Involvement center that a Cares for...
4
THE MAGAZINE OF VEOLIA ENVIRONNEMENT - No.19 - FEBRUARY 2008 52 Involvement a center that Cares f Stérience (Dalkia) is providing a sterilization unit and a laun to treat victims of third-degree burns. The support of the Ve A young Afghan woman who just set herself on fire is admitted to the intensive care unit. In Afghanistan, women driven to despair sometimes resort to self-immolation.
Transcript of Involvement center that a Cares for...
THE MAGAZINE OF VEOL IA ENVIRONNEMENT - No.19 - FEBRUARY 2008
52
Involvement
a center
thatCares f or Despair Stérience (Dalkia) is providing a sterilization unit and a laun dry as a means of contributing to the construction of a burn center in Afghanistan equipped to treat victims of third-degree burns. The support of the Ve olia Foundation makes this project an exemplary combination of skill-giving and financial giving.
A young Afghan woman who just set herself on fire is admitted to the intensive care unit.
In Afghanistan, women driven to despair sometimes resort to self-immolation.
THE MAGAZINE OF VEOL IA ENVIRONNEMENT - No.19 - FEBRUARY 2008
53
f or Despair un dry as a means of contributing to the construction of a burn center in Afghanistan equipped Ve olia Foundation makes this project an exemplary combination of skill-giving and financial giving.
Brothers, nieces or neighbors often accompany the loved one to the hospital.
Involvement
THE MAGAZINE OF VEOL IA ENVIRONNEMENT - No.19 - FEBRUARY 2008
54
market for sterilization services. One component ofits expertise is the cleaning and disinfection of surgi-cal instruments.
SSeellff--iimmmmoollaattiioonn ttoo eessccaappee ddeessppaaiirr In Afghanistan, young women often choose self-immolation in a desperate quest to escape their con-dition, whether due to a forced marriage, abuse by abrutal husband or persecution by in-laws. The
Marie-José Brunel(1), a member of thenon-governmental organizationHumaniTerra, has seen the hospi-tal change since she first came toAfghanistan in 2002. “Five yearsago, there was debris in the oper-ating room,” she remembers. But
2007 marks a real turning point. HumaniTerra isbuilding a center to treat victims of third-degree burnsin Hérat. To ensure that it is completely operationaland self-contained, it will be equipped with a steriliza-tion unit and a laundry from early 2008. The VeoliaFoundation is backing the project and issued a checkin the amount of €194,000. The project earned the unanimous support of theboard of trustees, “First of all, because we cannothelp but aid such a worthy cause–these youngwomen who choose self-immolation,” explains theFoundation’s general delegate, Michel Avenas."Secondly, because of the credibility and referencesof the HumaniTerra association. Finally, because of
the involvement of a Veolia entity, which enables usto give skills in addition to our financial backing.”Veolia’s participation in this project came aboutthrough the intervention of Dalkia CEO OlivierBarbaroux. When HumaniTerra’s president ChristianÉchinard told him about the construction of a newmedical center for third-degree burn victims inHérat, Barbaroux responded by telling him aboutStérience. This Dalkia subsidiary leads the French
Jean-Claude Chastant,CEO of Stérience andsponsor of the project:
“This is a first for Stérience. It is the sponsor’s duty to seeto the sustainability of theproject. This is not merely ashort-term endeavor! It isalso my role to marshal
energies and, if possible,enlist other stakeholders: inother words, to get the ballrolling. The improvement insanitary conditions that wehelp to achieve through ourdaily work is meaningful anda source of motivation for ourstaff. Moreover, helpingpopulations in distress is
highly gratifying, a feelingthat is shared, I might add,by our entire team. We didnot end up in the health fieldby chance: we have ameasure of empathy, ofcompassion, for others.Today, the implications ofsustainable development,i.e., the safeguard and
improvement of livingconditions and theconsideration of societalfactors in our businesses, are in the forefront. Our commitment to thisproject is a concretemanifestation of our aid forsustainable development inthe health sector."
Aid for sustainable development as seen by Stérience
Beginning in 2008, the burn center will be equipped with a newsterilization unit to provide even more effective care.
With this act, women denounce the atrocities they are made to suffer.They are seeking revenge for what they have to endure.
phenomenon has been observed especially in theprovince of Hérat near the Iranian border. In 2003,two-thirds of the 750 third-degree burn victimsadmitted to the town’s hospital were women. And350 of these women had set themselves on fire.Marie-José Brunel knows them well. The nursedivides her time between the Aix-en-Provence hospi-tal in France, and the one in Hérat. There, under theaegis of HumaniTerra, she soothes the injuries–bothphysical and psychological–of these desperatewomen. “They are seeking revenge for what theymust endure,” recounts Marie-José. “With their act,they denounce the atrocities they are made to sufferand cast shame upon their tormentors by commit-ting suicide.” Indeed, Islam considers suicide by fireto be a crime, and as such, condemns it.
AA ccoommmmiittmmeenntt ttoo eeffffeeccttiivvee ccaarreeAfter making contact with HumaniTerra, companyCEO Jean-Claude Chastant assigned severalemployees to the project. “I chose the Stérience
location at Bouc-Bel Air, between Marseille andAix-en-Provence, due to its geographical proxim-ity to the NGO,” he explains. “We worked on draw-ings to adapt the unit to the burn center. We had tofind equipment that would be reliable, robust andefficient. We managed to find a Spanish companyaccustomed to working in hazard zones.”Stérience also provided training by hosting theAfghan teams who will later take charge of sterili-zation operations in the future unit. “We’ll go toAfghanistan in March 2008, once the equipmenthas been permanently installed, to help commis-sion the facility,” says Chastant. The burn centerwill have the capacity to treat 750 victims peryear. Marie-José Brunel and the rest of the nursingstaff will have the benefit of technically reliableequipment–a situation that will give them moretime to tend to the less visible wounds, those ofthe spirit. n
(1) Marie-José Brunel tells thestory of her Afghan experience in abook written with journalistDorothée Olliéric, “S’immoler à 20ans” (Self-immolation at the ageof 20) published by Grasset. Allproceeds from the sale of thisbook are donated to HumaniTerra.
HumaniTerra is a non-governmental organization based inMarseille. Founded in the mid-1990s, it is active in the surgical field in emerging countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Its activities focus onhealthcare, training of local doctors, anddevelopment of healthcare equipment. For more information, visit
www.humani-terra.org
With better care and reliable equipment it becomes possible to tend to the suffering of the soul.
THE MAGAZINE OF VEOL IA ENVIRONNEMENT - No.19 - FEBRUARY 2008
55
