Drive to support baby's treatment gains momentum

A fundraising drive for QR11.65mn, under the aegis of Qatar Charity (QC), for the treatment of four-month-old Malkha Rouhi has taken an active turn, with organisations, institutions and individuals stepping in to support.Malkha, an Indian national, has been diagnosed with Type 1 Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), an inherited disease that affects nerves and muscles, causing muscles to become increasingly weak.Daughter of Risal Abdul Rasheed and Nihala Nizam, Malkha is undergoing treatment at Sidra Medicine.Doctors have suggested a gene replacement therapy and certain drugs which, according to Rasheed, are expensive and beyond the family’s reach.The QC has urged all to donate for the treatment of Malkha."Our campaign has started to evoke response from benefactors. Active support from organisations and individuals can help us achieve the goal. We are calling for all to participate in the campaign to help the ailing kid,” Khalid Abdulla al-Yafie, director of the Customer Service Department at QC, told *Gulf Times, adding that joint efforts can make an impact.The QC, on its website, has set a goal of QR 11,654,028.75 with case number 206863 under licence: LC2023QTCH07-000032.Contributions can be made through the official website www.qch.qa/Malkha"Our daughter needs urgent care as doctors have suggested the treatment at the earliest,” Risal said pinning hopes on the kindhearted.Type 1 SMA is severe and causes respiratory muscle weakness and respiratory failure.Community organisations and collectives have joined hands to support the cause.Convened by Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF), a recent meeting of organisations and institutions across Qatar decided to launch a slew of measures to support the QC initiative to help Malkha."In co-operation with various organisations, we are taking up efforts to support this humanitarian initiative. Our efforts are yielding results and we see many organisations and kindhearted persons stepping in while announcing donations,” ICBF secretary Mohamed Kunhi TK said, expressing his confidence in achieving the goal soon.Qatar Malayalees, a Facebook collective of Keralites, is planning to launch a "Biriyani Challenge” campaign to support the QC drive. To be held on May 10, the aim of the campaign is to reach more than 5,000 benefactors across Qatar.The idea, according to Qatar Malayalees functionaries, is to distribute biriyani on pre-order to the benefactors who will make donations to the drive."We plan to cook biriyanis with the help of sponsors. Volunteers are all set to help us distribute them,” said one of the functionaries of Qatar Malayalees.