When Mohammad Javed Khan, a scooter driver in Bhopal in central India, saw people carrying loved ones on their backs, sick with Covid-19 towards the hospital, for lack of money to finance an ambulance , he told himself that he could not stand idly by.
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This 34-year-old man then sold his wife's jewelry and transformed his tuk-tuk into a small ambulance which he equipped with an oxygen cylinder, an oximeter to measure the level of oxygen in the blood and other medical equipment. As India experiences a devastating second wave of epidemics, some people like Mohammead Javed Khan are stepping up to help their communities survive this war on the virus.
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A seriously ill cannot be taken to hospital without oxygen support,
" he told AFP.
"
So, I thought, why not turn my scooter into an ambulance?"
It's not as spacious as an ambulance, but it can surely save lives,
”he continues.
"
I saw young people without oxygen struggling (to survive)
."
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And when they call the ambulances, they charge 5,000 to 10,000 rupees (55 to 110 euros).
How could a poor person afford it?
Especially during this pandemic where most people no longer have an income?
He asks.
Wide support
Someone gave him an oxygen cylinder, someone else gave him an oximeter, and then a doctor taught him how to use this equipment to safely place patients on oxygen while being transported to the hospital. 'hospital.
“
Many people have approached me and helped by contributing with donations and then asked me to continue this action until the pandemic is over,
” he says.
“
It is thanks to the help of so many people that I am able to do this.
I couldn't have done it alone
”.
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Mohammed Javed Khan briefly encountered difficulties with authorities when police charged him with using his tuk-tuk without an emergency transport permit during lockdown in Madhya Pradesh state, the TV station reported. India Today. But his mishap sparked such an outcry on social media that the police quashed his charge and even issued him a special pass.
Madhya Pradesh state, like many states in the vast country of 1.3 billion people, has seen an upsurge in contamination in recent weeks, causing shortages of oxygen and essential medical supplies. The state, where one in five people tested tested positive for the coronavirus, declared more than 12,000 new infections on Monday. And here too, crematoriums and cemeteries are struggling to overcome the influx of remains.