• About Us
  • The TFT Story
  • Team
  • Write for TFT
  • Online advertisement tariff
  • Donate To Us
Sunday, August 14, 2022
  • Home
  • Editorials
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Features
  • Spotlight
  • Videos
  • Citizens’ Voice
  • Lifestyle
  • Editor’s Picks
  • Good Times
  • More
    • About Us
    • Team
    • Write for TFT
    • The TFT Story
    • Donate To Us
  • Home
  • Editorials
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Features
  • Spotlight
  • Videos
  • Citizens’ Voice
  • Lifestyle
  • Editor’s Picks
  • Good Times
  • More
    • About Us
    • Team
    • Write for TFT
    • The TFT Story
    • Donate To Us
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home Features

No Healthcare, Clean Water, Sanitation: The Toxic Tales of Christians Living In Islamabad’s Rimsha Colony

Roughly 38 percent of Islamabad’s population lives in underserved areas, where they live in abject poverty. Take the case of Rimsha Colony…

Venita Christopher by Venita Christopher
April 18, 2022 - Updated on April 19, 2022
in Features
No Healthcare, Clean Water, Sanitation: The Toxic Tales of Christians Living In Islamabad’s Rimsha Colony
47
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Rimsha Colony H-9 is an underserved area in Islamabad, where many poor Christians live without basic amenities.

Established in 2012, Rimsha Colony still lacks basic healthcare facilities. After surveying the colony to report the basic health issues, Ravadar Minority Women Network uncovered that since the housing structures are weak, people live in tents, without easy and safe access sanitation facilities. People purchase water from the nearby markets at high price or use impure water drawn from the well near the graveyard. The absence of waste management services makes the environment unhygienic, with high risk of disease outbreaks.

The Ravadar team discovered that malnutrition is a basic problem affecting many children. Medical care is out of reach for them. They cannot afford expensive medicines even when their children suffer from fever or diarrhea or flu.

The local women suffer from hypertension, osteoporosis, and vitamin deficiency. The area lacks lady health workers, and women do not approach the only male doctor available for consultation, as they feel uncomfortable to discuss health issues with him. Besides, the doctor charges Rs200 per visit, which they cannot afford.

Considering the vulnerability of the colony population, Ravadar Minority Women Network decided to set up a two-day free medical camp in Rimsha Colony on Feb 26 and 27, 2022. It provided the residents opportunity to receive free checkups and medicines.

The local women suffer from hypertension, osteoporosis, and vitamin deficiency. The area lacks lady health workers, and women do not approach the only male doctor available for consultation, as they feel uncomfortable to discuss health issues with him. Besides, the doctor charges Rs200 per visit, which they cannot afford.

“I have diabetes and most of the time my blood-sugar level rises above the normal. Neither do I do have the means to check my sugar level nor doctor’s fee,” says Shazia Joseph*.

Parween Masih* suffers from osteoporosis – “I live in such a poor condition that I cannot afford basic foods such as milk. Due to my weak joints, I find it difficult to work or even walk.”

Male doctors at the camp also examined men in the community. They found that most of them suffer from hypertension and excessive alcohol consumption has weakened their bodies. Doctors provided free medicines and advice to such male individuals to help them improve their health.

A young boy shared, “I have typhoid, and my condition is poor. Due to the lack of medicines and food, I feel lethargic. My parents cannot afford my treatment.”

Around 300 children and females in the Rimsha Colony, as well as men, were provided free medical checkups and medicines. The women were extremely satisfied with the treatment they received from the lady doctor visiting the colony. Ravadar is trying to establish camps in other informal settlements of Islamabad as well.

The residents of Rimsha Colony and underserved areas of Islamabad should be provided with proper basic health services and medicines. According to the World Population Review 2020, Islamabad, the Capital city, is home to 1.7 million people, and is expected to grow to 2.2 million by 2030. A report published by UNICEF in July 2020, titled Profile of Slums/Underserved areas of Islamabad, reported that approximately (38 percent) of the total population of Islamabad lives in slums or underserved areas. Some 3 percent of residents of slums or underserved areas are temporarily displaced or migrants from other parts of the country, while 8 percent are non-natives.

*Note: The names of the interviewees have been changed to protect their identities.


The blog has been published in collaboration with
Ravadar Blog – a series that documents the lives of religious minorities in Pakistan.

Photos credit: HIVE Pakistan Facebook page

Also Read:

Defining the Post-Colonial Political Settlement: 75th Independence Anniversary of Pakistan

Dignity In Diversity: Engaging With Differences To Discover The Self

Tags: IslamabadHealthcarepopulationchristiansclean waterravadarsanitationHIVE Pakistanravadar christiansRimsha Colony
Previous Post

6 Men Convicted Of Lynching Sri Lankan National In Sialkot Get Death Sentence

Next Post

Welcome To Naya Imran Khan

Venita Christopher

Venita Christopher

Next Post
Remorseful Imran Opens Up About His Many Mistakes, But Fails To Apologise

Remorseful Imran Opens Up About His Many Mistakes, But Fails To Apologise

Recent News

Defining the Post-Colonial Political Settlement: 75th Independence Anniversary of Pakistan

Defining the Post-Colonial Political Settlement: 75th Independence Anniversary of Pakistan

August 14, 2022
Dignity In Diversity: Engaging With Differences To Discover The Self

Dignity In Diversity: Engaging With Differences To Discover The Self

August 14, 2022
Imran Khan Announces Fight For Freedom At Its Last Stage

Imran Khan Announces Fight For Freedom At Its Last Stage

August 14, 2022

Twitter

Donate To Us

Subscribe
The Friday Times – Naya Daur

THE TRUTH WILL OUT


The Friday Times is Pakistan’s first independent weekly, founded in 1989. In 2021, the publication went into collaboration with digital news platform Naya Daur Media to publish under a daily cycle.


Social Media

Latest News

  • All
  • News
  • Editorials
  • Features
  • Analysis
  • Lifestyle
Defining the Post-Colonial Political Settlement: 75th Independence Anniversary of Pakistan

Defining the Post-Colonial Political Settlement: 75th Independence Anniversary of Pakistan

by Dr Danish Khan
August 14, 2022
0

On its 75th independence anniversary, Pakistan faces acute...

Dignity In Diversity: Engaging With Differences To Discover The Self

Dignity In Diversity: Engaging With Differences To Discover The Self

by Nadeem Farooq Paracha
August 14, 2022
0

In March 1987, I sat for my final...

Social Feed

  • About Us
  • The TFT Story
  • Team
  • Write for TFT
  • Online advertisement tariff
  • Donate To Us

© 2022 All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Editorials
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Features
  • Spotlight
  • Videos
  • Citizens’ Voice
  • Lifestyle
  • Editor’s Picks
  • Good Times
  • More
    • About Us
    • Team
    • Write for TFT
    • The TFT Story
    • Donate To Us

© 2022 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist