“Together, We’re Doing a Great Job for Humanity.”

“Every day as part of EMERGENCY’s team, I try to change the perception and concept of disability, by turning it into a capability and removing the obstacles for my patients. My job is helping people to get their ordinary life back.” 

This is Shadman, coordinator of our orthopaedic workshop at our Rehabilitation and Social Reintegration Centre in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. He has been working with EMERGENCY here for 24 years.

“I have seen a wide range of things. Among them, one stays pinned in my mind. In 2004, a two-year-old child stepped on a mine while walking with her parents at a family picnic. Her parents died instantly and she lost both her legs above the knee. From that moment on, she has been a regular patient here at the Centre.  

This place is like a home for people who have lost limbs due to war. We want to keep these doors open. Together we’re doing a great job for humanity. Each one of us is helping it in our own way. For example, one patient from the Mosul area lost both his hands in a bomb explosion and spent three years not being able to eat by himself. I built a new device that helped him to eat. When I saw him eating without anyone’s help, I thought, ‘This is what I am here for.’”   

  

Shadman is part of the incredible team here in Sulaymaniyah which is dedicated to restoring lives that have been disrupted by the fallout of war.