The Chak-e-Wardak Hospital in Afghanistan:
Where Help is Invaluable but Affordable
Since 1989 Karla Schefter
has been working almost uninterruptedly in Afghanistan. During this
period of permanent war and civil unrest she has almost single-handedly
set up a unique relief project. The Chak-e Wardak hospital is situated
at a height of 2,400 m in a densely populated, fertile valley located
about 65 km southwest of Kabul. The 60-bed hospital is the only hospital
in the province of Wardak providing health care to an average of 55,000
persons per year, 70 percent of them being women and children.
The hospital is equipped with two operation theatres, an x-ray station,
ECG and ultrasound facilities and a physiotherapy centre.
It runs its own kitchen, bakery and laundry and is equipped with three diesel
generators. Attached to it is a training centre for women and a small
settlement of houses for the staff members and workforce. All this is
financed by private donations. During nine months of the year Karla Schefter
personally sees to it that donations are properly invested. The hospital
did not suffer any damage during the war against terrorism and continues
to function unimpeded.
Established by Karla Schefter in 1993, The Committee for the Promotion
of Medical and Humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan e.V. (CHPA) has put itself
in charge of raising financial and material support for the hospital.
The Committee is registered as an approved tax exempt charitable organization.
News:
24.12.2007
Season's greetings
On behalf of Karla Schefter and the board of CPHA as well as the staff of the Chak-e-Wardak hospital project we want to thank all our supporters and donors for their continued help and support for Karla Schefter's humanitarian work in Afghanistan. 2007 was an extremely difficult but still very successful year. Despite the gravely deteriorating security situation in the country and the tragic loss of some of our staff about 80,000 patients found medical help in our hospital, the remaining staff is highly motivated in their work, and our financial situation is stable.
Let us hope that the security situation will improve in 2008 and that the political situation may finally be stabilized.
Happy holidays to you all, and our best wishes for a peaceful and successfull New Year!
02.11.2007
How to make donations from foreign countries
If you want to make a donation to the Chak-e-Wardak Hospital from other countries than Germany you need to enter specific bank codes into the money transfer order form, the IBAN number (used in Europe) and/or the Swift Code (mainly used for money transfers from outside Europe).
The IBAN No. for our bank is: DE 70440501990 followd by the account No. 44050199
The Swift Code is: Dort DE33
Our bank is Stadtsparkasse Dortmund
As recipient you should enter: Afghanistan Committee
If you have any questions your bank will certainly be glad to help you.
Please don't forget to also give us your mailing address and email.
Thank you for your support!
11.09.2007
Ever more patients in the Chak hospital
The number of patients seeking help in the Chak-e-Wardak Hospital ist increasing steadily. During the first six months of this year a record number of 41,000 patients were receiving medical treatment in the hospital, with peak numbers of more than 8000 per month. One main reason for this increase is the employment of two female gynaecologists which attracted a lot more women to seek help in the hospital. Being one of the very few fully functional rural hospitals in Afghanistan the Chak-e-Wardak Hospital is of utmost importance for the rural population of Wardak province and far beyond.
11.09.2007
Karla Schefter is demanding more humanitarian aid for Afghanistan
Ever since she returned to Germany in August Karla Schefter has, through interviews with newspapers and on TV, been calling for strongly increased humanitarian aid for Afghanistan. Based on her 18-year experience of living in the country she is convinced that Afghanistan cannot be stabilized by military means alone but that increased humanitarian aid will be crucial to prevent extremism taking over again. As to her own project, the Chak-e-Wardak hospital, she as well as the supporting committee is determined to continue working for this successful project which was started 18 years ago.
11.09.2007
Karla Schefter is back in Germany
Taking account of the worsening security situation in the province of Wardak and of the approaching Ramadan Karla Schefter decided to return to Germany in mid August, a little earlier than usual. As in all the years before she'll stay in Germany during winter using the time for fundraising for her hospital by giving lectures and working the public media. She is determined to return to Chak in spring 2008 to continue her successful humanitarian work for the Afghan people.
11.09.2007
Security situation in Wardak province deteriorating drastically
As Karla Schefter reports from the Chak-e-Wardak hospital, the security situation in Wardak province and also in Chak district has drastically deteriorated in recent months. Kidnappings (mostly of Afghan citizens), and killings in open daylight of people working for the government or foreign NGO's are on the rise as are the so-called "Night letters" which are being posted on people's homes, warning women not to leave home without the burka, and men to stop working with the government or foreign NGO's. After having received a personal threat of an impending kidnapping Karla Schefter herself took temporary refuge in Kabul but returned to Chak a little later in order to proceed with planned winter-purchasings for the hospital. Local elders and commanders aussured her of her safety while staying in the hospital but not beyond....
11.09.2007
Karla Schefter narrowly escapes kidnapping
In late July, while being on her way from Chak-e-Wardak to Kabul, Karla Schefter narrowly escaped being kidnapping. Her car was being intercepted by two men on a motorbike when Ms. Schefter's driver recognized them as publicly know criminals and murderes. Since they were making calls on a cellphone while following the car it was obvious that they were trying to call in help from other villains. Karla Schefter's driver managed to escape the would-be kidnappers by taking a little known side road, and he and Karla safely reached Kabul city two hours later. This event adds to the recently sharply declined safety in Wardak province.
06.04.2007
New gynaecologist attracts great numbers of patients
The news of a new gynaecologist working in the Chak hospital spread like wildfire, and now women are flocking to the hospital in unbelievable numbers: Up to 260 female patients per day are seeking help in the gynaecology station!
