Humanitarian career

Wellington doctor Adrick Baker, 69, has devoted a large part of his career to serving thousands of poor villagers for free in northeastern Bangladesh, opening a free health centre in Kailakuri, which has since grown into a small hospital with 87 staff. “In the beginning, my family and friends funded the centre. Now foreign donors help me continue the service,” Baker said. He now plans to open a maternity wing thanks to funding from Belgian donors. Patients have nothing but praise for the hospital. “It used to be very difficult to get health care. Village doctors used to maltreat us,” said 26-year-old Khokon Mia. “Thanks to Doctor Baker no one in the area goes without proper treatment.” A graduate from Otago University’s medical school, Baker first served as a surgeon during the Vietnam War, then in Papua New Guinea and Zambia before arriving in Bangladesh in 1979.