VIJAYAWADA: Whether it is saving lives in conflict zones or handling Covid-19 patients in Sierra Leone, there is little that Dr Shiny Kaki (35) from Vijayawada, has not done when it comes to taking care of her patients.
After earning her MBBS degree from CMC, Vellore in 2009, she did her mandatory two years of rural service at a leprosy hospital in Allahabad where she cured several patients.
It was in Allahabad that her passion for public service was sparked. Little did she know then that she would be joining Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) aka Doctors Without Borders, and serve in conflict zones. Between 2013 and 2014, Shiny witnessed an outbreak of diseases and treated those wounded in wars in conflict-stricken countries such as Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen.
Shiny was first taken to Warder, a place situated between Ethiopia and Somalia. Out there, the young Telugu doctor was thrown into a tense environment in which not just Al Shabab militia, but little children, wise beyond their years, handled guns. However, even the militia were aware that she was part of an apolitical organisation and was there to save lives.
Looking back at some emotional moments during her stint with MSF, Shiny said, “Losing colleagues and friends in conflict zones continues to, and will forever, weigh heavily on me. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a real thing. The concept of “why her/him and not me” and your own fears or ideas about your own mortality needed to be addressed and processed.”
But coexisiting with these ruminations are memories of saving lives. “The best days are the days you go to bed with the knowledge that you saved a life that day or helped someone live better,” she adds. Since then, she has continued to work with MSF across Syria, Sierra Leone and Ethiopia and having garnered considerable experience, taken on more senior roles with more advocacy and negotiation responsibilities and collaborating with local ministries of health.
Currently, Shiny is keen to play a bigger role in the public health sector. “I’m currently taking a break from my professional life to pursue a degree in public health at London. And the idea is to branch off to other humanitarian organisations, maybe even the World Health Organisation (WHO), which has always been a dream/goal,” Shiny told TOI.
