Earth Guards dialogues with the heart and mind of Dr. Heba Al-Suwaidi

The Earth Guards dialogues with the heart and mind of Dr. Heba Al-Suwaidi

Sustainable development remains a process intertwined with the nation’s goals and aspirations in all fields, which places on civil society a major responsibility to reach these goals. Therefore,Earth Guards sheds light on a humanitarian experience led by a woman who gave herself to the people of Egypt, as she believed that we are all worthy of transforming sustainability from an idea into a reality.

We saw the results of this reality in “Misr Burns Hospital”, and from here we had a heart-to-heart dialogue, where the highest meanings of humanity are formed, which makes a person worthy of his humanity; A special interview with Dr. Heba Al-Suwaidi, “Founder and Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Ahl Masr Foundation for Development and the Ahl Masr Burns Hospital”… So here are the lines of the dialogue.

What are the basic motives behind the decision to establish the Ahl Masr Foundation for Development and establish the Ahl Masr Burns Hospital?

It was the beginning of the events of the revolution, as I participated in the field the entire time; Out of a desire to support the injured, and there I saw the extent of the damage they suffered, especially those who suffered burns, which I felt deeply in the case of a one-week-old baby girl.

In an attempt to save her, I sought to obtain a bed for her in a nursery, but I did not find in all of Egypt – unfortunately – a nursery that would accept this type of case, and when we found a bed in intensive care, her soul had departed!

This was not the only case. Shortly afterwards, two children living in one of the villages were burned; As a result of their playing with burning coal, we immediately began the journey of searching for suitable beds for their cases, but after two days of searching, we found two beds, but the first child had died when he arrived at the hospital, and the other child died two days later.

Also among the cases was the case of twins who entered the emergency department in a hospital, suffering from burns due to boiling water. They remained there for eight hours without doctors intervening to save them. I intervened in the matter to transfer them to another hospital, but fate spoke! The first child died after entering a severe state of “dehydration,” and several hours later the other died as a result of his blood breaking down. All of these cases and incidents made the field of burns, in my opinion, an important field for providing assistance.

Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds! Which helped me build relationships with hospitals and cooperate with specialist doctors, until we were able to rescue approximately 4,000 injured Egyptians, in addition to 44 injured from Libya. Then we worked to rehabilitate them and integrate them into life again, without this being in compliance with any standard other than the standard of humanity, and out of a desire to provide the necessary assistance to my country in a humanitarian manner.

I also wanted to understand this topic more and more; So I sought to study the topic and dig deeper into it, to understand the problem of burns. Meanwhile, God willing, I would meet Dr. Amr Mabrouk, who opened a window for me into the reality of the burn problem in Egypt, asking me to help treat this problem and support burn victims in Ain Shams and Demerdash Hospital.

Then I put my hand on the threads of the problem, and we immediately began conducting a study of the subject. We found more than half a million cases – approximately – of fire in Egypt annually, and unfortunately there is no clear data on the number of people injured by burns, except for the number of accidents related to burns in general, which is estimated at 51,000 accidents, but without us knowing how many people are injured in these accidents!

This number is scary!

Yes, and I cannot imagine that every incident produces one infected case. I happened to see a report that said that burn injuries in Egypt amounted to fifty-one thousand cases of fiery burns, but here I mean another type of burns; It is burning with boiling oil or boiling water.

Then in 2013, I saw a medical report issued by forensic doctors, in which they said: Many cases of severe burns – including burned corpses – are recorded as cases of decreased blood circulation.

In this report, doctors urge civil society to find a cure for this problem, especially since we cannot make a census of these cases, because they are not recorded. Therefore, it is not possible to differentiate between the number of cases that died from cancer – for example – and the number of cases that died as a result of burns. This is because arson is classified as a crime.

So, the incident is referred to the prosecution, which exposes the families to criminal accountability, so the doctors take the usual path, which is to restrict the incident to a drop in blood circulation, and this does not reflect the reality of the matter; So we decided to establish a social research center; Until we know the truth of the matter, we can know the number of cases that died by burning, the number of burning cases – in general – in one year, know the burning cases that came out of education, know the number of burning cases that caused divorce, and so on.

And here the result was shocking. We found that of the 500,000 cases, an equivalent of 37% died in the first six hours, when they developed a blood infection, or a drop in blood circulation, as the body’s organs stiffened one after another until the heart stopped! Therefore, we liken the case of a burn to a person who has suffered a stroke in the brain.

