Rab Nawaz, a Pakistani national who has worked in the Kingdom for the past 20 years, is currently bedridden and is desperately seeking a way to educate his children. Over the years, he has been struck down by a series of physical ailments which have left him, his wife and nine children living in poverty. Nawaz's problems began five years ago when he had a brain hemorrhage and was taken to Pakistan for medical treatment. All the money he had saved in his years in the Kingdom was spent on his surgery and treatment at the International Shifa Hospital in Islamabad. After fully recovering, he had yet another brain hemorrhage, requiring him to be operated on for the second time. Although he again recovered, his left hand was partially paralyzed. Disaster struck Nawaz again after he returned to the Kingdom when he was diagnosed with kidney failure, preventing him from doing any work to feed his family. Nawaz recounted his tragic story to Saudi Gazette. “Both my kidneys have failed and I am now under dialysis three times a week. Each time, it costs me SR515. My son Mohsen and my son-in-law sell perfumes in the street and in front of restaurants to support the family. For about five years, I have been under treatment for various ailments,” he said. “My life is almost over, but now my main concern is my children's education,” said Nawaz desperately. “I have four children who are of school age – three boys and a girl. My sons Sulaiman and Hamza who are 10 and 12 years old respectively have only attended kindergarten. My 16-year-old daughter has also stopped her education and six-year-old Umer has not joined school yet. The main reason they have stopped studying is money. Since I am unable to work and the revenue from the children's sale of perfume is meager, how can I pay the school fees?” he asks. Nawaz says that his eldest son had approached the Pakistan International School but the authorities insisted that the fee must be paid, and he has no way to pay the fees for all his children. “I believe that God will provide us food and water and so far He has shown nothing but mercy to me. However, my concern now is what kind of future my children will have without receiving an education. My elder children have completed their studies, but my younger ones are suffering as a result of my illness,” he explained. “I believe in miracles and miracles have happened in my life,” Nawaz pointed out. “I was once admitted to hospital when I was semiconscious and when due to the failure of my kidneys, there was almost 18 liters of water in my body. The doctors said that dialysis would not be able to remove such a large quantity of water, but miraculously, I started sweating so heavily that the bed sheets became soaked with my sweat. The doctors were surprised and said that I was saved because of this. I also underwent surgery twice for brain hemorrhages and fully recovered each time which is yet another miracle. All of these incidents have increased my religious faith and now I strongly believe that God will help me and allow my children to receive a proper education just like other children,” said Nawaz. Nawaz's wife Zarina also has a strong religious faith, and says that all that has happened to her in her life has brought her closer to God. “There is no point in our returning to Pakistan because there is no place for us to sleep there since we were forced to sell all of our property including our house in order to pay for my husband's medical treatment. But even if we wanted to go back, we could not afford to buy the air tickets,” she said. “My husband is getting very good medical treatment here, and the authorities at the Dammam Medical Complex, where my husband undergoes dialysis, have been very kind. Sometimes they do not charge us for the dialysis, and many times, Saudis as well as other nationals, knowing our condition, have paid the bill,” she added. An Indian social worker in Dammam, Mohan Shornoor, has once again demonstrated that nationality and religion are no hindrance to helping those in need. He told Saudi Gazette that he has made arrangements with Saad Hospital authorities to transplant Nawaz's kidney free of charge. “Arif, the manager of the blood bank department has said that the hospital will treat Nawaz free of charge, provided that one of his relatives donates a kidney for him. We are hopeful that he will be able to fully recover,” Shornoor said. “Three of Nawaz's younger children do not possess a passport and since we are currently focusing on his medical treatment, we have not begun to deal with that matter. However, we hope that the Pakistan Embassy authorities will process the paperwork and provide them with passports. We also hope that the expat community will come forward and help this unfortunate man to educate his children which he so much desires,” Shornoor added. Nawaz's son, 10-year-old Suleiman, desperately wants to go to school. “I want to study and get a good job so that I can help my father,” Suleiman said with hope and determination gleaming in his eyes. Rab Nawaz can be contacted on mobile number: 0565023797.
