While several agencies with humanitarian motives are engaged in reaching out to terminally ill patients across the State with vital medicines, the Whiteguards of the Muslim Youth League (MYL) leaped across the ocean to bring vital medicines for three children in Kottayam district during the COVID-19 lockdown.
MYL State president Sayed Munawwarali Shihab Thangal and his team won accolades when they brought the medicines from Dubai for the children suffering from tuberous sclerosis, a rare disease causing tumours in parts of the body, most commonly in the brain, eyes, kidneys, heart, lungs and skin. “The credit goes to the KMCC (Kerala Muslim Cultural Committee) in Dubai which went out of the way to procure the medicine for this disease, risking the challenges posed by COVID-19,” said Mr. Thangal.
The parents of the little children from Kollad, Pala, and Kanjirappally in Kottayam district had turned desperate when the lockdown denied them the vital medicines. Their attempts to procure the medicines through GNPC, a Facebook page which claims to be the world’s biggest Malayali group with 21.30 lakh members, had failed in spite of discussions for weeks.
The Whiteguards took up the challenge through its Medi Chain, a chain mechanism by which rare medicines are procured and reached out to any remote corners in the State. They knocked at drug stores at many places in India, including Mangaluru, Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi, but in vain. The search soon went global, extending even beyond the Persian Gulf.
After a tiring search, the KMCC pharmacy cell found the medicine in Dubai. Rajya Sabha member P.V. Abdul Wahab’s son P.V. Jabir offered to bear the expenses as the medicine cost ₹50,000 to reach Kerala by air cargo.
“Many of our members, including KMCC pharmacy cell coordinators P.V. Ismail and M.V. Nisar, worked hard to procure the medicines for the children. We should never miss an opportunity to alleviate the pain of our fellow beings even when each one of us is worried and fighting the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mr. Thangal.
Rajesh and Sharanya, the parents of a two-and-a-half-year-old child, had no words to thank the Whiteguards. The teardrop that fell from Ms. Sharanya’s eyes when she collected the medicine at Nedumbassery airport on Monday said it all.
