Abdul Gafoor runs a small business at Pulikkal in Malappuram district. But his shop is open only five days a week. Over the past one year, Gafoor has shared his Mondays and Thursdays with patients of the Government Mental Health Centre at Kuthiravattom.
“A good Muslim”, Gafoor says, “should give in charity a portion of his wealth as ‘Zakath’. I have no wealth but only health. So, I decided to give my health as Zakath and help people in my own way.”
Gafoor is a community psychiatry volunteer of the Pulikkal Pain and Palliative Clinic, which supports hundreds of psychiatric patients in and around Pulikkal in Malappuram district to help them regain their feet in society. He is now an integral part of the Cognitive Rehabilitation Centre at the Mental Health Centre.
“Medicines can cure diseases to a certain extent,” says Shynu R., psychiatrist at the Mental Health Centre and in-charge of the Cognitive Rehabilitation Centre. “Most patients lose their ability to think or enjoy or even move after treatment. Even when they are engaged in some rehabilitation activity such as candle making, they act mechanically. There is a lot to be done before discharge for them to blend with society,” she said.
Gafoor spends his time at the centre with patients who have almost been cured of the illness and nudges them in a friendly way to read newspapers and draw pictures. He also makes them recollect their childhood memories.
“It calls for a lot of patience, but Gafoor is just the right person for that. These activities help in reviving patients’ creativity and thoughts,” Dr. Shynu says, adding that a number of patients have shown tremendous improvement as a result of the cognitive rehabilitation process.
“Our attempt,” Mr. Gafoor explains, “is to help patients design their own life. They should return to enjoy the same roles in family and society that they enjoyed before getting sick. It is known as ‘Role Recovery’.”
However, both agree rehabilitation activities need to be streamlined. “We need a proper rehabilitation centres in all districts,” Dr. Shynu says.
