Projet Ammar Transforma – Standing in The Gap to Provide Basic Health Care

Historically  the state Brazilian Health Care system SUS (translated Unique Health System) has constantly suffered from budget cuts which have directly impacted its quality of services. One official piece of research stated that a person could wait up to 14 months for a medical appointment. Furthermore a survey  indicated that many people in Brazil cannot afford good health care. A lower education,  a lower income and a person’s geographical region can all impact access to health care services and how long a person has to wait to see a Doctor.  

This is the story of 45 year old Flavia and her 12 year old daughter  Emily Victoria.  Flavia noticed that her daughter suffered from a strong allergic reaction when she was 10 years old. Consequently she organised an appointment with the state Health Care Service SUS.  This failed to transpire in a timely way so she then  approached Project  Ammar Transforma (one of Happy Child’s partner projects).  Here her daughter was attended by ear, nose and throat specialist Dr Patricia, a volunteer who  attends the project’s beneficiaries on a weekly basis.

 Doctor Patricia quickly diagnosed that Emily Vitória had problems with her adenoids and that skin was growing over her nose and throat. This urgently needed surgery. Dona Flavia remembers “ I had a friend whose daughter participated in the project and through this connection my daughter got to be attended.  This was a life line for me. After the initial appointment everything happened very quickly and within two weeks the surgery had been completed by Doctor Patricia herself. Even today the SUS team still have not contacted me. Fortunately I’ve been able to contiue relying on the support of the project in treating my daughter’s condition. It does not have a cure but you can control it.  

These issues were really affecting her daughter’s school progress and her relatiosnips with her peer group  to the point of needing pyschological help. Once again Flavia looked to the project for support.  She said “My daughter never liked alot of noise and children that swore all the time, both of which are quite common in schools. She started not wanting to go to school.  That was really difficult”.

Every Thursday Doctor Juliana, a voluntary psychologist with the project, works with families in the community. Her attending Flavia’s daughter really helped improve her social skills, build her confidence again and  encouraged her to return to school. When I interviewed Flavia It was obvious to me how much the project had impacted this family’s life. It gives help that goes  beyond just resolving the health issues. Today her daughter is going to some of the project classes on a Saturday morning now. She particularly enjoys the bible stories she hears and intends to continue participating.

This project aims to support people in the community in all areas of their lives and is producing concrete results, helping people to overcome all sorts of difficulties in their lives.

• Written by Eduarda Teixeira