10 January 2006
First baby delivered by Operation Pakistan Assist

Ohan Ali, a healthy baby boy weighing 3 kilograms, on 7 January 2006 became the first baby delivered by the Australian Defence Force (ADF) medical team working high in the mountains of Kashmir.

Ohan Ali, the first child for his parents, was delivered in a clinical tent by Lieutenant Colonel Geoff Matthews, assisted by nursing and medical staff.

"It’s so wonderful to see a healthy child brought into the world," Lieutenant Colonel Geoff Matthews said. "The mother has been through so much with the earthquake and losing everything and then having to come 4 kilometres through the mountains to get here."

Both mother and baby were doing fine after the birth.

They stayed at the ADF medical outpost, Camp Bradman, for four hours observation to make sure they were both well enough to make the arduous trip back to their home in the village of Manjhoter, high in the mountains of the Neelum Valley.

In civilian life, Lieutenant Colonel Matthews is the Director of Obstetrics at Modbury Hospital in the northeastern suburbs of Adelaide.

He is a member of the Army Reserve with Headquarters 9 Brigade, based at Keswick Barracks, Adelaide. Currently he is serving as part of the Australian joint task force for Operation Pakistan Assist near Dhanni in the Neelum Valley, on the Pakistan side of the Kashmir line of control.

20060106adf8195319_105 Captain Connie Jongeneel holds Ohan Ali, a healthy baby boy who is the first baby born at the Australian Defence Force medical centre near Dhanni, Kashmir. Captain Jongeneel is an Australian Army Reserve officer from Adelaide working as part of the humanitarian assistance mission under Operation Pakistan Assist. (Date taken: 10 January 2006) Low-Res | Hi-Res