Thursday 25 / April / 2024
Muscat: More than 100 elderly people in Muscat will get free canes, crutches, wheelchairs and other equipment from a local charitable group that has successfully collected medical products from donors in Oman.
Following an intensive social media campaign called ‘fahaddath,’ the group of volunteers said the people of Oman had shown an overwhelming response to the call for donations.
Shaker Al Raisi, a member of the group, said 41 medical beds, 43 air mattresses, 43 wheelchairs, 14 toilet chairs and 20 canes and crutches have been donated.
“This covers all the registered old people of Muscat,” said Al Raisi, urging families with elderly people to register themselves at the Ministry of Health’s (MoH’s) centres to receive free medical services.
Bringing hope to the elderly and handicapped in Oman, public health centres also provide free visiting nurse services to the elderly and the old with disabilities. For the sake of transparency, ‘fahaddath’ accepts only equipment and does not accept cash.
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The group works in cooperation with local pharmacies and has listed the prices of the equipment on social media.
A crutch can be purchased for OMR20, adult diapers for OMR6 per pack, a wheelchair for OMR31, a medical bed for OMR200 and a toilet chair for OMR17.5.
According to Al Raisi, social media has been a major tool for promoting the campaign.
“Most of our donors contact us via Twitter, while Instagram and other traditional media come in second.”
The voluntary group was created on July 1, 2015 and has only five members. More than 100 people of different nationalities joined the group within two weeks of its launch.
The word “fahaddath” means “to express” and is taken from a verse in the Holy Quran.
The group is planning another campaign during month of Ramadan; however, Al Raisi said the theme of the campaign will be announced later.