So how do we deal with a stroke? Of course we must deal with it immediately, otherwise the person will die. Such a burn is dangerous, and requires immediate first aid and intervention, otherwise the person suffering from the burn in the first six hours will be exposed to successive complications, and this is included in cases of boiling oil and boiling water. All of them are injuries that may lead to death.

I previously said that burn cases lead to death in the first six hours at a rate of 37%, but after a day or two, this rate reaches 60% due to blood infection. In addition to being seriously disabled, physical therapy must be performed; To avoid stiffness and dryness of the organs.

All of this was a major reason for my insistence on humanitarian assistance in this field. In truth, I am a person who loves a challenge. The more rejection I face from society, the more determined I become, and the stronger my desire to seek to bear responsibility more than before.

For me, the revolution was a window into two things: The first: treating the afflicted, and the second: looking at Egyptian society from a different perspective, from which I benefited greatly. This is what made me insist that the aid be in the form of projects, to help people with disabilities resulting from burn accidents. I was not helping to rely on people, but rather I was working to support the injured through loans, and everyone who was in need of treatment. All of that is what made me look at society with this different outlook.

Through the developmental principle of social impact and responsibility, how does Dr. Heba Al-Suwaidi view charitable work and its role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

I believe that our role is to fill the gaps and gaps that exist, and this helps us to benefit in different fields. We have a problem in Egypt, which is that we all help by “feeding”; Therefore, we called on civil society to collect data related to those in need. So that assistance reaches all those in need; Therefore, they must be divided into regions and specializations.

From here, this was the vision that I worked according to, and we had to define the matter more and more; Because burns are a wide field, should I help in the field of burns through treatment only, or through awareness, prevention, and linking them to sustainability? Because if I intensify awareness and prevention campaigns, the rate of burns will decrease, and all of this affects sustainability, such as reducing the number of dropouts from education.

From this standpoint, we entered homes in the villages to remove the causes that lead to burns. We supported the infrastructure of electricity and water, especially water. So we worked to deliver water to different areas, and connect main water lines to help extinguish the fires. We also sought to qualify pioneering women in rural villages, as role models, and this is useful in addressing the people of the villages. Women are able to enter homes and raise awareness among others.

We also do not work in isolation from other elements of civil society. We have cooperation protocols with motherhood and childhood centers and the National Council for Women. Because we are working to combat two very serious issues: violence against women and violence against children!

All of these issues focus on sustainability, starting with awareness and prevention, then treatment. Treatment includes physical therapy, as well as psychological therapy – which is the most effective – and functional motor therapy. Through the latter, we work to rehabilitate the injured and build their capabilities. So that they can use their hands – for example – again; Thus, we help them return to life, whether by completing their education, or by resuming their work.

With regard to the interruption of the educational process in some cases, this is mainly due to bullying, which prevents the affected person from completing his role in society. Therefore, we cooperate with schools to implement return-to-school programs, and this type of program includes training students, teachers, and workers in these schools. In order to deal with these cases correctly. All of this also contributes to sustainability.

As for empowering women, we help them through a “revolving loan,” and we teach them to establish and implement some small projects, and we have amazing success stories. With these projects, they can repay loans and then achieve financial freedom. In addition, many cases work with us in the hospital to complete their professional careers. Then we will have achieved the essence of sustainability and its most important goals.

There is another aspect, which is how we made the hospital – the Egyptian Burns Hospital – a sustainable project, and this was on two axes, the first: developmental, and the other: financial related to the entity itself. This includes “governance,” which is an important influence on sustainability, and means setting criteria for selecting workers in a field like this, as they are an important basis when seeking to achieve development goals.

Another matter related to the hospital is that part of it – approximately 20% – is not based on donations, and we have what qualifies us to do this. We have 14 outpatient clinics that serve different specialties of burn victims and patients, especially since there are no hospitals close to our location. Therefore, these clinics provide general medical services to citizens, such as tests and x-rays. In addition to these clinics, there is a laser center and a center for physical therapy and psychological rehabilitation. The citizen does not pay a bill, but is merely a donation, and this donation is an ongoing charity in a place equipped with the latest equipment, and is a reason for saving a person.

You often call for the need for the United Nations to recognize an International Day for Burn Victims, as an acknowledgment of the challenges they face; What are the most important of these challenges?

