On Sunday, the Welfare Society for Patient Care hosted its first major fundraising event, and even though everything seemed to be in place — twinkling lights intermeshed with flower garlands and the heady scent of jasmine, paintings by Jamil Naqsh, AS Rind and Shammi Ahmed on easels, food simmering in silver servers on long, white-clothed buffet tables — Salma Adil, the president of the society, was flustered.
“We’re so nervous,” she confided breathlessly. “There’s so much to organise, the tables, entertainment, paintings…we had an earlier benefit at Canvas, but it was not on this scale.”
The event — dinner over classic, heartbreaking Bollywood tunes with singer Sadia Malik and an art auction hosted by television personality Anwar Maqsood — has sold out at Rs2,000,000 a table, which is only Rs20,000 short of what it costs the Welfare Society to treat one dialysis patient for a year. This cost is prohibitively steep for many who need dialysis. Each day, Pakistanis with kidney diseases, die from lack of diagnosis or treatment.
According to Rukhsana Ahmad, a former Sindh High Court judge and a member of the Welfare Society: “Lack of awareness and education is at the root. The well-to-do can get to a doctor who will diagnose kidneys problems, but the majority of the population can’t afford the treatment. At the grassroots level and at government hospitals, you may not find this treatment readily available.”
Welfare Society for Patient Care is based at Zubaida Medical Centre in Dhoraji, and provides surgery, dialysis and other services to low-income patients. The society was formed a little over two years ago when Dr Iffrat Yezdari, a prominent nephrologist, began soliciting private donations from friends and family to help her patients cover the cost of multiple-weekly dialysis sessions. Initially only a handful of patients received free treatment, but as the Welfare Society grew, it received corporate sponsorships. Currently 100 patients receive free dialysis through the society.
Ahmad has a friend undergoing dialysis treatment. “With one session, you can see a difference in the patient’s face,” she said. “Life is in the hands of the Almighty, but quality of life certainly improves with good medical care.”
Kidney disease is a common problem, and its prevalence is growing rapidly, alongside the rate of kidney-damaging diabetes, in fast urbanising countries. Many Pakistanis don’t have access to clean drinking water, another factor that contributes to kidney disease.
As the DJ spun a pre-party mix of electronic house and electric fans worked to combat the evening heat which glistened on guests’ faces. They settled at smart black and creme tables, chatting with friends and sipping mineral water and soda. The din of the bustling city seemed far removed from the sunken, carpeted courtyard of Saleem and Shaheem Sayed’s Clifton residence.
This is our pool,” Shaheem said, indicating the spread of tables with her hand. “It doesn’t have water in it, of course, but the whole day we were busy transforming this place.”
The auction took place on a stage surrounded by greenery. Dr Iffrat donated three paintings from her personal collection, including a muted-palette pigeon by Pakistan’s modern master Jamil Naqsh and two colour-saturated female busts by Rind. Shammi Ahmed, Naqsh’s student and owner of Shammi Gallery, donated a calligraphy of her own creation.
I’ve been in Dr Yezdari’s hospital,” said Shammi. “I’ve seen the patients, but there are so many more in need. Tonight is a good cause. All the tables sold, all the paintings sold. But people should keep giving to this cause.”
The need and costs are ongoing. Unless dialysis patients receive transplants, they will be dependent on machines to do the job of their kidneys, to clean their blood, for the rest of their lives.
“I think it’s time to give back to the people what we took from them in the form of education,” said Dr Yezdari, a tiny woman with huge presence and radiant energy. “To give back to them what they have given to us.”
As the night bled into morning, Sadia Malik upped the ante with vigorous renditions of contemporary Bollywood hits, twisting her torso and tossing her free-flowing knee-length locks to the catchy beat of “Munni Badnaam Hoi”.
Adil had finally relaxed. She leaned back in her chair, raising both arms and flicking her shoulders.
“She’s singing well, yes? What do you think?” Dr Yezdari asked the woman who heads her society.
“Beautiful,” Adil replied, beaming.
The victims of kidney disease whose lives are prolonged and enriched by the Welfare Society for Patient Care would, no doubt, agree.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 3rd, 2011.
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