When early care is missing, pain stays longer than it should.
At our 3rd and 4th Hope on Wheels health camps in Sadarghat,
we met many children carrying visible wounds.
One of them was Asif, a quiet, thin boy of around ten. When he arrived at our mobile clinic,
he carried more than just a burn on his hand — he carried the weight of pain left untreated for weeks.
Asif had suffered a burn injury on his right hand. With no access to medical attention at the time, the wound was left open and exposed. Now, weeks later, the burn has turned into something more troubling: a hypertrophied scar — thickened, raised, and restricting his movement.
This is more than a cosmetic issue. The scar is painful. It pulls at his skin and interferes with basic daily tasks — holding, lifting, even playing. Asif doesn’t complain much, but he winces when he tries to move his fingers too quickly.
The Hope on Wheels medical team took note. Our doctors believe that intralesional steroid injection, possibly following minor surgical excision, could help reduce the scar and restore comfort and movement. But Asif now needs more than a mobile clinic. He needs specialized medical attention, follow-up care, and a safe, sterile setting for healing.
Asif’s case is not rare. It reflects the everyday reality of street-connected children — minor injuries that spiral into long-term conditions due to neglect. It’s why mobile healthcare matters — and why, sometimes,
we must go beyond it.
Let Asif’s story remind us: a delay in care is a delay in childhood. And every child deserves the chance to heal — fully, and with dignity.