Yes, I hope that there will be an international Egyptian-Arab day for burn victims, and I do not want it to be just a hospital or institution. Rather, we in Egypt are capable of being a pioneer – globally – in this field. Just as we were able to make an Arab day for the orphan, I believe we are able to do this for burn victims. Let us look – globally – at AIDS Day, but burns do not have a fixed day, but rather are global weeks, each week different from the other.

As for the challenges in this area, they are that we did not communicate adequately with the United Nations, and we had to meet with some countries regarding this matter. But Corona prevented us from these endeavors for two consecutive years. The most important step here is that we need to register this day first with the Arab League and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

I realized that it must first start with creating a success story, and then the biggest dream can be achieved. In fact, I dream of it being global. That is, the issue of burns becomes a global concern.

So, I pursued this dream from my country – Egypt – first, but I suffered from many challenges within Egyptian society, which were in the form of an unjustified attack, the most severe of which was the attack that targeted me – personally – after I launched the idea of the “Pin Bank of Charity”, and I was amazed at how charitable work became an accusation!

There are many people who do not want to hear anything about burns and their problems, until it came to the point that I was attacked when I was supporting the little girl Raghda in the “Capable with Different” initiative; Until the officials listen to us, and until this beautiful child meets the President of the Republic. There I faced unnatural frustration and accusation! Where some said: The President of the Republic should not see a deformed child!

How is this?! I was confident that Mr. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi – the President of the Republic – wanted to see the child Raghda and everyone in the same circumstances as her. A girl with a beautiful smile and a warrior, she was able to create her own story of success and steadfastness. She seeks to become a lawyer consultant, and we fought a lot for her to be accepted into Assiut University.

Where is the problem?! It is God’s destiny! Therefore, people must accept them. Despite this, when His Excellency the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, accepted the two girls, Basmala and Manal, two years ago in the “Able to Differ” initiative, the issue came to the forefront of Egyptians’ concerns, and this became an important turning point. Then, the channels sought out us after they had refrained from shedding light on these cases. These are the challenges, and in my opinion, they are most represented in getting along with society, and although we are still suffering, the conditions now are much better.

The Ahl Masr Foundation has many development efforts, including cooperation in launching a project to develop 100 villages in Beni Suef Governorate; Can you tell us about this initiative and other development initiatives at the Ahl Masr Foundation?

Praise be to God who helped us come a long way in these villages! Where we established a main water line, in cooperation with Coca-Cola, and we are now working to implement awareness programs and prevention of the dangers of burns.

In fact, I see that the state has great efforts in developing the Egyptian countryside, but we are trying to focus more on awareness and prevention of the dangers of fire, and treating cases affected by fire, as well as rehabilitating these cases and helping them to resume their education. This is our greatest concern.

The Ahl Masr Foundation won the Presidential Award of the International Council for Small Business, in appreciation of the Foundation’s efforts to develop the field of medical and psychological care for burn victims, and to reintegrate them into society. How did the Foundation work to support these victims?

We – as I said before – support burn victims with physical and psychological treatment, then their rehabilitation stage, after which they enter the “Life Coaching” stage; So they learn how to deal with people. We also work to enhance their ambitions and dreams, so that this method becomes a form of awareness and a new way of looking at life. This is in addition to teaching them some work, and teaching those who did not learn from them, so that one of the cases was a sixty-year-old woman who went to literacy classes.

Also, there is the revolving loan that I alluded to previously, which helps them establish small projects. We also help them distribute their products through a program called “Salha,” and they participate in various exhibitions. Some of them were able to establish their own stores, and some of them were even able to reach markets outside Egypt. We help them learn a craft, help them expand their activities, and in the end they become normal people, and 75% of them were able to repay the loan early. These funds are re-injected to other causes deserving of support.

You were nicknamed “Mother of the Revolutionaries” for your effective efforts in treating those injured in the 2011 revolution and the Libyan revolution. What does this title mean to you?

The Truth is a title that expresses a past period of time, specifically from the 2011 revolution until the events of the Union. It is a title that I am very proud of, and it was the product of a phase of my life, a phase that does not represent me alone, but rather was the achievement of a team of people who were with me from the beginning of the road, such as Hajja Salha, and other people injured by the revolution. I established a working group with them; To help me serve my family and my country, but I confirm that this stage has become a thing of the past, and the current stage is the “people of Egypt” stage, where we now seek to reduce burn mortality rates.