TRIBUTES have been paid to a legendary health worker lovingly-remembered as Bahrain’s ‘first nurse’ and the country’s very own ‘Doctor Habib’.
Habib Ghaith recently died in hospital at the grand old age of 99 and leaves a legacy of love, devotion and caring continued to this day by family members who have followed in his career footsteps.
“He was a great man, father and grandfather – inspirational and unforgettable,” his granddaughter Entesar Faisal Al Jaid told the GDN.
Mr Ghaith was the personal nurse to the late Ruler HH Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
A father of six sons and four daughters, and a proud granddad and great granddad, he started work at the former Victoria Hospital, Ras Ruman, at the age of 16 in 1938.
His potential and English language skills led to him being trained in the UK before returning to later become the first Bahraini nurse to work at the Al Naim Health Centre and a member of Bahrain’s Haj Medical Team.
Mr Ghaith died on October 10 after being admitted to Salmaniya Medical Complex four days earlier after a short spell of illness and difficulty eating. He passed away peacefully in his hospital bed surrounded by his family and was laid to rest at the Hoora Cemetery.
Ms Al Jaid with her “baba oud”
“Our world is not the same without baba oud,” said Ms Al Jaid, a 33-year-old nurse who works at the Jidhafs Maternity Hospital. She said that her grandfather inspired her to join the profession and her two siblings to become doctors.
“He used to encourage us to study – he would give us 100fils for each paper we wrote,” she said.
“Until the last day he continued to read and write. He meant the world to us and no words can fully describe the loss we are feeling.”
Mr Ghaith, originally from Muharraq, lived with his family in Ras Rumman. He was described as ‘the centre of the world’ of his youngest daughters – twins, Kareema and Amal.
“It has been tough for them – my mother Kareema and my aunt Amal,” said Ms Al Jaid. “He was their world and they were always around him – now they seem to be lost and they are always talking about him, recalling memories of their childhood.”
She recollected a story which her grandfather loved to narrate – the story of him being chosen by the British adviser to the Amir, Charles Belgrave, to study abroad.
“Baba Oud had lost his father at a young age and, being the eldest child, had to go out to work at the age of 12 to help support his mother and siblings,” she said.
“He used to work as a cleaner at the house of Charles Belgrave and there was a teacher who taught students English. My grandfather would stand next to the window to listen to them and memorise all the letters and words.
“Once the teacher was heard questioning the students and checking their spelling and Baba Oud shouted: ‘My name is Habib and I spell it - H - A – B - I – B!”
This, she said, became the turning point in his life. His desire to learn was infectious and he was offered the opportunity to join the class and was later sent to England to study nursing.
“On his return, he immediately started working in Bahrain alongside foreign doctors and was in the frontline fighting epidemics and diseases spreading across the country at the time, like smallpox, dysentery and malaria.
“He was appointed as the personal doctor of the late Ruler Shaikh Salman and I remember him proudly recalling how the late Amir HH Shaikh Isa bin Salman, as a child, calling him ‘my father’s nurse’.
“To the community he was simply known as ‘the very dear Dr Habib’ who helped and cared for the poor and the needy.
“For us grandchildren he was a friend and teacher – he taught us English and he also spoke Persian and Hindi.”
Mr Ghaith retired in 1981 and moved to Qatar where he worked for five years before returning home to Bahrain. His beloved wife, Mehdia Abdulla, passed away in 1993 aged 63.
raji@gdn.com.bh
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