Who is Huzaifa?

One of Shaukat Khanum Hospital’s (SKMCH) many child patients, Huzaifa became the face of our Zakat campaign for Ramadan 2016. But the story of Huzaifa is so much more than that of a poster child. It is the story of human spirit: the spirit of a child, a family, a village and a nation.

“We would have had to watch him die in front of our eyes,” says Huzaifa’s father, when we visit the family at their temporary lodgings in Lahore. “Because we would not be able to pay for his treatment. Right now, he has a fighting chance at life.”

Huzaifa’s is a very poor family hailing from a poor community in Nowshera. Their village was heavily affected by the 2010 Pakistan floods. His father used to work as a labourer in Peshawar, but had to leave his job when his son was diagnosed with cancer. Eventually, the entire family was forced to relocate to Lahore for Huzaifa’s treatment.

“I had to leave my work because I have to be with my son,” explains Huzaifa’s father. “Some of my brothers try to help us financially, but they too are labourers and live hand to mouth.”

To make the family’s move possible, the people of Huzaifa’s village –friends and neighbours- pooled their money together. “They have been extremely kind, even though our houses and cattle were washed away in the 2010 floods,” Huzaifa’s father says. “The move from Nowshera and relocating the entire family has already cost us immensely. This amount was all raised by the people of our village. They got together and raised this money for Huzaifa, to save his life. But the fight against cancer is a long journey, and our living expenses are ongoing. How long can we put that pressure on them? They too are poor people with extremely difficult lives.”

The family has been in Lahore for two months now, and it has not been easy on them in a strange, new city.” We are poor people with limited means,” says Huzaifa’s father, “and my only source of income has been gardening. But the people at Shaukat Khanum Hospital have been so supportive. I have no words to describe their kindness.”

Huzaifa suffers from Sarcoma. Following a successful surgery in which his tumour was removed, he has started undergoing chemotherapy. The sessions are especially hard on him. He complains of excruciating pains and his body is wracked with a fever that goes on for days after every chemo session. “He cries, but my son is also very brave and he has an unbreakable spirit,” says Huzaifa’s father. “His siblings don’t really understand what is happening with him. It is difficult to see Huzaifa watch them playing, but he cannot join in. He has also become more quiet lately. It is the hardest on his mother. Huzaifa is so young, so I have to be strong for all of us.”

A shy 5 year-old who will not speak around girls, Huzaifa has shown incredible courage through the publicity involved in becoming the face of SKMCH’s Zakat campaign. Today he is especially happy about our visit, and keen to show us his model cars. “He loves his cars,” his father smiles. “And playing games on the mobile phone also cheers him up. At the hospital, when he has more energy, he goes up to the playroom.”

“It is Allah’s blessing that this Hospital exists,” Huzaifa’s father goes on, “and that it offers financial assistance for the treatment of children like my son. Not once have we had a funds issue here when it comes to his treatment. We have seen him get better over the past two months, and there are no words to describe that feeling for our family.”

SKMCH is the result of a national spirit that refuses to accept that the poor simply do not get the same chance at life. It has become part of the fabric of Pakistan, and testament to the social justice we can achieve as a nation. “I ask myself every day; what would we have done if there was no Shaukat Khanum?” says Huzaifa’s father. “I’m a poor man. how would I have been able to afford treatment for my child? Before we came here, we were watching Huzaifa’s health deteriorate. If this Hospital did not exist, my son would have died.”

To help children like Huzaifa, donate your Zakat and Sadaqah today.