Palliative care training to help Rohingya Refugees

We have set up this fundraising page to support our Dad (Walter).

He is taking time off work to travel to Bangladesh for three weeks in October. He’s joining an international team (three doctors and one counselor) to help train and mentor healthcare providers and community workers in Palliative Care.

Dad has worked as a palliative care nurse for over 20 years. He has shared his knowledge here in New Zealand and now has the opportunity to travel back to Bangladesh to help there. Bangladesh is a country close to our hearts. Mum and Dad met in Bangladesh in the 70’s and we lived there as a family in the 80s. In total he lived for 7 years in Bangladesh.

Most of the training will be in the Rohingya Camps near Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.

“Over 723,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh since 25 August 2017. Most walked for days through jungles and mountains, or braved dangerous sea voyages across the Bay of Bengal. They arrived exhausted, hungry and sick – in need of international protection and humanitarian assistance.” (UNHCR, 2019).

The needs of the dying and of people with physical disabilities or chronic illnesses – are often neglected in humanitarian emergencies. Dad will be working with the only palliative care project in the Rohingya refugee camp. He is not getting paid for this work and will be covering his own expenses. For more information about the project he’ll be working at visit https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/video/2019/04/22/healer-rohingya-camps-local-response-reaches-untreated-refugees

We have set up this fundraising page to help Dad get back to Bangladesh. Your donation will go towards his travel costs, vaccinations, visa and to the project he’s working with.

Please support Walter to train professionals with the skills to be able to give dignity and care to people suffering from life threatening and severe chronic illnesses.

If each of our friends made a small donation of $5 we can support Dad’s trip to Bangladesh and help Rohingya Refugees.