Introduction

Assalamualaikum and hello to all visitors

First of all, praise to God that this blog can now be launched successfully for the benefit of all. As an introduction of what this relief mission really is, I would like to emphasize that this relief mission is a non-profit organization built to help those in needs which is supervised by the Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia (IMAM).

Background

The Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia (IMAM) was established in Malaysia in 1990 and acts as a professional organisation that comprises of medics, paramedics and medical students, who carry out Islamic oriented medical work. Members have participated actively in medical and welfare services in war torn Iraq, Bosnia, Chechnya, Maluku and more recently in Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, Acheh, Yogyakarta and Cambodia. In unison with the Federation of Islamic Medical Association (FIMA) and MERCY Malaysia, medical aid and relief has been targeted to various areas of calamity.

A branch was then established in United Kingdom with the aim of gathering practising Malaysian medical professionals and students in United Kingdom & Ireland under one roof. Exclusively for the students, a student chapter was set up in both United Kingdom & Ireland offering various medical related activities and programmes.

Introduction

The IMAM Tasikmalaya Indonesian Relief Mission was first designed in response to the humanitarian crisis faced by the Indonesian population as a result of natural and man-made disaster like the recent 7.3 righter scale magnitude earthquake in Tasikmalaya. As a result of this earthquake, many buildings and the roof collapsed, including the roof of the Regent's office of Tasikmalaya. This disaster had left the population, especially children, vulnerable to malnutrition, poor hygiene and sanitation.

This mission allows for the provision of healthcare, health awareness and basic necessities to Tasikmalayans, as well as providing a platform for medical students to get acquainted with basic medical services and the field of relief medicine. We also want to bring people’s attention on the conditions some Tasikmalayans are living in; namely shelter, food, medication and proper sanitation. It will also give a chance for us medical students to complete our electives in a different setting and give an insight on other aspects of the medical career outside hospital walls. This is also a continuation of other relief missions carried out by members of IMAM UKEIRE and will hopefully be an impetus to future mission.

The project details are:

Date : 1st to 8th August 2010

Participant : 11 Malaysian medical students in UK and Ireland

Venue : Tasikmalaya, West Java Province, Republic of Indonesia

Nature of the mission : Medical and social relief

World Health Organisation (WHO) Emergency Report Situation:

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWFiles2009.nsf/FilesByRWDocUnidFilename/NSPR-7VJGAD-full_report.pdf/$File/full_report.pdf

Objectives

For the target group:

• To provide free basic humanitarian and medical services with emphasis on women and children
• To increase medical awareness on issues such as personal health care, sexually-transmitted diseases and basic hygiene.

For student volunteers:

• To introduce students to the field of relief work
• To allow students to experience real life problems and issues and tackle them appropriately
• To provide a training ground for students to work under pressure and working in teams
• To fulfil the elective requirements of clinical year students

Committee

Project Leader :

Mohd Ferdaus Mohd Tahar

Third Year Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin

Assistant Project Leader :

Muhammad Haizie Ibrahim

Third Year Medicine, Univercity College Dublin, Ireland

Secretary:

Nurul Atiqah Ab Aziz

Third Year Medicine, University College Dublin, Ireland

Treasurer:

Farhana Ibrahim Lutfi

Second Year Medicine, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland

Activity team:

Siti Sarah Mohd Nor

Second Year Medicine, University of Leicester, UK

Quarter Masters:

i) Fasihah Mohd Sofian

Second Year Medicine, University of Leicester, UK

ii) Mohamad Fathul Aizat Kamarizan

Second Year Medicine, University of Queens Mary, London

Special Tasks:

i) Farhana Anuar Mushaddad [Publicity]

Second Year Medicine, University of Leicester, UK

ii) Nurthaqifah Farhani Mujiman [Sponsorship]

Second Year Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin

iii) Farah Hazirah Mohd Nasir

Second Year Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin

Proposed plan of activities

1.1 Fundraising and donation drive

1.1.1 Some of the planned activities:

i) Donation drive in each respective universities

ii) Approaching individuals, companies and organizations for sponsorship.

1.2 Preparation training

1.2.1 Courses for student volunteers with IMAM doctors in first aid, emergency medicine, psychology and post-trauma psychiatry.

1.3 Project in Tasikmalaya

1.3.1 The proposed activities are divided into two parts:

i) Medical relief

ii) Social relief

Medical relief

The activities under the medical relief program are still under discussion based on needs assessment that have not been finalised. These are some of the proposed activities:

a) Free basic medical check up

b) Mobile clinic – where free medicines and consultation will be distributed to the local community

c) Mass circumcisions for muslim male children. Most of our team members are trained to perform male circumcision.

Social relief

The social relief will include:

i) Distribution of donations to the needy in the form of:

a) Blankets and clothes

b) Self care and dental products

c) Books and stationeries

d) Food and formulated milk

ii) Community work/visit

a) Visits to local university/school/orphanage. The activities include:

 Informal learning session (e.g. Basic hygiene session, etc)

 Sukaneka i.e. mini sports session

 Colouring competition

 Setting up a reading corner etc

b) Home visits for villagers unable to access the mobile clinic and distribute donation

c) Sports carnival with the local community

Long term plans

For long term plan, we are planning to do some field research and statistic on the situation in Tasikmalaya so that it can be publish and can serve as database and reference for future mission.