Reader's disgest - May issue

RD MAY ISSUE :
The Medicine for Grief.

This article is mainly relating about a doctor who volunteered medical relief to the remote villagers in Afghanistan. She had encountered many people, patients, from all walks of life.

Afghanistan was in chaos due to the Taliban being driven out of power. The people's lives were being threatened, and villages were reduced to rubbles. It is saddening to see the villagers and people struggling to seek medical help, and at the same time, grieving for those family members who had passed away in this tragedy. After all, all human beings have a heart, and feelings. I can understand how they feel, to lose their beloved family members, or even being the only sole survivor in the family.

Through the issue, it is realised that the people needed more than medical cure, or medical facilities. What they yearned for, is "A cure for the broken hearts". It was possible to provide medical relief, but the aching pain that they go through, can never be stopped. Their souls had already been inflicted with serious damage, and i can imagine how helpless the doctor felt. Especially when she met with people who had lost their newborn babies due to the poor conditions, all she could do was to give the person a hug to show that she cared.

Once, she had met with a mother of seven boys who is a university graduate and forced to stop working as a teacher. The husband had related the story to the doctor, and upon doing so, the doctor was touched. I was touched too. The boys of the family had an undying persistance to succeed, regardless of the circumstances. We should all learn from him. He had gone through a few years facing hardships, and not being able to pursue his dreams at that time. However, when he managed to come back and reunite with the family, he made up his mind to continue pursuing his ideals, and never to give up. This was very heartening, and somehow manages to touch my heart.

All of us are living comfortably right now, and we may not understand how the other countries are doing. However, regardless of the different surroundings and environment, we all can succeed. A person with a suitable ambition drives him/herself on. If the people in other countries, who had faced numerous hardships can do it, we cam do it too. Perhaps the medicine for the grief of the people in Afghanistan, would be the enduring resilience, and hope within them.

One who dares to dream, dares to lose.