Hermanegild Marcos Antonio Drago, (1907-1999) was a Pakistani
Catholic doctor, respected across communal lines in the south of
Pakistan for his work in health, education and social welfare.
Born in Goa, India, on February 28, 1907, Drago graduated
from St. Xavier's College, Bombay and Grant Medical College. In 1933 he moved
to Mirpurkhas, Pakistan.
In 1947, during the partition of the subcontinent, trains
loaded with refugees arrived in the town. Drago waited at the railway station
with volunteers to tend to the injured and the ill. For this service he was
honoured by Pope Pius XII in 1950 as a knight in the Order of St. Gregory the
Great.
Drago's dedication and devotion to the sick and suffering
led him to start a Tuberculosis Association and an Ante-Natal Clinic, which
grew into the Mother and Child Welfare Association for the benefit of the many
women affected by anemia and related problems.
He received three gold medals for
his work in tuberculosis.
With the help of Doctor Ruth Pfau, he also started a leprosy
Centre in a room of his clinic for patients who would have otherwise needed to
travel to Karachi for treatment.
In 1981 he served on a government committee for the
rehabilitation of polio-affected children. He started many institutions in
Mirpurkhas and the surrounding areas for leprosy work, tuberculosis cure and
prevention, and scholarships for school drop outs. He also worked closely with
the Medical Mission Sisters, who run St. Teresa's Hospital in Mirpurkhas and
Holy Family Hospital in Karachi.
Taking special interest in functional literacy, he organized
15 centers at which children aged 5 to 12 are taught to read, write and do
simple arithmetic. For those who wanted to study further, he built a functional
literacy school. Through the organization "United Youth for a United
World" started by Drago, he brought the youth of different communities to
work together on small projects so that they could reach out beyond their own
communities.
He saw hope for the unity of the country only in the unity
of youth.
He was a charter member of the Rotary Club of Mirpurkhas and
served as the first district governor of the newly established Rotary District
327. In 1994 Dr Drago received the Rotary International award for Service above
Self.
With the Rotary Club’s substantial contribution and the help
of local and foreign donors, a multipurpose center was inaugurated in 1973,
with its first floor being donated to the Dr Drago School and Girls College as
a Golden Jubilee Gift by the club.
The doctor kept up a busy daily schedule until his death --
seeing about 20 patients in the morning and dividing his evening among numerous
social organizations for which he wrote minutes and letters and kept accounts.
Dr Drago was honored first with Tamgha-e-Pakistan in 1967
and then with Sitara-e-Imtiaz posthumously in 2002 for his services for the
betterment of the community.[1]
Doctor Drago’s services ranged from assisting refugees, to
the cure and prevention of major diseases, to education and youth animation. He
died on January 16, 1999, in Mirpurkhas.
Drago left behind a wife and six children. His four daughters are doctors and his two sons hold important posts.
Although the people of Mirpurkhas wanted him to be buried in
their own town, his wife chose Karachi so that people could more easily visit
his grave.
Retired Bishop Bonaventure Paul, the main celebrant at the
funeral Mass on January 18, 1999, at St. Lawrence's Church, praised Drago's
love for the poor and his outreach to Hindus and Muslims. Drago left behind a
wife and six children. All four of his daughters are doctors. Although the
people of Mirpurkhas wanted him to be buried there, his wife chose Karachi so
that people could more easily visit his grave.[2]
His legacy lives on with the Marie Adelaide Drago government
leprosy clinic in Mirpurkhas. Sponsored by the Sui Southern Gas Company, it was
renovated in 2006 at a cost of Rs 1.5 million and established at the leprosy
centre started by Dr Drago. So far the center has treated 1022 eye patients,
five cataracts, 343 with skin disease, and 13 TB patients were provided
medicines free of cost. The program of the center aims at leprosy elimination
and rehabilitation, prevention of tuberculosis and blindness.[3]
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