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Mr Kassim Suraj owes GH¢27,000 in medical bills at the 37 Military Hospital
Mr Kassim Suraj owes GH¢27,000 in medical bills at the 37 Military Hospital

Philanthropist donates GH¢10,000 to June 3 victim in Accra

A philanthropist who does not want to be named has donated GH¢10,000 to one of the victims of the June 3 disaster who is still on admission at the 37 Military Hospital.

Her intervention followed a story the Daily Graphic carried on the fourth anniversary of the disaster this year, detailing the plight of the victim, Mr Suraj Kassim.

The money, which will be managed by the Graphic Needy Fund will help cater for the upkeep of the victim who also lost his wife and child to the disaster.

Support

“I was touched by his plight, the story was really touching. The least we can do is to support in our small way, while hoping that the government will take care of him till he leaves the hospital,” the philanthropist said.

Mr Kassim owes the 37 Military hospital outstanding medical bills amounting to GH¢27,000 covering surgical procedures and post-operative management. He also needs additional support to enable him to seek further medical care abroad.

Surgeries 

Doctors at the hospital say Mr Suraj still requires some scar revisions and other surgeries to correct the partial or complete absence of hair on some parts of his body, a condition known as alopecia.

Hair transplant surgeries are best performed in Europe and North America, a letter by the 37 Military Hospital made available to the Daily Graphic stated.

According to his medical report, the 40-year-old father of four who lost his wife and child in Ghana’s worst tragedy in recent memory, suffered about 60 per cent total surface burns and an inhalation injury.

His injuries were described as mixed thick burns, and he had since undergone eight surgeries that covered skin grafts and various corrective and reconstructive surgeries in four years. He is currently being prepared for other surgeries.

Mr Suraj, however, said previous surgeries had left him penniless and that he would be unable to fund the remaining surgeries.

With his face totally disfigured, he said he was motivated to live because of his wife who unknown to him at the time, also died with their seven-year-old child in the disaster.

Mr Suraj was initially discharged by the hospital 10 months after the fire disaster that swept through large portions of the area around the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange in Accra.

However, while on a routine thrice-a-week dressing at the hospital in 2017, doctors noticed some discharge from his head, beginning another two years’ admission to the hospital for more surgeries.

Intervention

Last month, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) published a list of the disaster victims to receive compensation in the incident which claimed more than 150 lives and caused injury to scores of others. It is, however, not clear how much each victim will be entitled to from the organisation’s intervention.

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