Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai chose Kolkata for the treatment of a close friend who was suffering from a heart ailment. The girl, Syeda Gulalay Jahid, is a former classmate of Malala in Peshawar. She had been advised surgery for a congenital cardiac problem but Malala did research in the net and referred her case to doctors in Kolkata. Doctors there said Gulalay need not go for operation and sent her home with a course of medication.
Malala was overjoyed by the quick recovery of her friend and plans to find out more about Kolkata, said her father from UK. “Doctors in Kolkata and members of the Rotary Club were truly helpful. We had not expected such whole-hearted support from Kolkata when we called them for help. But they went out of their way to help Gulalay, who is just as touched as Malala and myself. Kolkata is truly a friendly city and Malala might be sending more such patients to Kolkata,” said Ziauddin.
It was in August last year that Rotary Club South City president Tapas Mukherjee got a call that set his nerves tingling. A soft-spoken man identified himself as Ziauddin Yousafzai asked for help to get her daughter's friend Gulalay treated in Kolkata. Before Mukherjee could get over the thrill of the name `Yousafzai', the man said Malala would like to talk to him and passed the phone to the teenage Nobel laureate.
“I was really excited when she came on the line. In fact, I couldn't believe it for a few seconds. She was extremely courteous and spoke very softly. Malala sounded extremely worried about her friend who had a complicated congenital heart ailment that couldn't be treated in Pakistan. She told me that she would be grateful if we could arrange for the treatment. It was sponsored by The Malala Fund in Pakistan,” said Mukherjee.
