Meghalaya: Good Samaritans in Garo Hills go beyond the call of duty

TURA:

The Garo Hills region in Meghalaya has always been known as a place where people come forward to help those in need.

Recently two selfless deeds reinforced the belief that no matter the situation, there is always someone out there willing to help.

These laudable cases, reported from South Garo Hills (SGH) district, took place on March 17.

Two women were in potential danger because of pregnancy-related complications, and the fact that they stayed in a remote area made it worse.

In the first incident, a woman from the village of Rongri, approximately five kilometres from the nearby Rongsu Agal Sub Health Centre, was in severe pain because of the advancement of her pregnancy.

What complicated the situation was a complete lack of transportation, and the pregnant woman could not walk through the hills to the sub-centre.

Fortunately, help was at hand when one Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) of the sub-centre and one manager of the Siju Primary Health Centre (PHC) travelled the distance and helped her through the delivery.

“They went out of their way to reach out to her and helped her through the prolonged delivery. She is blessed with a baby girl, and both mother and child are doing fine,” said a staff member of Bakdil PHC from Siju.

In the second case, villagers carried a woman, who was on the verge of giving birth, for over 12 kilometres to the nearest medical facility.

They carried her for over three hours on a makeshift bamboo stretcher from Rongsu Agal sub-centre to Siju Dobakkol.

On reaching the sub-centre, an ambulance took her to Williamnagar Civil Hospital in East Garo Hills (EGH), where she delivered a baby girl.

Bakdil PHC expressed its gratitude to the villagers who made the arduous journey on foot to ensure the woman and her child would be safe.

“This is an example of how we, as a region, had gone out of our way to help each other. Just hearing about these two cases gives me goosebumps, and I feel pride in what they did. We are sure that this is not the last such case, and whenever the need arises, people will come forward to help,” said Tura-based social activist Maxbirth Momin.

While these two acts of selflessness are indeed commendable, the fact that people still have to struggle to get to a medical facility is something that needs to be addressed immediately.

(Edited by Ladiangti Rani)

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