9 years old Sajida lives in Qasba Colony in Karachi. When she was 6 she fell seriously ill but as her father Khalil was away for work and visited only once a month the child’s illness was ignored until he came home and found her with very high fever. Khalil was horrified and rushed her to a government hospital where the child was treated for fever but the long ignored disease had already badly affected her vision. The government hospital’s doctors sent them to a private hospital for eye treatment where Sajida was under treatment for 2 years to fund which Khalil was forced to borrow money from his relatives. Instead of improving her condition got worse to the extent that her left eye ball popped out of the socket. The private hospital washing their hands off her referred her to LRBT Korangi. At LRBT Sajida was given emergency treatment. She was operated the same day and the doctors had to remove her left eye ball as the infection had spread and could have threatened her right eye. Keratoplasty (Corneal transplant) was performed on her right eye on 15th September & she now has functioning vision.
Khalil who in desperation had tried to commit suicide is now overjoyed: “It is difficult to believe that not so long ago her future prospects looked unlikely to amount to more than begging on the streets. Sajida can now lead a normal life. I am lost for words to thank the doctors & staff of LRBT for their humanity, kindness & generosity. I’ll pray for them till the day I die.” 