging parents. There are thousands of amputees in Kolkata — we can avoid adding one more to the list. Without our help, the family will dive deeper into poverty.

Our sister charity’s founder Céline Dupart, Gimme Shelter Now, used to go to his house every two days to clean the wound and administer injections, and soon after the family took Ismail to Medical College of Kolkata for treatment. By this time his leg was already infected and there was pus formation, and the broken bone was also infected. They performed an operation where they inserted steel rods and screws to hold the bone in place, without first treating the infection. They then discharged him only six days after the operation.

If he returns to the slum now, his foot will surely get infected again, and the need to amputate it will arise.

We have kept him in a nursing home near the slum (M.B Nursing Home), which is charging a daily rate neither Ismail or his family could ever afford. Medicines and doctor treatments are of course extra. He will need to remain here for at least another week, minimum.

Gimme Shelter Now has covered a portion of the expenses and Responsible Charity has stepped up to cover the rest exclusively through the donations of one of our greatest supporters, Anna-Helena Svensson.

To help us today, please make a donation by visiting www.responsiblecharity.org​/donate. If you are a Foundation member, you can increase the Poverty percentage in your account panel.