by Lawrence Faulkner

It’s thanks to the friendship between Eugenio La Mesa (our CEO) and Riccardo Romani (Foreign Manager SkyTG24), we were able to organize a visit to Pakistan for a professional journalistic service. Riccardo is to follow the elections in Afghanistan on 20th August 2009 hosted by the Italian contingent, after which he will come to Pakistan. He will be joined by Sandra Cecchi (RAI 2) and Paolo Pineschi (Operator Sky), all volunteering during their holidays.

At Florence-Peretola airport I met with Sandra for a flight to Gatwick, London. Once we arrived, we had to transfer to Heathrow where we caught up with Paolo. The journey was a bit all over the place, but in booking the flights this way we were able to halve the cost of the tickets in respect of the traditional more direct route.

The next morning we took the flight to Islamabad where we arrived at 4 am having made a stopover in Abu Dhabi. Completely shattered, we eventually arrived and were so happy to see Sadaf Khalid at the airport. There was a brief moment of crisis when we reached the hotel only to be told that the rooms were not available, unfortunately due to an error our arrival was expected for the afternoon. They finally found us a room and the 3 of us collapsed in one bed for a couple of hours!

At 9 o’clock we left for the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), where in January 2009 we set up the very first unit for bone marrow transplantation in a government owned hospital, we met the Executive Director Professor Mahmood Jamal, and Sandra did the first interview. Despite almost total sleep deprivation Sandra and Paolo were very active, during the visit to the Childrern’s Hospital, they interviewed the families and took some footage. At 11.30 we were received by the Italian Ambassador Vincenzo Prati and his wife Nariko who invited us to lunch. The day continued with an interview with the Ambassador and a meeting with Dr. Marchetti, on international cooperation, and a further visit to the Executive Director of PIMS to discuss a plan for future activities and sustainability. Richard joined us in the evening on a flight from Kabul to Peshawar and then the car ride to Islamabad. We were exhausted!
Sunday is the first day of Ramadan, in the morning at PIMS, Riccardo interviewed family members of the children at the thalassemia centre, Sadaf Khalid and other staff. In the afternoon, Sandra, Richard and Paolo visited Rawalpindi, I stayed behind to talk with Sadaf, our Branch Coordinator in Pakistan. In the evening we took a flight to Karachi. Monday morning Tahir Shamsi was waiting for us with his team as well as patients and families assisted by Cure2Children. We were very happy to see our first cured child, as well as everyone else who we’ve helped and been in contact with. In the afternoon at the Hussaini Blood Bank, we videoed the Thalassamia Centre, the biggest in Pakistan, with over 700 registered children. Then a little shopping at the Zinnah Market and again to the airport, this time to Faisalabad. We arrived there a little after midnight and were welcomed with great kindness. The road that took us to the Chenab Club, was jammed with heavy traffic, all kinds ranging from old trucks in bright colours and loaded to capacity with everything and anything, to self-made carts pulled by donkeys. Apparently it is the time of day that trade starts with Lahore and other localities. The Chenab Club, was very nice and welcoming, dating back to Colonial Britan, and has been recently renovated.

In the morning we had a brief meeting with Mr. Abdul Rashid Sheikh, the local textile magnate and leader of the subcommittee on health of the Sheikh Foundation, and grandfather of a child with thalassemia major. A delightful person and very communicative, he accompanied us to the first hospital, the Red Crescent Society (Red Cross) where we visited their thalassamia centre and met with doctors and parents. Then onto the Faisalabad University where we had a discussion with a large groupof professors interested in the project. The Rector, Professor Riaz ul Haq Tariq, was also there and presented me and Sadaf Khalid with a plaque.

Then off to the Aziz Fatimah Hospital, where we met their doctors and students. They all seem very interested and determined. I would say that the chances are very good for starting with at least one centre in Faislabad.
Despite Ramadan, at the Chenab Club we were served food that we gladly accepted before getting in the car (made available by Mr. Sheikh) to take us back to Islamabad. The next morning a visit to Shifa Hospital, also here things are going well. In particular, the latest child has had a particularly good response and will be discharged soon. Later in the morning we were at the Embassy for lunch and to have a discussion with Dr. Marchetti on the projects for the Italy-Pakistan Debt-Swap, that we hope to enter.

In the afternoon we met Mrs. Yasmeen Murshed, Ambassador (High Commissioner) of Bangladesh in Pakistan. The meeting was organized by Ambassador Prati after updating him on our visit to Dhaka, Grameen and the meeting with Professor Yunus. We were grateful for this opportunity, the Ambassador of Bangladesh, besides being a very nice and kind person, seemed genuinely interested in what we do, and is also a friend of Professor Yunus, I think that she could help us a lot.

In the middle of the night, the alarm went off at 2.15am in order to take a flight to Abu Dhabi to return to Florence via London. Thanks Riccardo, Sandra and Paul.