Srinagar- The family of a young cancer patient from South Kashmir’s Pulwama district had to issue an appeal asking people not to donate further as their request for Rs eighty lakh had already been credited in their account in less than 24 hours. By the time of filing of this report on Friday night the amount was touching a whopping one crore rupees.
It all began when a social media post detailing the plight of 25-year-old Sadaf Ayoub suffering from blood cancer went viral.
Sadaf from a poor family in Lassipora, Pulwama was diagnosed with blood cancer by the doctors at the SKIMS, Srinagar last year, months after she had secured admissions for Masters in the University of Kashmir.
The distraught family moved the young girl to Fortis Hospital Gurugram, Haryana for better treatment. However, the cost of treatment, as the family says, “broke their back”
“I sold my 4 kanal agricultural land to meet the cost of treatment. However, it turned out to be a very small amount to heal my daughter,” Sadaf’s father, Mohammad Ayoub Bhat, a small-time farmer, told Kashmir Observer.
He said when all his finances were exhausted; his sisters and other relatives also came forward and extended their help. However, that too, Bhat said, didn’t suffice.
All I had was Rs 1.35 lakh that I exhausted in the first year of treatment. At Fortis doctors told me that his daughter has to undergo bone marrow transplant and would cost around Rs 80 lakh.
Shell shocked and distraught, I was not able to figure out what to do. “That’s when some well wishers decided to seek help from people. We posted her picture and bank details on social media. Within 24 hours, we received around Rs 1 crore into her account,” Bhat said, tears rolling down his cheeks.
“It’s like a miracle to all of us. When we were shattered and worrying about the fate of our daughter, people gave us immense love and helped us financially. I’ve no words to express my gratitude to the people who prayed for my daughter, who helped her with donations,” he added.
Expressing his gratitude to the donors, Sadaf’s brother Uzair who works as class IV employee in the Finance Department, said that the family now has enough money to continue treatment of her ailing sister. He requested people not to deposit more money into the bank account of her sister.
The family had also sought e-donation on a crowdfunding platform—Milaap which had fetched them over Rs 12 lakh by the time this report was filed.
Meanwhile, the netizens are elated over the unprecedented generosity shown by the people in helping out the needy girl. Social media on Friday remained abuzz with users hailing the spirit of Kashmiris.
“In an astonishing display of solidarity, the target amount of 80 lakh has been completed in Sadaf Ayoub’s case within less than 24 hours! This incredible achievement highlights the power of our community coming together for a noble cause,” tweeted one Basharat Akhoon.
“This is the real Kashmiriyat. This is what is keeping us together,” Mehran Ahmad, a businessman posted on micro-blogging website Facebook.
“This is a great example of generosity. Many times I feel proud to be a Kashmiri and this is one such occasion. This is also the example that Kashmiris are the richest people by heart on earth,” read another post by one Wani Aslam on Facebook.
Interestingly, this is not the first time people of Kashmir have lent a helping hand to the needy in times of distress.
Moved by the plight of a driver from Srinagar’s Hawal area in May 2020, people deposited Rs 27 lakh in less than 24 hours in his account after he uploaded a video on Facebook claiming he and his family were starving.
In June 2020, people donated over Rs 3 crore within seven days to rebuild 11 houses that were damaged in an encounter between government forces and militants in Nawa Kadal locality of Srinagar.
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