Somalia's Unsang Hero -Amin Ambulance founder

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Somalia's Unsang Hero -Amin Ambulance founder

Sunatimes.com - As the secnd wave of the deadly corona virus continues to claim lives in Somalia, one man has sacrificed to help save lives by offe ring ambulances to ferry the sick to hospital at no cost. Somalia, is one of the poorest country in t

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Sunatimes.com - As the secnd wave of the deadly corona virus continues to claim lives in Somalia, one man has sacrificed to help save lives by offe ring ambulances to ferry the sick to hospital at no cost. Somalia, is one of the poorest country in the world where basic healthcare facilities are poor, is also faced by constant attacks by terrorist and militia groups leaving many dead and others injured.

The only assistance available to take the injured to hospitals in the capital city Mogadishu is Aamin Ambulances.

For the last decade, Dr Abdulkadir Abdirahman Adan has been offering ambulance services in Somalia at no cost in a bid to save lives.

"When I came back to Somalia in 2006, I was appalled by what I saw. Victims of bomb blasts, pregnant women and other sick people were being ferried to hospitals on handcarts and wheelbarrows. That really touched me,” Dr Adan says.

"With the little savings that I had, I bought a van and equipped with medical gear to serve as an ambulance,” adds Dr Adan, a dentist by profession.

"We are in a country where healthcare is lacking proper care for victims of bomb attacks, natural tragedies or the sick.”

"The Covid pandemic has made matters even worse for us.”

Dr Adan’s Aambulance services operate 24 hours and are constantly on call.

"If it is not a blast victim, it’s a sick person or a pregnant woman who needs to be rushed to hospitals,” he says.

Dr. Adan set up an Ambulance company that has been offering emergency medical aid to those in need and also to the victims of bomb and other attacks in the Somali capital.

Dr Adan was motivated to start this voluntary service after seeing the deplorable state of health services in the city. He later set up the Jazeera University which offers degree courses in Medicene and Nursing.

"There were no ambulances nor cars to take victims to hospitals. Many were either left to die at the scenes while a few others would be transported on wheelbarrows, if any were lucky to reach the hospitals alive.”

Many people would die or get more injuries in the process because of the way they are handled as war was raging in the city.

"I shed tears, it hurt me to see my own countrymen suffering. I was not going to run away. I had to do something,” he stated.

With the little resources he had to set up the ambulance company. He slowly grew and today he is proud of where he has reached though he knows that the company can grow even bigger and offer better services nationwide.

"The word Aamin, if 'I' is put before it, it becomes ‘Trust Me’.

We chose this name because people in Somalia are not used to having volunteers. So, I wanted them to trust my voluntary service. I chose the name because I wanted their trust,”Dr. Adan explains.

The ambulance service has grown over the years, and today it boasts a team of 60 nurses, paramedics, and drivers, along with a fleet of twenty vehicles.

The increase in the number of employees and the demand for the service have stretched the available resources to the limit, forcing the Dr Adan to seek assistance from well-wishers and international organizations.

Today, Aamin Ambulance service has walkie talkies donated by the UNDP making their work even simpler.

"When there is an emergency, everyone tries to make a telephone call and there is a jam on the telephone networks. But the walkie-talkies will make a difference. They will simplify communication among us, coordination among ambulances and collaboration with hospitals.”

"We have been able to help people with all kind of emergencies not just explosions. We are there for pregnant women, small children with different ailments, those with diabetes and many other ailments."

"My dream is to reach every district, every village in the regions, everywhere in Somalia, so that the ambulances can reach there and serve them. We need a station park for the ambulances where they can also be repaired.,” Dr. Adan says.

He says that the major challenge facing his ambulance service is lack of enough finances to increases and equip the fleet and train more staff.

"Then there is the security issue which we all know. The ambulance staff is not insulated from attacks. This is one area we need the government to come in and help us.”

The Jazeera University in Mogadishu which Dr Adan found is today considered to be one of the most prestigious universities.

He says, "We realized the need to train our young high school graduates in medicine and healthcare related courses hence the move to set up Jazeera University”.

I would like to thank my team, Somali business men,international community and any one who support Aamin Ambulance either in cash or in kindly

By Dahir Alasow

[email protected]