KARACHI, Jan 27 (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday sharing his long experiences in the fund-raising campaigns for the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital (SKMH) said nature had blessed the man with the capabilities to achieve anything he had dreamt of or envisaged in life.
Addressing a fund-raising ceremony of Karachi SKMH and Research Center, he termed the collection of donations for the charity projects like the SKMH as the most difficult one.
Declaring the memorial hospital in Karachi to become the biggest charity treatment facility in the country, he said that he never forgot the people who had supported and donated for the SKMH.
He said if a person did not feel demoralized, he could achieve things he had dreamt of.
The prime minister recalled the diverse experiences in the establishment of the cancer treatment facility in Lahore and said he would not have been in the politics if not had undergone such lessons as the Rs700 million target was the herculean task at that time.
The most important lesson, he said, which he learnt was that having bank balances could not make people rich, but it was the generosity which paid in the long run as there was no relation between the two.
Having resources without passion for generosity could not make a person rich and this was the experience which brought changes in him, he added.
The prime minister recounted that during the struggle for the construction of SKMH, he had met the best people in his life.
The prime minister referring to strong determination as the real push for attainment of any goal, said after entering into politics, he had decided to rid the country from corruption.
“A free man has a priceless conscience and he never goes against his conscience. The SKMH project never stopped due to shortage of funds,” he added.
He said establishing institutions in the country of international repute were not impossible if those were provided with merit based environment and skilled professionals.
The people of Pakistan had been the most generous and it was indeed an injustice that their full potential could not be tapped, he said and recalled how people on roads contributed towards SKMH.
The prime minister said the real success behind the running of SKMH as center of excellence was that about 75 per cent free treatment was being provided to the poor people. Its deficit was also plugged with the generous donations annually.
The SKMH was being run on merit based system without any interference, discrimination and favoritism; he said and lauded the efforts and services of Dr Faisal and Dr Asim.
The prime minister said they had also tried to introduce the autonomous boards system in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa hospitals.
He also noted that in the past, the people did not pay taxes in the country because they had no trust in the system.
Governor Sindh Imran Ismail, ministers, parliamentarians, members of assembly, philanthropists, showbiz and sports personalities were present during the ceremony.
VNS, Islamabad
