Last month, a group of us visited the Friendship Floating Hospital to see the facilities and to learn more about the activities of the NGO, Friendship.

The story behind the project is worth a novel in its own right, the short version being that French sailor/inventor/adventurer Yves Marre bought a 120-foot river barge and sailed it to Bangladesh in 1994.

The idea was to present it to Bangladesh to serve as a floating hospital for the poor. After various fruitless attempts to find a suitable organization to take over the boat, Mr. Marre and his Bangladeshi wife Runa saw no other way than to found their own NGO to make their dream come true.

With lots of hard work and the support of private donors, the vessel was finally converted and ready in March this year. The aim is to provide primary health and medical care, as well as health education, to the most disadvantaged groups in areas difficult to access over land.

On arriving at the river, an hour and a half southwest of Dhaka, we were taken across to the mooring site by country boat. On the riverbank, in front of the hospital, a covered waiting area with chairs had been set up. The people waiting for consultation were lectured in basic hygiene - how to filter and boil water; basic treatment for diarrhoea; diagnosing of and treatment for worms (children are dying from such easily treatable afflictions as worms due to lack of awareness and education); prevention and awareness of HIV/AIDS and STD’s; and child nutrition.

We were later informed that workshops on these subjects would be organized in the villages visited by the hospital in cooperation with local authorities and village elders. Such an event had been arranged for the following day with 1,200 villagers, medical students and doctors expected to attend.

Once aboard, we proceeded to the lower deck to inspect the living quarters for the staff of about 16. The interior was painted in light colours and immaculately clean. The quarters were surprisingly spacious and fitted with air conditioning. These were run at no extra expense, as the ship’s huge generator operates around the clock for the equipment. A few rooms have been reserved for voluntary workers (CIDA has contributed to the project and will fund voluntary workers in the future). There is an on-board water treatment system, which is monitored by the ICDDR,B, and a closed sewage system so no untreated waste or water enters the river.

The consultation rooms are located on the upper deck. There is a larger space with beds if patients need to stay, and an X-ray room, laboratory, private counselling-cum-darkroom and a small dispensary.