Aman ki Asha, Rotary Pakistan and Rotary Indian Humanity Foundation, through their groundbreaking
Gift of Life/Heart to Heart initiative, have facilitated over a hundred successful heart surgeries in
India of children from all over Pakistan
By Anam Tariq
Since the successful heart surgeries that repaired the severe heart defects they were born with, two boys from Sindh have a new ambition: they want to become heart surgeons. Riyaz, 13, wants to return to India and work as a doctor in the country that gave him a new lease of life, while Hossain, 14, wants to serve in Pakistan, which still lacks facilities for complicated heart surgeries.
But for now, Riyaz, a diehard fan of Shahrukh Khan and Indian Hindi movies in general, is happy that he doesn’t have to be scared of the effects of aerial firing after an India Pakistan cricket match or the honking of car horns, and Hossain is happy he will be able to play and run. His father, a poor farmer named Maula Bakhsh, is still amazed that his son will be able to lead a normal life. The parents cannot thank the Indian doctors enough.
Little Maryam, who was operated upon at the same time, is also eager to now be active and contribute to society Her parents are grateful to Rotary and Aman ki Asha sponsors for giving their daughter “a second life”.
The surgeries, conducted by cardiologist Dr Ram Ghodeswar, assisted by anesthesiologist Dr Manish Sonkusare, at Care Hospital in Nagpur, India, were part of a groundbreaking programme called Heart to Heart, under the Gift of Life initiative launched by Aman ki Asha and Rotary Pakistan and Rotary Indian Humanity Foundation (RIHF), in March 2011.
Abdullah, a poor farmer from district Nawabshah, was distraught when he could not afford his son’s heart surgery. Aman ki Asha emerged as a ray of hope. “I am thankful to Jang/Geo Group, Rotary Pakistan and friends in India for the favour,” he said.
In the past year and a half alone, the Gift of Life has facilitated over a hundred successful heart surgeries, of children from all over Pakistan. Heart-to-Heart initially aimed to send 200 children with congenital heart defects to top heart institutions in India for treatment, but this was just a “conservative estimate, a launching pad,” as RIHF trustee Kamal Sanghvi said when he came to Karachi to sign the MoU. Sure enough, Heart to Heart’s current target is to benefit a thousand children.
An earlier agreement signed in February 2011 between Aman ki Asha, the joint peace initiative of the Jang Group and the Times of India, and Rotary, aims to set up 30 state-of-the-art eye hospitals in Pakistan, establish family and student exchanges between India and Pakistan, and develop Youth Leadership Awards.
The partnership, boosted by Rotary Club’s extensive network and the reach of the Jang Group, aims to benefit those who need it the most, while also working to establish peace. It leverages the respective strengths of both organisations and countries to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable sections of population on either side.
Rotarians in India and Pakistan follow up on the arrangements – from helping the applicants obtain the passports (which many, belonging to the poorest sections of society, don’t have) to visas, travel and accommodation.
Rotary Past District Governor (PDG) Faiz Kidwai who is also the Rotary coordinator for the Rotary-Aman Ki Asha partnership, and PDG Aziz Memon are the main organisers who facilitate applicants on the Pakisan end, while PDG Deepak Talwar and PDG Madhu Rughwani, and their teams look after arrangements in India.
Countless doctors have laboured to restore health to Pakistani children under this initiative, like Dr. Saurav Varshney and Dr. Varun Bhargava at Care Hospitals, Dr. Satyajit Bose and his team at Mission Hospital in Durgapur, West Bengal, as well as those who have conducted surgeries at hospitals in Bangalore, Gujrat and Ludhiana.
Local Rotary Clubs in India sponsor the surgeries. The Rotary fraternity of Nagpur in Rid-3030 is so inspired that they would like to facilitate 2-3 surgeries a month,Rotary is also helping to develop facilities for congenital heart surgeries in Pakistan, at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) and National Institute of Cardio-vascular Diseases (NICVD) to start with. The continuing partnership between Aman ki Asha and Rotary International has led to real victories – personal as well as in the context of relations between Pakistan and India. It is an ongoing journey, with hope of much more to come.
We got so much love and warmth in India that I didn’t even feel I was away from home. The Indians were very hospitable. They treated us just like brothers; they did so much for us that at times we were embarrassed.
The hospital staff gave Muzaffar so much love and affection. Except for some of the people in Kolkata who didn’t speak Urdu or Hindi, I wouldn’t have known I wasn’t in Pakistan.
– Rozay Khan, government school teacher, father of Muzaffar Ahmed Khan, 4 years old, Loralai.
“I could not even imagine that my son will have free heart surgery. But Aman ki Asha has made it possible and I am really thankful for the gesture of friendship between Pakistan and India.”
– Ghulam Hussain, rickshaw driver, father of Aakash, 5 years old.
Reaching more people
Rotarian Madhu Rughwani with Riyaz: The Gift of Life is the best gift of all
The Rotary theme for 2012-13 is” Peace through Service” and our objective is to promote peace by participating in humanitarian projects all over the world. Many conflicts can be resolved through appropriate interventions in social sector development. Rotary has long being working to promote peace at the grassroots levels in India and Pakistan and the partnership with Aman Ki Asha has boosted our efforts.
We are now reaching more people and are able to expand our work to serve humanity and connect the common people of India and Pakistan. We hope to expand this partnership and continue converting miseries into joy for ordinary people in both countries.
– Jalal Shaikh, Governor, Rotary International, D 3271 Pakistan
A unique experience
I have been involved in partnerships for numerous humanitarian service projects but this partnership between Rotary and Aman Ki Asha, reaching the common people of both countries, working for peace through community service, is indeed a unique experience. Our Heart 2 Heart partnership has saved many little lives, restoring heartbeats and in the process connecting many hearts in both countries.
The Rotary Aman Ki Asha partnership has restored vision to many men and women who were blind for years. Hundreds of cataract surgeries are being performed under the program. We are now under same banner setting up an eye hospital in Malir.
This partnership is also enabling the youth of both countries to meet under a youth exchange program. These exchanges have resulted in deeply impressing each other’s hearts and strengthen the bonds of friendship.
Many other projects and programs in education, health, social sector development are being jointly sponsored by Rotarians of both countries, making a qualitative improvement in many lives. There are social stakes involved across the borders and we need to grow them further to ensure most friendly and peaceful relationship between the common people of both the countries. Such social contracts are bound to succeed as they are based on promoting human dignity, caring for and respecting each other’s values. Such social connectivity efforts or social contracts built at common level will ultimately pave way for a more effective economic partnership.
– Faiz Kidwai, Coordinator Rotary-Aman Ki Asha Partnership, Rotary Pakistan
Ek Doojay Kay Liyay
The joint initiative of Aman Ki Asha between the two media giants, Jang Group and Times of India, has generated overwhelming momentum for peace that is nothing short of extraordinary. The human touch is the basic ingredient required for any peace making endeavours.
The Aman ki Asha – Rotary partnership is a fundamental tool to establish ties of friendship and cooperation between India and Pakistan, through Heart To Heart and Family/Youth Exchanges and the upcoming Health and Literacy project. This relationship by default has an element of natural fusion, a dynamic highlighted by the term “Ek Doojay Kay Liyay” (for each other). – Rotarian Irfan Qureshi
The writer is a former assistant coordinator for Aman Ki Asha.
Email: [email protected]
