Sabr: A care collaborative

January 2025. Shaima and Devi caught up with Saif Mohammad on a new program he has been working on – Bereavement Companionship – at the Institute of Palliative Medicine, Kozhikode.

Saif currently serves as the consultant and faculty member of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre Institute of Palliative Medicine, the service provision and training arm of Pain and Palliative Care Soceity, Kozhikode. Bereavement Companionship is a collaboration between the Death Literacy Institute, Australia and the Institute of Palliative Medicine

We asked Saif what kept him going in nearly 20 years of work in the palliative care space. He laughed and said,

I am the biggest beneficiary of palliative care…. I am [currently] joining in from IPM. IPM is a place where atleast one death happens everyday. And you are spending time with them – a person who is going to die the next day and their family members. The wisdom you get from them, you will not find elsewhere. You can read books, watch movies, you can talk to people. …someone who is going to say goodbye to this world, that is the biggest learning you can ask for.

Here, Saif refers to the hospice facilities at IPM, that are in addition to the home-care visits.

Listen to the rest of our conversation with Saif, where we discuss how he became a volunteer in Kerala’s palliative care movement, how the bereavement companionship program came about, and why he’s been committed to this difficult space for so many years.

The Bereavement Companionship program is an initiative designed to train individuals to offer compassionate and informed companionship to those experiencing grief and loss. The focus is on providing emotional support during bereavement by being a compassionate presence for the bereaved, especially within their immediate social circle.

In his artwork shown below, Saif redefines ‘care’ as the power of empathy, patience, and being there for those who suffer in silence.

More about Saif is below. You can also listen to Sabr’s conversation with Dr. Suresh Kumar, one of the founding members of the Institute of Palliative Medicine and the Pain and Palliative Care Society Kozhikode.

Saif was the first State Project Manager for Palliative Care in Kerala under the National Health Mission, leading efforts for initiating primary palliative care programs, empowering Local Self-Governments and facilitating specialized palliative care programs in secondary and tertiary hospitals. He has also supported the work of formulating the palliative care policy for the Government of Kerala, and has served as the State Coordinator of the palliative care program under the Additional Skill Acquisition program of the Government of Kerala. As consultant and faculty member at the Institute of Palliative Medicine, he facilitates capacity development workshops for governments and organizations in low- and middle-income countries. As a faculty member of the global fellowship program organized by IPM WHOCC and St. Christopher’s Hospice London, he imparts his expertise to participants from around the globe. He is also actively involved in implementing the International Program for developing Bereavement Companions in collaboration with the support of the Death Literacy Institute, Australia, and the Institute of Palliative Medicine

If you would like to know about Bereavement Companions, please contact Saif or the Sabr Collaborative.

Saif can be reached at: saifsabil@gmail.com