Meet the Srinagar doctors behind 'Apparel for Poor'
JAMMU & KASHMIR: With the onset of winter in Kashmir, a group of doctors have moved beyond their official brief and launched an initiative “Apparel for Poor” to help the needy and downtrodden people fight the intense and bone-chilling cold this winter.
The group of doctors and medical students is led by Dr Mohammad Salim Khan, Professor and Head of Department (HOD) Community Medicine Government Medical College, Srinagar. Dr Mohammad Salim Khan said the MBBS students posted in community medicine have to visit people for socio-clinic profile as part of their MBBS curriculum. During these visits, these medical students came across poor and needy people, who could not afford winter clothing.
He said the doctors and medical students decided to help the deserving families survive the harsh winter.
In order to reach out to the maximum families in need of winter clothing, the doctors and medical students with the help of ASHA workers identify the people and families, who need help in the form of warm clothes during the winter.
They identify the people and families, who don’t have the means to buy fresh winter clothing to keep themselves warm in the intense cold in the Valley, especially during the 40-day harshest winter period of Chilai Kalan when there is the highest possibility of snowfall.
Dr Salim said the doctors at the Community Medicine took the initiative of helping the poor people fighting the intense cold in winter by providing them with winter clothing.
“We decided to collect the new and used woollen clothes and shoes for the needy people. It has been our endeavour to facilitate warm apparel for the poor,” he said adding, “We have been doing it for the last four years”.
In his Twitter post, Dr Salim appealed to people to donate warm clothes (new/usable old) for deserving families in this harsh winter.
People have been told to bring warm clothes to the Department of SPM (Community Medicine), GMC Srinagar. Dr Salim said they are receiving good response from the people, who come with warm apparels. “People can come and drop off warm clothes at our department. We receive calls even from outside Kashmir.”
“Not only the used ones but even people are contributing new warm clothes. It shows the kindness of the people here towards their compatriots,” he said. Among the warm clothes donated by people include pherans (a long cloak of woolen), sweaters, jackets, trousers, warm shirts, women’s apparels and shoes.
“We then sort out these items. Torn and shabby clothing are avoided. And after packaging, we provide these apparels to the needy people at their doorsteps. We visit the homes to give the woolen apparels to them. They don’t need to come to us,” said Dr Salim.
He said they started this initiative four years back and every year, they provide winter apparel to about 100 to 200 deserving families.
Dr Salim said they are doing this as part of their responsibility towards the society.“We are doing a bit for our society. Through this gesture with the help of the locals, we help deserving people survive the tough weather through warmth of warm clothes.”