Two year old Abul Kasem, in his mother's arms, has a heart condition which is untreatable in Bangladesh. The family, refugees from Myanmar, are being resettled to the United States, where he will receive life-saving medical care. / UNHCR / K. McKinsey / 17 May 2010

NAYAPARA REFUGEE CAMP, Bangladesh July 7 (UNHCR) – To watch two-year-old Abul Kasem toddling cheerfully around his family's thatched shelter, you'd never guess he has a life-threatening heart problem.

Thanks to a compassionate and imaginative use of a UNHCR registration database, though, he and his family are now in line for a new life in the United States where he will be able to get the surgery and care he needs to save his life.

"If the people at UNHCR had not helped my baby, my child would have died," says mother Mabia Khatun, surrounded by her six older children and her husband. The family fled Myanmar in 1991 after repeatedly being recruited as forced labourers.

She says she knew something was wrong when Abul Kasem was only one month old, lifeless and unable to suckle. Emergency care and tests at the clinic in this camp – home to 16,500 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar – as well as at a nearby Bangladeshi hospital, revealed serious heart problems.

"They told me they could give me medicine for everything else, but heart disease they couldn't help with," Mabia Khatun says, sitting on the ground in her spotlessly clean shelter.

Abul Kasem's heart problems were further highlighted in a UNHCR profiling exercise in which the refugee agency set out to refine its extensive ProGres registration database – developed a few years ago with technical advice from Microsoft and already in use in 75 countries – to better get to know the 28,600 refugees it serves in Bangladesh

"Even though we had a lot of information on the refugees, we realized we also had a lot of gaps," says Arjun Jain, senior protection officer for UNHCR in Bangladesh. "Two years ago, when we tried to identify the number of single women in the camps using the database, the results varied from one to 350 women."

The population in the two refugee camps near Cox's Bazar in southeastern Bangladesh has been largely stable for the past few years, but anomalies had crept in. Some refugees are registered by the government and some by UNHCR, and the two lists don't match.

After an information campaign to help refugees understand why it was in their interests to participate, 99 percent of the refugees agreed to extensive interviews by UNHCR staff, not only to present the basic facts of their lives and their needs, but to detail the skills they had to offer as well.

Some surprises emerged: some women who were thought to be single mothers were actually in polygamous marriages and a few refugees had been using someone else's identity for as long as 18 years.

"Once we understood the situation better, we could start working with refugees to find solutions to their real problems." Jain added. "We also share non-confidential information with our partners to make sure we all work in concert to provide the right help – everything from blankets to resettlement."

To the astonishment of Mabia Khatun, the profiling exercise meant she, her sick baby, her husband and all the older children were referred for resettlement to the United States where little Abul Kasem will be able to get heart surgery. They expect to leave in the next few months, but it's a leap into the unknown.

"I can't imagine what that country looks like," admits Mabia Khatun, "I can't think of anything except getting help for my son."

Jain says the refined database has made "such a difference in the lives of refugees. We can now ensure that women who face a greater risk of violence are better protected, and we have also provided business training to those who can benefit from it," part of UNHCR's long-term strategy to help refugees become more self-reliant. "We can also work with parents to ensure they send their children to school," Jain added.

That's a message the sick baby's oldest brother, 18-year-old Abu Tayob, certainly understands. The only one in the family who speaks any English, he is already busy passing on the little he has learned to his brothers and sisters.

"Education is the most important thing in America," he says earnestly. "I don't have any skill right now, but I want to be an engineer to support my family in America."

By Kitty McKinsey
In Nayapara Camp

I was tagged by effiethdal

1) My dolls are super neglected lately. I miss them and I miss being on flickr and am hoping to get back to taking pictures soon!

2) I am totally in love with my dog, Charlie. If I could spend every minute of every day with him, I would. He has the best personality and is just the sweetest boy ever.

3) I love my job. It's the best feeling in the world to love what you do.

4) I got my second tattoo in may and I want MORE! I have plans for like five more.

5) I just moved in with my boyfriend of 4 1/2 years. Its an adjustment but I love being domestic and getting settled.

6) I really want to go to Paris someday.

7) I love Bravo reality tv shows. Real Housewives of anywhere, Millionaire Matchmaker, Million Dollar LIsting, love them all.

8) Even though, I'm a mac girl, I love my blackberry and have no interest in an iphone.

9) I love squirrels. I've had three as pets. And think they are super cute. They remind me of my Papa and so I got a tattoo of one.

10) I'm getting super close to 30 and that is starting to really freak me out.

11) Cheese is my favorites food. I could eat it all day every day.

12) Some of my best friends, I've met through my dolly hobby. :)

13) I wish I was fluent in French, but am too lazy to get better at it.

14) I can't get enough of Lil Wayne lately, and its so hard to not sing along at work when the kids I work with are listening to him.

15) I have baby fever big time, but need to wait a couple more years. boo

16) I'm apply for grad school and feel really old to be going back to school.

17) I miss sewing and need to get my sewing room settled. I hate unpacking. I want to make dolly clothes and clothes for Charlie, too.

18) I am so excited to put pumpkins on our front porch and have been so busy I still haven't gotten them!

19) I could never live more than 20 minutes away from the ocean. I love the smell of it in the morning and its my favorite place to go and feel grounded.

20) I love to shop. Lately I've been really into vintage shopping. but any shopping will do.

21) Halloween is my favorite holiday. I grew up one town over from salem, ma and have always loved all things Halloweeny.

22) I love to color. Nothing like the smell of new crayons.

23) Punky Brewster was my favorite show when I was little, I'm so excited I've gotten my friends' little kids into watching it!

24) my bff is having a baby, I get to be an auntie and I cannot wait!

25) this took me forever! the end.