Abdul Razaq (19) is a student of Politics and International Relations at Brunel University London. He recently volunteered with our Little Hearts team in Qena, Egypt. Speaking about his experiences, he reflected:
Recently I keep going back to a poem from Hafiz: ‘and still after all this time, the sun never says to the earth, “You owe Me.” Look what happens with a love like that, it lights the whole sky.’ This verse has gained so much significance for me, especially after travelling to Qena, Egypt with Muntada Aid’s Little Hearts team and seeing the valuable work they carry out first hand.
"I first came to know about Muntada Aid through the North African society at Brunel.
I felt an immediate connection to their flagship programme, Little Hearts, and really wanted
to make a valuable contribution."
In June, I was fortunate enough to be invited by Muntada Aid to be a part of their Little Hearts mission in Qena, Egypt. During their 7 day-long mission in this ancient city, a team of internationally renowned paediatric cardiologists performed 36 lifesaving procedures and provided training through workshops to around 100 medical staff.
Being a volunteer during this mission was one of the best experiences of my life. The most important thing that I have understood from my experience is that if Muntada Aid didn’t start this initiative, these children would have no other avenue of treatment available to them. That is a very scary thought. During this mission, I had the opportunity to speak to many of the parents of these children. Through my conversations, I began to understand their socio-economic situation and how difficult it would be for them to raise funds for these procedures on their own.
Like many of our volunteers, my reasons for getting involved are completely altruistic: my reasons for volunteering and helping to raise funds for such worthy causes comes purely from my belief that these good deeds will be the only things I will be taking with me. Volunteering humbles me and is helping me grow as a person.
When I was growing up, I didn’t have any immediate positive role models to look up to within my community; I hope that I can be a positive role model and inspire the younger generation to become more involved with worthy causes such as this.
I suppose, like many of us, I have a personal interest in this charity too; until last year, I was completely unaware that my mother also suffered from a congenital heart defect as a child. She was very fortunate to have access to the treatment that she needed, but so many people are not so fortunate. The work that Little Hearts does, as well as the kind and generous donations are invaluable.
