The Dakter Bhai

A short biography on Dr. Edric Baker

Table of Contents
Preface.............................................................................................................................................2
The Dakter Bhai...............................................................................................................................3
Reference.........................................................................................................................................4

Preface
The following article was written by the writers of ANALYST in order to show respect to a noble
man who served our country for almost half of his life being a foreigner. We may never recover
his emptiness but we can raise awareness through this article among the literate people. We
request the readers to consider any writing mistake or inappropriate information as the writers
created this article based on On-line archives and websites. Thanks to every individuals for
reading our article.

Team ANALYST

The Dakter Bhai

Physicians are considered to be the first honorable person in the list of different occupations and
the practices of medical treatment is indeed one of the most desirable occupations in Bangladesh.
They are the savior of lives. People show respect to them for the noble services they render to
mankind. Today we will introduce you to a noble man who led his entire life among the mass
people of Bangladesh. Although it is too late for him to read this article as he has been passed
away yesterday but still we are publishing to let the fellow Bangladeshis know about him so that
our future medical students can follow the way he enlightened for us.
Dr. Edric Baker, the lantern bearer of Kailakuri Health Care Project and the ideology, for the
poor, by the poor is one of the respected physicians who have devoted their life to treat the local
peoples, mostly considered as poor people. He was only thirteen when he found the supreme
virtue of social working inside him. His passion was to be a missionary doctor and from this
cherish desire he attended a medical school in New Zealand. After completing his medical
studies, he joined NZ Surgical team in 1968 for further practice. The team served in Qhi Nhon,
the provincial capital of Binh Dinh Province in South Vietnam. It was the time when the Vietnam
War was forming up. The team was working on civilian casualties. But his first volunteering
enthusiasm builds after a shocking incident that he stated in his journal, After several hours of
traumatic war surgery on a patient who made full recovery, I saw him come back three months
later to die of dysentery. That was the first step in my awakening. He stated it as his first lesson
and soon after his service to NZ Surgical team; he transferred to Minh Quy Hospital in Kontum,
a mission hospital that served the local tribal population of Vietnam. By the time, the war raised
to an extreme level of global consideration. The government started to evacuate the area. But this
noble man chooses to remain there and served the tribes. Later after serving in Vietnam he
received diplomas in Tropical Medicine, Tropical Child Health and Obstetrics. He obtained
tropical experience by working in hospitals in Papua New Guinea and Zambia. He came to
Bangladesh in 1983 and started working for the Church of Bangladeshs Thanabaird Clinic in the
remote northern region of the country. He not only taught the mass volunteers but also trained
them in paramedic and resulted significantly. Near about 55 staff were trained and started
treating the rural patients by the year of 2000. His experience with Thanabaird made him
devoted to focus on a sustainable option for the poor, which is how the Kailakuri Health Care
Project and the ideology of for the poor, by the poor were created. In 2006 Edric transferred
from the Church to a local NGO, the Institute of Integrated Rural Development and shifted over
to work for full time with the Kailakuri Health Centre. All these years he had been providing his
knowledges and services to a country where medical care is a crying need and he served
without receiving any wages. His work received many priceless quotations from different famous
organizations. The leading newspaper The Daily Star pronounced him as The Doctor of Poor.
Yet he is also known as the New Zealand's own Mother Teresa. But may be the title Dakter
Bhai given by those rural people of Bangladesh who received treatments from this angel is the
best title that any organization can give. He indeed, again set a proof in the history that, only a
little effort is needed to save the humanity. Following his devoted way, many NGOs are working
for social improvement. He passed away being 75 years old. May his divine soul rest in peace.
(1. Google.com) (2. Kailakuri.com)

Reference
1. Google.com. (n.d.). Kailakuri Helth Care Project. Retrieved September 2, 2015,
from Google.com: https://sites.google.com/site/kailakurihealth/Home/thestory-of-edric-baker-and-the-kailakuri-health-centre
2. Kailakuri.com. (n.d.). Dr. Baker and the Story of Kailakuri. Retrieved September 2,
2015, from Kailakuri.com:
http://www.kailakuri.com/Kailakuri_Health_Care_Project/Dr._Baker.html