AussieBangla

Reflections - Alf Coren

Chris Duckworth — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 02:54:15 +0000

My reason for travelling to Bangladesh last March 2009 with my Nepean Hospital Colleagues was to acknowledge my respect and admiration for the tremendous work and committment of Dr Hasan Sarwar in helping the underpriviledged people of his country. The different surgeries gave these people an improved quality of life which would never have been possible without him, our nurses and anaesthetists, who all contributed greatly to their wellbeing. Dr Sarwar is a great humanitarian and doctor, not only for the people of Bangladesh but also the many Australians he has treated. He is an inspiration to us all.

Reflections - Hasan Sarwar

Chris Duckworth — Mon, 11 May 2009 07:44:26 +0000

It is my great pleasure that our 2nd trip went so very well - 89 operations .. A great achievement for the team. All this success is only possible with the help and support of our colleagues, friends, families and our generous Australian people and Bangladeshi community.

All members of the team have great feeling for the Bangladeshi people and did much hard work to organise everything.

Thanks to my friend Cliff (Barbara’s husband) - a great man always working for us behind the scenes.
Chris Duckworth, another great supporter who organises our website.
Amanda and Quintin Hampshire, great friends of the Aussi Bangla team, with their great idea of “child sponsorship” - 50 more operations due to this scheme.

Well done everybody. Please keep up the good work with such great feeling for humanity.

Hasan Sarwar

Reflections - Angela Brady

Chris Duckworth — Mon, 11 May 2009 07:42:22 +0000

Each time I return to Bangladesh, I’m faced with experiences that I will remember and treasure forever. From the countryside (beautiful) to the city (hectic) to the wonderful, warm and humble people.
Yes, the work is hard, the hours long and very testing, but I think that it is all part of this challenge.
To know that we have changed someone’s life forever is a wonderful feeling.
These little malnourished babies, so small and fragile, now have a chance to thrive and grow. That’s what it’s all about.

Angela Brady

Reflections - Dr Knox Low

Chris Duckworth — Mon, 11 May 2009 07:40:44 +0000

To be invited on the March 2009 AussiBangla trip was a great privilege. I had originally intended on joining the 2007 trip but was not able to as I was unable to get the leave at the appropriate time. I was very disappointed at the time and I was glad to be able to fulfill the promise I had made to Dr Sarwar.

The fundraising, planning and logistics of the trip were superbly organised, principally by Barbara Mitchell and Angela Brady on the Australian end with many things on the Bangladeshi end organised by Dr Sarwar. Overall the trip was a great success and we all felt that we had made a significant change to the lives of the people we operated on. Not everything went to plan as you would expect, especially if you have had any experience with the general chaos that is life in Bangladesh, but the team all pulled together and supported each other through the challenges that were presented to us. Giving a safe level of anaesthetic care in a difficult environment with much more limited resources than we are used to in Australia was challenging but at the same time rewarding. With the experienced team that was present, you knew you could rely on everyone doing their job well. Without experienced assistance the whole job would have been much, much harder. The fact that we were able to complete 89 operations in 10 days without serious complications speaks volumes about the dedication and professionalism of those involved.

The Bangladeshi people were overwhelmingly generous to us despite their poverty. It certainly wasn’t a holiday, with long days and challenges at every turn, but we all got more out of the trip than we put in.

Dr Knox Low, Anaesthetist