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Here are details of an iterview with

Mrs. Ebrahim and Mr. Shahid Tata

Razia Khan interviewed Zainab Ibrahim, Executive Trustee, and Shahid Tata, Co-Executive Trustee, Baitul Sukoon Cancer Hospital.

RK: It's great to be here but it is interesting to know that this whole project actually started off in a small house in KDA with you and another friend starting out this wonderful endeavor. What was that like?

ZI: We just started in a rented house and from that day onwards we have been progressing further and further. I think this is a mercy and a blessing from God,

RK: And this current facility is now a 45 bed hospital?

ST: Yes it is.

RK: And you are dealing with economically challenged patients. Is that true?

ST: Yes, that is correct. In fact we do not charge anything; it is absolutely free so far and now we are planning to increase our disciplines as well, for example breast cancer hospitals, clinics and other disciplines as well. So hopefully God willing, we are now working at 50% of our capacity and we are planning to take it to a 100%.

RK: And as you said earlier, it is fully funded by philanthropists and donors?

ST: Yes it works on 100% donations and we have estimated an expense of 130 Million for next year and for this year we are estimating an expense of about Rs.60 Million. So as soon as we are confident that we will be able to raise this kind of money, we will definitely go further and utilise the complete facility.

RK: And currently how many patients have been through the hospital? Because I know that you have dealt with a significant number already.

ZI: About 6300 patients approximately. Since its inception, we have treated about 6300 patients so far.

RK: And what kind of facilities do they receive here?

ZI: They receive Chemotherapy, radiotherapy; there is of course the hospital support. So for radiotherapy we have seen approximately 1200 patients, similarly for chemotherapy we have received about 4500 patients and 2500 patients for hospital support.

RK: And that is definitely incredible, it is filling a vital gap where public funding does not exist for these patients who would not receive any care whatsoever without the help of such institutions.

ST: That is 100% true, we consider this to be God’s blessing. Sometimes I wonder and I am amazed and overwhelmed by the general support that we get, I mean so far we have never had any shortage of funds. People just keep coming, and I don’t know how they come or where they come to know of this facility. Especially Mrs. Zainab Ibrahim, you come across a lot of people in life but I feel that she is really a blessed person. Her devotion and kindness are just beyond words. God willing more people like her will also come forward and help the kind of patients that we help.

RK: Yes, and I think it is time to recognise your efforts, I mean it has been ten years.

ZI: I am doing this for my God and I have His blessings with me.

RK: Now ten years on, I think you must be pinching yourself when you look around this amazing facility because I must say, it is quite impressive!

ZI: Yes, but it is all by God’s grace and we are very happy that He gave us an opportunity to serve, and you will be glad to know that this is a very unique facility, one of its kind in the whole of Pakistan.

RK: Which is a big first for the country right? And you are not only providing hospital facilities as you say, there are plenty more facilities as well.

ZI: Yes and those facilities are indefinite.

RK: That’s right, but more than that, I believe that patient care and patient welfare is really looked at from a holistic level, where you are dealing with the patient’s care, the family’s care and the emotional support, which I think is often neglected. So tell us more about what the patients can receive in that regard?

ZI: We have psychologists here that look into the patients’ emotional problems, even the patient’s family, like we have bereavements counseling and a lot of those kind of facilities. Then there are people for whom we have to look into special foods for their health care and nutrition. We have diabetic patients here that have special diets, so we also take care of all that.

RK: So it is even down to the tiny details of diets and maintenance once they have left your facility? And I know that you have a lovely idea where you have a picture of your patients who survived and that proves to be a source of hope for all the patients that come here I think.

ZI: Yes, and you will be glad to know that up till now we haven’t had any of those big funding events such as balls or anything, because we only work within the boundaries and limits of ‘Shariat’. We do not go outside those bounds. If we indulged in that, I am sure we will be able to make a lot of money but we don’t want it to be that way.

RK: And still you have never been short of money or funds, so you are doing the right thing. Recently there was your inauguration on the 13th of August. Please tell us about that event.

ST: Well, for quite some time we had been looking forward to officially inaugurating it, because already we had been utilising this facility for a few months but the official inauguration was due, so we organised an event. Our friends at Bait-ul-Sukoon were very helpful and we all managed to arrange a wonderful event and there were a lot of people who attended it. After that we have been receiving a much better response from the business community and otherwise also, we have people coming in themselves and donating generously. It is very heartening and we are very grateful to all of these people, of course we have a very long way to go, but I think it was a very successful event and there were a lot of people who were really amazed to see this facility because they had been unaware of what had been going on here. Mr. Fakhruddin came and inaugurated this facility; he was very kind and promised us his support and guidance. We are also extremely thankful to the Infaq Foundation; they are a vital part of this facility. In fact the first donation that we received was from the Infaq Foundation, and they have been extremely active in all of this. They have always been very kind and they were always there to help us and guide us. Occasionally they also visit this place and make certain checks here as well.

RK: Which is really good in a way I think.

ZI: Yes, we look forward to people guiding us.

RK: Earlier you mentioned about people donating, but you also have a very interesting program of sponsoring patients, sponsoring beds and sponsoring surgery. Please tell us about how people can get involved with that?

ZI: Well, if they want to sponsor a bed, it will cost about Rs.700, 000 and apart from that they can also sponsor different types of surgeries. Then we have different types of brochures with detailed information regarding how one can get involved with the sponsoring. It is about Rs.20, 000 for a surgery but then again there are different types of surgeries here.

ST: Normally what we do these days is that we have been sending our brochures through different clubs and associations, and if somebody wants to approach us through this program then they can come and visit our hospital itself, or they can just call us as we have made all our numbers available. We will be more than happy to provide them with all the details.

RK: Yes, because I think many people aren’t aware that the average cost is between half a million and a million Rupees per patient and that is a terrifying sum of money.

ST: Yes definitely, I think it is even more expensive than a heart by-pass surgery because cancer patients require a lot more care.

RK: Yes and it is the maintenance care after the therapies that continue.

ZI: At the OPD which is open three times a week, we have about 40 patients coming for OPD and apart from that we have a follow-up as well. All the patients that have been treated by us also come in for follow-ups.

ST: The most important thing for any institution in Pakistan or anywhere in the world for that matter, is the transparency and we are very happy and proud that we can claim that we are a very transparent organisation, we are a very systematic organisation. We update our accounts regularly. This is something we really take pride in, the fact that we are very transparent and we are a very organised system. We also have internal auditing constantly going on so that is fundamental. This is because I believe that for success and for confidence in an institution, the very basic requirement is its accounting system and the transparency. So this is what I would like to tell everyone, that we happen to be one of the most organised and systematic institutions. .

RK: It is indeed a wonderful thing that you are doing, and best of luck for the future.

ZI: Thank you.

ST: Thank you.