Fire accidents are worse than road accidents. Close to 70 lakh people are affected in India every year due to fire and fire related accidents. Of this, approximately 10 lakh people experience severe burn injuries in face, hands and legs affecting their everyday life. Rotary club of Coimbatore Metropolis along with Ganga Hospital have come up with “Hope after Fire” program to help these people lead a normal life.
Hospitals save the life of people affected in fire accidents. But to reconstruct the affected part of the body, the patient has to go through reconstructive surgeries. A lot of people are forced to live with the affected body parts as they are unable to afford such expensive surgeries. Hope after Fire program aims to provide free surgery to such people who have been affected by fire accidents.
Rotary club of Coimbatore Metropolis along with the Ganga Hospital have been implementing this program since 12thMarch 2012. 550 people have benefitted from this program. A total of 905 surgeries at a cost of 5 crore 4 lakh rupees has been spent on the surgeries. Many major and minor surgeries for burn victims have been provided by Ganga Hospital. People from various parts of the country like Kerala, Delhi, and Lucknow have benefitted through this program.
Rotary club of Coimbatore Metropolis provides the necessary funding for this program. Now an additional 3 crore rupees has been allocated by Rotary for this program. Rotary club of Oak Ridge through the Rotary Foundation has also contributed to this program. The program was launched virtually on Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Dr. S. Rajasabapathy, Managing Director, Ganga Hospital, Chairman of the Project. “This is a very Soul fulfilling task for us,” he said. “We save the lives of those affected by fire. They should then look for treatments for body injuries and disabilities due to fire accident. Many people suffer daily as they are unable to afford these high cost surgeries or due to lack of knowledge. Our aim is to help restore the lives of these victims to normalcy. Burn injuries can be corrected through surgery and Treatment. We offer these surgeries in association with the Rotary Club of Metropolis for free. The high cost of treatment for burn victims is because of the Surgeon Cost and other professional charges. Ganga Hospital fully takes care of it. We continue to provide medical care and counseling after treatment until complete recovery. We also guide employment opportunities for those in need. We are happy that a lot of victims have returned to their daily lives rather than depend on others”.
“This is the first time in the history of the Rotary District 3201 that 3 crore rupees is being spent on one project. People who need help under the Hope after Fire program can contact us and benefit from this program” added Rotary Metropolis President P.R.Vittal.