Karachi church’s healthcare programme to celebrate jubilee
(June 04, 2012) St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Pakistan’s Karachi Archdiocese has
started offering free medical care to the poor as part of programs marking its upcoming
75th anniversary. About 200 people, including a number of Muslims, attended the first
free medical camp held on Sunday at Stella Maris Church in Neelam Colony, a slum in
the southeast of Karachi mostly made up of housemaids and cleaners. The Parish Pastoral
Council kicked off the medical campaign after a recent survey in its 21 areas, including
Neelam Colony, found the basis for a host of possible health problems. “We discovered
an ignorance of family planning, underage marriages, gynecological problems, hypertension
and low hemoglobin [counts] ,” said Daphne Alfrey, a council chair. On Sunday, three
doctors and a nurse treated poor children diagnosed with conditions including scabies
and intestinal parasites. The council has collected donations of about 30,000 rupees
to help fund the project. Alfrey said their next goal was to set up a dispensary
as well as a counselling service. Archbishop Joseph Coutts of Karachi is scheduled
to open celebrations for the church’s 75th anniversary on June 19.
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