My name is Dr YT Choi, a graduate of the University of Nottingham. In November 2005 (UK), I went to Pakistan for a month to carry out relief work for victims of the earthquake. This was the first charity trip that I have ever embarked upon and it was difficult to imagine what it was going to be like as I traveled alone. Luckily everything was fine and I got to know several charity organisations in Pakistan.

The trip was very fruitful, and I found the experience enormously enriching and fulfilling. Pakistan is a country full of culture and friendly people. ¡§Asslam-oi-ali-kum¡¨,  (how are you?) - this is the greeting that you would receive from someone who you are meeting for the first time, and from whom you would then receive a cup of tea from. My trip helped me to realise that there is something beyond the life of poverty that many people in Pakistan lead, and that is a warm, affable and generous disposition that the people have towards others.

I spent a week living in tents at Balakot, an area badly hit by the earthquake. This is an area with beautiful mountains and scenery that is comparable to Switzerland. My duties included seeing patients in outpatient clinics and carrying out 24 hour emergency services. The weather was very cold and we had no central heating. With several layers of blankets, I would still wake up a few times during the night. We drank less before going to sleep to avoid going to the toilet. We also provided health education and medical services to people in the remote mountain regions, and we visited a few schools in the mountains, where the children and the locals were overjoyed by our visits.

This trip has been a real eye-opener and I have made many new friends. Although help is seeping through to the area, many people are still living in very poor conditions and are in desperate need of assistance. This is going to be a very cold winter for the people there, and medical workers are badly needed in those areas, especially anaesthetists and female gynaecologists. If anyone is interested in carrying out any voluntary work, please e-mail me at yantakchoi@hotmail.com

We must realise that healthcare in Pakistan and many other third world countries is still of a very substandard quality, in comparison to, for example, the NHS that we have over here in the UK. I have seen first-hand the appalling conditions where surgeons have to operate, where there is a lack of medical equipment and medicines, and I could not help but think what a luxury it is to have the NHS in this country.

Yan Tak Choi