Imran Khan Cancer Appeal Fundraiser in Sacramento
By Ras H. Siddiqui
Karachi, Pakistan, needs a world class cancer treatment hospital. Imran Khan Cancer Appeal is at the forefront of making this possible and has arranged a series of events in the United States (thirty-seven planned so far) to help to raise funds for the effort.
Aided by the performance of singer and entertainer Ali Azmat, these shows started in Seattle, Washington on September 4 th and the series will end in Greensboro, North Carolina on December 18, 2022 (please check your area event calendars). And lucky for us the Sacramento event was held last Sunday to the delight of many people in this region including from the Stockton and Lodi area (Lodi City Council Member Shak Khan included). And for this we need to thank the local team of Javaid Akhtar, Farooq Azhar, Wajahat Khan and Kamran Malik, the main organizers.
Held at the Hilton-Arden West, things started fashionably late as some guests arrived closer to 8 PM, somewhat late for a Sunday. Thankfully, dinner was served first. In any case when the emcee for the evening Waqar Rizvi (who did an incredible job this evening) called everyone to attention, the hall was packed. Young Usaid Azhar presented the customary recitation from the Holy Qur’an and its translation to formally start the program. And words of welcome were presented by Khizur Kamran, another community youngster. It is great to see that younger people from within the Pakistani American community are making themselves available and visible at our events (and doing a fine job too).
The Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre was started by Pakistan’s Cricket hero Imran Khan over 30 years ago because his mother died of this dreaded disease. Since then, fully functional cancer treatment facilities have been constructed and are up and running both in Lahore and Peshawar, treating most patients for free. Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, has been selected to be the third hospital site whose construction is currently under way. To elaborate on this project and a whole lot more Mr Tariq Azam was here on behalf of the organization to share the details.
Tariq Azam started off in English by saying that he was here to connect with the community and added that since he was with Pakistanis he would like to continue in Urdu, our national language. He came prepared, armed with many statistics on cancer in Pakistan, and revisited Imran Khan’s journey to this stage of the Shaukat Khanum Hospital building effort. He said that Shaukat Khanum belongs to all of us and excludes no one. The one issue that it does face is capacity because the need is far greater than the facilities available. He added that construction has started on the Karachi site of the hospital and that completion is expected by the end of 2023. Tariq Sahib also added that the Karachi hospital will be twice the size of the current hospital in Lahore. On donations he said that little or no amount is spent on administrative costs. He also emphasized that Shaukat Khanum is a fully accredited hospital, and that the Karachi facility too will be run by internationally set standards.
Next, a moving video of cancer patients and their testimonials was shared as the fundraising got off to a furious start. Waqar Rizvi did an excellent job here and disarmed many reluctant donor attendees with his great sense of humor. The first requests were for $20,000 donations to sponsor a room. Subsequently a Cricket bat signed by Imran Khan and a ball signed by him were auctioned off for significant amounts.
During this time, Zaki Syed a Rap performer from our community also presented his act. His topic was Pakistani Fauj (Army) but not those in uniform but the army of Pakistani Americans who step forward each time their country of origin needs help. The floods in Pakistan these days are a case in point and past floods and earthquake disasters too have seen our community rise to the occasion. Zaki has been a witness to such past efforts in the Sacramento area and was inspired by them. His rap this evening was on a serious note but still very well received.
Two other videos were also shown, one featuring Imran Khan himself asking for donations and another on how one can donate to this great cause both now and into the future. By the time the fundraiser ended at this event approximately $200,000 had been collected (this number includes pledges).
The main fallout of the delays on this Sunday night event was that the Ali Azmat performance started very late, and some people had to leave due to their early jobs on Monday morning. And Ali himself mentioned it since he and his band had been waiting to perform. But when he started there was no holding back. He rocked the hall like few others can. Accompanied on stage by Ustad Ashiq Ali (dholak) and Mohsin Ali (lead guitar), Kamran Zafar (bass guitar), Kami Paul (drums), Ali dazzled and the audience that could stay till late got quite a treat but still not a complete one. Starting off with Dosti, he belted out some of Junoon’s most famous hits including Mera Mahi, Khudi Ko Kar Buland Itna and Yaar Bina and Saeein. He was able to complete 11 songs and was about to start with Jazba-e-Junoon when the show had to be closed. It now appears that Ali Azmat will have to return to Sacramento to complete his performance at a future date.
To conclude on an important note, the local organizers tried their best to keep politics out of this effort to build a hospital in Pakistan. Once this facility is built and is up and running in Karachi, nobody will ask if the money donated came from PPP, PML-N, MQM or PTI supporters (to name a few). Cancer does not ask you which political party you belong to before it strikes. So let us not hold back on our participation or funding for this worthy cause because Imran Khan is now active in politics.