Once again, this shows the high importance of this rural hospital especially for poor women living in rural areas. These women don't have enough money to afford neither a trip to Kabul nor medical treatment in one of the Kabul hospitals. So without the Chak-e-Wardak hospital their ailments would simply be left unattended for...
25.03.2007
AIDS-Seminar in Chak
For a long time AIDS or HIV was a no-no theme in Afghanistan. In an extremely conservative society where extra-marital sex receives capital punishment a "dirty" sickness like AIDS was just not talked about. Recent surveys - as unreliable as they may be - showed, however, that infection numbers are increasing. And finally, authorities are getting ready gto address the problem.
In early March there was a seminar about AIDS for 120 teachers taking place in Chak which was sponsored by WHO Kabul in cooperation with the ministries of public health and education. The idea is to use schools to spread the knowledge of the disease as well as of ways to prevent infections.
Once again, the Chak-e-Wardak hospital served as a valuable platform for a vital health initiative.
In this context please read the following article of the New York Times:
...read more
25.03.2007
New MD's in Chak - at last!
Karla Schefter is very happy - after having tried unsuccessfully for a long time she and her staff have finally succeeded in signing two couples of MD's to work in the Chak-e-Wardak hospital. They are two female gynacologists, a general MD and a surgeon. Most important for the great number of female patients is the employment of two gynaecologists since gynaecological services are extremely scarce in rural areas in Afghanistan. So now women will flock to the Chak-e-Wardak Hospital in even greater numbers than before, and Karla Schefter already is busy ordering increased amounts of medical supplies.
All in the Chak hospital now employs 6 general MD's, one general surgeon, one orthopedic surgeon, two gynaecologists and one dentist(female).
26.08.2006
Karla Schefter receives the Malalai Medal
Karla Schefter's speech on the occasion of being awarded the Malalai Medal of Afghanistan, Kabul August 26th, 2006
Your Excellencies, dear Minister Farooq Wardak
Dear all ! I receive this honourable Malalai order with thanks With the wise saying of the Sufis “Me in We”
A hospital is like a complex organ, comparable to a heart, supplying its surroundings with the vital good of health. However, one must not forget that to keep running, a heart needs an extensive vascular system, including blood vessels of different sizes, shapes and functions that are mutually connected. Without all those large and little vessels and interconnections, it will not function, it will not be able to distribute its goods. In the same way, every person fulfilling his position according to his abilities and possibilities is important. This working together, this mutual interlocking drives us forward, pulls every-one of us ahead so that together we are able to achieve our goals. Thus, every single person working for the hospital corresponds to a little but indispensable part of the life-supporting vascular system. Those essential parts are my Afghan and German friends. The first ones chose to stay in their country despite the horrible and dangerous situation during the war. The other ones, painfully touched by the human fates in war-torn Afghanistan, committed themselves to help from abroad or on-site. Thanks to all of them!
In 1989 I came first to Chak, Afghanistan in the hydroelectric power station. This has a historical reason, because this is where we started to practice, at first as a mobile clinic. 35 km from the front line, many war-injured reached us, but people suffering from other illnesses also came to our clinic because there was no other hospital in the region. Many of them died, because at that time, our resources were very limited. One day, a whole truck of injured arrived, and we gave them medical attention and operated them all night long be the shine of pocket torches and lanterns. After that, we got permission to use the power station as a hospital. We put the women behind the third turbine, that was our first women’s ward. From the experience of this great misery and need, the idea was born to construct a larger hospital. The foundation stone was laid in August 1989. Between 1989 and today, this hospital has witnessed five changes of government: From Najibullah to the Mudjaheddin, to Hekmatyar, to Massood and Rabani, to the Taleban, and finally to Karzai.
Because we are working in the medical sector, defending Human Right number one, the right to life and health, and do so with due respect for Afghan traditions and society, none of these governments has interfered with the hospital’s development. Over the years, many fine people committed themselves to the development and growth of the hospital, and I am very happy to look back at 17 years of successful humanitarian work. We had already in the last six month 2385 indoor-patients and 41283 outdoor-patients 70% of whom are female and children. Those in the province they are poor and have nearly no chance to go to Kabul for treatment. Also in these years I trained Afghan males to be dispensers for all provinces in the refugee camp of Sadda, Kurram Agency. I organized the then (before revolution) German Hospital in Khost Paktia in 1991, 3 days after mudjahedin took over Khost from Najibullah during heavy bombardment skurt, rockets. Always I have been the only expatriate and also the only woman between my afghan colleagues. This made the special close relationship and understanding with the Afghan society and me.
From those early times I want to say special thanks to his Excellency, Farooq Wardak. He followed the work with Chak-e-Wardak Hospital all the years and helped as much as he could . Also thank you Dr Tajudin, Med. Coordinator, and Mr.Nasir, the head of administration, and all Afghan colleagues and friends. I want to thank the Committee for promotion of medical and humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan with its chairman H.-J. Lebuser. The committee was founded in 1993 and all German friends of Chak-e-Wardak Hospital Project and the private donations it collects completely cover the hospital’s running costs.
I thank them with all my heart, in the name of the people who were the beneficiaries of their assistance.
In this sense I will end with heroe Malalai's entry speech in the Anglo-Afghan battle:
Young love if You do not fall in the battle of Maiwand By God, some one is saying You as a token of shame.
Transcribed into:
Please realize if You do not fall in the battle for the human right, the right of health, life and peace, by God ,some one is saying You as a token of shame.
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