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Adiyaman - 83 year old, the story of Haj Ahmed

About the beneficiary

Mr. Ahmed, an 83-year-old Syrian refugee, faced many challenges after arriving Türkiye. His health condition began to decline years ago. He suffers from chronic diseases such as diabetes and blood pressure, and he has an 80% disability. In addition to hearing loss 78/62 dB on the right side and 86/70 on the left side, and difficulty in near and far vision, with +3 degrees distance and +5.75 degrees near vision. Ahmed also experienced a stroke, which he has been suffering from for twenty years.
After he and his wife lived in fear due to the painful earthquake that occurred on February 6th , as a result of which he lost his rented house, he and his wife found themselves living in the Akpınar(Bebek) temporary container shelter where Syrian immigrants resided in Adiyaman.

Challenges

During this period, his hearing device broke down and he was unable to renew it, as he struggled to obtain necessary medical care due to his inability to make hospital appointments and transportation challenges, due to the distance of his place of residence from the hospital and his health condition that is not suitable for walking to public transportation, in addition to the fact that the family’s economic situation is not sufficient to take a taxi, despite the beneficiary who earns his living with the help of the Kızılay ESSN card.

Meeting with Sened

Mr. Ahmed says about his meeting with Sened organization, “I am a person with a disability and sick, and Sened knew about me and came to me here themselves.”

Adıyaman Family and Social Policies Directorate was directed by Akpınar officials to order the listening device, so the case management team at Sened supported Mr. Ahmed in making an appointment at the hospital and in transportation to the “Adıyaman University Training and Research Hospital” which is far away 55 km form Akpınar(bebek).

The Medical trip

“They provided me with glasses and hearing device, and I am grateful to them. What more do they could do? I am very grateful to them and I wish them success” says, as he talks about the assistance provided, and for other assistance during this period; After providing special training for people with disabilities, information about the health report, and how to go to the hospital, Sened team scheduled an appointment for the beneficiary for the Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic and the Eye Clinic. During the beneficiary's trip to the hospital, a private car was hired, a hospital translator was called and translation support was provided at the hospital. After the examination in the hospital, the beneficiary was provided with the prescribed hearing device and glasses. Sened also provided referral support to the beneficiary from Akpınar to the optometrist in the city center for eyeglass selection and fitting. After that, a special Hearing center was provided, and the device was tested in the container in which the beneficiary lived, the hearing settings were corrected, and the device was delivered to the beneficiary.

“Now I am actually listening to you”

As a result of this support, Mr. Ahmed was able to obtain a prescription for hearing device and glasses. A hearing device and glasses was provided to him within the scope of the project that implementing in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which made his daily life easier and more independent.

He says at the end of his speech, “It is very good now, and right now I am actually listening to you”.