Dubai: A three-year-old boy battling for survival is in need of an urgent life-saving procedure, which his low-income parents are unable to afford.
Muawiya Nawaz was born with thalassemia, a blood disorder in which the body makes an abnormal form of haemoglobin, which was detected when he was four months old.
Since then, he has been undergoing blood transfusions every three weeks, apart from having medication which is worth Dh3,500 per month.
Son of a Pakistani expat who works as a messenger for a car rental firm, Muawiya’s only chance of a permanent cure is a bone-marrow transplant, which can cost a minimum of Dh200,000.
Muawiya’s father, Mohammad Nawaz, earns Dh5,100 per month, which is barely sufficient to make ends meet and the cost of the treatment is beyond the family’s reach.
Desperately looking for help, Nawaz, who has already lost a seven-year-old son to thalassemia in 2007, says he can’t imagine loosing another child to the disease.
“I have gone through this trauma once and I can’t imagine facing the similar situation again. I am pinning all my hopes on bone marrow transplant but I am not sure how I will arrange the funds,” said Nawaz, who has been a Dubai resident since 1993.
The 43-year-old is appealing to the Good Samaritans in the UAE after exploring all avenues without any outcome.
“I approached different charities and organisations and knocked on several doors in the hope of getting help but all I have got so far is frustration. My only wish in this world is that my child survives which is possible only through the help of kind-hearted people,” he added.
Burdened by the expenses of regular treatment, Nawaz was forced to discontinue his 13-year-old daughter’s education, who passed Grade 7 in the last academic year. His five-year-old son is also idling at home unable to attend school due to lack of funds.
“I feel sad that my children’s education is getting affected because I can’t afford it right now. My priority right now is to get the best treatment for Muawiya. Once that happens I want to settle my family back in Pakistan, where I will be able to afford the expenses,” he said.
Nawaz said that he can’t send his family back to Pakistan now because he is scared Muawiya won’t be able to survive there.
“My seven-year-old son Ahmad died in Pakistan after a bone-marrow transplant. He contracted pneumonia and passed away two weeks after the surgery. Pakistan is highly polluted and I am afraid Muawiya won’t be able to survive the onslaught,” said Nawaz.
Nawaz plans to have the transplant done in Turkey which he says is the best and most reasonable option among the handful of locations across the world where the treatment happens.
The transplant will cost $50,000 (approximately Dh180,000) and the cost of keeping the child at the hospital for six months, which is the requirement to ensure the patient doesn’t contract any infection.
In addition, Nawaz will also need funds to stay in Turkey during the duration of the child’s stay there.
“All put together, we might need around Dh250,000 to see my child cured of this disease,” said Nawaz, wondering how he will be able to arrange the funds.
