Fahima is a 20 year old single woman from Jalalabad. She has been in Pindi for 11 years, and before that was in a camp called Sawahe near Peshawar. She is a tailor, and her two brothers are carpet weavers. Her parents are alive but too old to work. She has come to Malalai Hospital because of her knee, which has been troubling her since she had to sleep on the moist ground after a large flood six months ago. Her sister, Farida, is with her, suffering from a headache and yellowed eyes, which doctors say is due to lack of blood. Fahima says that she is thankful to have the hospital and that it has good doctors and medicine and a friendly staff.
Gul Nara is a mother of six, in her thirties. She is from Jalalabad, but has been a refugee for 25 years. Her husband works as a guard in Pakistani houses. She has brought one of her sons, seven-year-old Mohabullah, to Malalai Hospital for a check-up because he has a respiratory problem. She is also not well, suffering from general pain and headache. This is her third visit to the hospital, and her son's second. Although she has had difficulty with the hospital's guard, she is happy with the staff.
Babo jan is from the town of Sarobi, 15 miles east of Kabul. She has lived in Pakistan for 25 years, first in Peshawar and now in Pindi. Her husband finds occasional work as a construction worker, but her family, with 6 sons and 5 daughters, is very poor. They have no money to pay for medical care, so she has come to the Malalai Hospital, which is free, several times. She says she is very happy with the hospital and the treatment is good. Although she is not entirely well and has difficulty walking, she plans to return to Afghanistan soon.
