Bringing Health Into the Digital Age

Our 2024 Fundraising Campaign

Dear Friends and Supporters of SAMC Bangladesh,

We are so happy to report that Suraiya Ataur Medical Center continues to provide quality care to a growing number of women and children in Chondipur and surrounding villages. With lockdowns lifted and life returning to post-COVID normalcy, patients have returned to the clinic to prioritize their healthcare and get their routine check-ups.

Dr. Aysu Rahman, co-founder of SAMC, visited Bangladesh in February 2023 to work on the strategic roadmap for 2024. Please read below her report on what’s in store for this year:

Multigenerational women from across the villages visit to get services for a variety of reasons: one came to get an ultrasound for her pregnancy; one came to get her weekly blood pressure checked; another woman came with her baby to use the nebulizer.

The highlight of my visit was being able to connect with the patients. I had the opportunity to speak with patients 1:1 to ask about their experience with SAMC and our staff. I asked them questions such as: “What is going well? Where can we improve? If you could change one aspect of the services, what would it be?” Almost everyone said they appreciate having access to affordable healthcare so close to where they live – previously they’d have to travel several hours for the most basic services. Some suggested an area of improvement may be expanding our family planning services, while others suggested extending our hours of operations. Both items are now on our roadmap for 2024!

You will be happy to know we continue to provide scholarships to women to pursue higher education! This year we awarded two more scholarships to young women who would otherwise not be able to attend university. We provide their tuition for the full four year-degree, as well as room and board for those in severe financial need. Awards for these scholarships range from $5000-6000 for the full four years. Each year is $1250-$1500. Each quarter costs $315-$375. If you’re interested in sponsoring the education of a young woman, please consider donating here.

I also connected with our first scholarship Nursing student who is expecting to give her finals November 2023! She is very grateful for this support which has enabled her to come this far. She is a bit nervous for the finals and asked for prayers.

Another service we will expand on is providing regular consultations and medications to lower the blood pressure for high-risk patients. As a medical doctor myself, I have seen women who have suffered from conditions such as paralysis and acute heart disease because they had long ignored the need to regulate their blood pressure. They face challenges such as lack of affordability in healthcare, the importance of continued treatment, and overall access to medical services. In Bangladesh, 20% of the population suffer from high blood pressure – making it a silent killer. Therefore, it was imperative for me to create a focus around providing services specific to regulating blood pressure for our patients. One year’s worth of medication to treat high blood pressure costs $220 for one individual. If you would like to sponsor the care and treatment of a patient struggling with high blood pressure, please consider donating here!

We are hoping to collaborate with Rotary District 328 in Bangladesh to obtain matching funds from Rotary International to start building the Nursing School in the village.

In December 2022 we collaborated with Rotary Clubs in Bangladesh to provide warm blankets for patients and their families in SAMC. With climate change, Bangladesh has been severely affected. Temperatures this winter reached a historic low – it dropped from a typical range of 78-80°F down to a low of 40°F. This is dangerous for most of the population in Bangladesh – with those in rural areas most at risk of hypothermia. Most of our patients and their families live in houses with mud floors and no heating. To address this, SAMC joined forces with the Rotary Club of Bangladesh and distributed 500 warm blankets. It was a difficult sight to see the villagers clamoring for blankets – afraid they’d have to go back home without something to help keep them warm in the frigid weather. Several times I tried to calm them down by assuring them that we had all the blankets allotted and that no one would need to leave without one. This desperation cemented the need to make this project an ongoing event. Fifty blankets cost $200, so if you’d like to sponsor this project to provide warmth to families in the villages, please consider donating here.