Rameeza Moin

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

I’m an educationalist and have worked in this field for 15 years. I remember, once on a school trip, we stopped at a Dhaba (roadside restaurant). There came a little kid selling boiled eggs. He was hardly 5 years old, skinny kid, breathing heavily, with a runny nose, wearing ragged clothes and a torn sandal in a cold weather. Upon enquiry, I came to know that the kid has a hole in his heart, since birth. I asked his father who was also working there, “Why are you letting him work when he is sick?” His reply shocked me ‘baji kiya karun, kharcha pura karna hai. Iski dawai leni hai aur operation karwana hai.” (What else should I do? I have to fulfil my household needs and save enough so I can buy his medicine and pay for his operation). I couldn’t get that boy’s face out of my mind and it left me sleepless for many nights. I wanted to help him but I didn’t know how to? I kept worrying about where would they go for the heart surgery and who will bear the whole expense? I discussed this issue with my family. My brothers who ran a software development house came with an idea to build Crowdfunding platform to facilitate such deserving people of Pakistan in the health sector. At first, everyone including my close relatives were against it. I heard them saying “how can a woman build an organization all by herself. She won’t succeed.” I presented the idea in front of many people but I got rejected every time. I was very disappointed one day and while I was browsing through the internet I saw an ad about Plan9. I wasn’t the one to overlook this opportunity and presented my idea to Plan9 and got through the incubation. Through their professional mentorship and unconditional support I was able to build Transparent Hands. So far we have treated more than 200 patients and intend to support millions in future.” – Rameeza Moin, CEO Transparent Hands