Every June 3, Kasim Suraj relieves the pain of a twin disaster even as he makes great effort to move on.
The 40-year-old lost his wife when flooding and a fire outbreak claimed the lives of many others in Accra and then lost his job as a driver after 15 years at it.
The scars of that day have lived with him since literally. He suffered about 60 per cent total surface burns with inhalation injury.
“I have been operated on for twenty times, but am still not ok, all the bones in my skull were burnt following the disaster, my eye was also badly affected, I lost my sight after the incident but now I have regained it but doctors say I need to do further surgery on my head,” he told 3news.com in an exclusive interview.
Occasionally, he feels pain in his head and left eye and unable to go out frequently but due to financial challenges, he is unable to go for regular medical reviews as he ought to. The negative impact on his health is telling.
“As we speak right now not ok. I cannot go for my review as frequently as I have to because I don’t have money.”
Having used all the compensation he received to offset his medical bills and other expenses, he was struggling to cater for himself and family until he received from a media organization to venture into farming with a focus on vegetables and cassava and poultry.
However, the coronavirus pandemic hit him hard.
“During the partial lockdown I went out to buy feed for my birds, but I had a minor accident and was admitted to the hospital. During that period I lost 80 of my birds, it was a major blow for me.”
Kasim continues to give his poultry farm great push but he currently does not have an incubator for his poultry farm and depends on friends for one
Meanwhile, doctors say Kasim is still not well and would require further hair transplant surgeries to enable him get back to his normal life but financial constraints remain a major hurdle and is appealing for public support.
By Joycelyn Wood|3news.com|Ghana