Solar Panels for Hunza Valley Hospitals, in memory of Nishat

In Memory of Nishat Khan Fasihi: Providing Light and Electricity to the Hospital and People of Hunza Valley that Cared for Nishat and her Family

Purpose: As a way to give back to the very generous people of Hunza Valley and improve the delivery of medical care, we are asking if you can donate money to help us purchase and install solar panels on the medical facilities that provided aid to Nishat and her family during their tragedy in Hunza Valley. Your gift will count for Sadaqah and is tax-deductible (EIN: 85-0504960).

It is hard to comprehend that in the blink of an eye, Nishat Khan Fasihi was taken away from us in a rockslide while exploring the breathtakingly beautiful and rugged Hunza Valley region of the Pakistani mountains. Let us not forget her daughter Zaina, who was also severely injured as well and thankfully by the Grace of God and the people of Hunza Valley has made a full recovery.

Last year, the Fasihi family decided to take their children to see where their grandparents originated from. Along the way, we traveled to explore the Hunza Valley region of Pakistan, an increasingly popular destination for sightseeing, hiking, and mountain climbing. We had an amazing time seeing the cherry blossoms and apricot trees in full bloom with the picturesque snow-covered rugged mountain backdrops. The people of the area were so friendly, genuine, and trustworthy. One afternoon, while heading to our dinner reservations at a restaurant, our van was struck by falling rocks. Nishat succumbed to her injuries immediately. Her daughter Zaina, who was sitting in her mother’s lap, was also severely injured. For the next two weeks, we stayed at Zaina’s bedside waiting for her to recover from surgery and be strong enough to take a medical flight back to her home in Atlanta, Georgia.

One year after the accident, we are starting to gather enough strength to work on a project to fill a huge need that we promised ourselves we would address. During our ordeal, it became painfully obvious at the level of need for medical supplies and resources in the area. After the rockslide, the first hospital we were taken to had barely any supplies or medical equipment to manage trauma patients, such as oxygen tanks, neck braces, or heart monitors. However, the biggest deficiency was that there was no electricity or light in the hospital. Imagine our fear as we realized we had to use the lights from our cell phones to help the doctors and nurses as they frantically did their evaluations, tried to start intravenous lines and bandage Zaina's wounds. Soon after, we left by ambulance to go to the nearest hospital with surgery capabilities. Along the way we stopped at the next closest hospital in the mountain to get more supplies for our drive. Unfortunately, they did not have much more to offer us except a half empty oxygen tank. Still no pediatric cervical collars or functional heart monitors. 3 hours in an ambulance and 3 hospitals later we finally arrived at the hospital that had the capabilities to perform surgery on Zaina. Days later, we were told that the first hospital used to have diesel power generators for electricity. However, ONE YEAR BEFORE our accident the generators stopped working, and to this day ONE YEAR AFTER our accident, are still not functional. We were told even when the generators were working in the past the ability to have ample diesel fuel to run them through the night was hit or miss.

After Zaina’s surgery, once she was stable enough to fly, we took a medical evacuation plane that flew us from Pakistan to Children’s Hospital of Atlanta. One year later she has miraculously made a full recovery and just started the 1st grade.

Despite being poorly stocked with medical supplies and lacking electricity, the people of Hunza Valley completely opened their hearts and homes to us. We had countless strangers insisting that we stay in their homes while Zaina was in the ICU recovering from surgery and awaiting her medical flight. The entire time, there was always a passerby offering prayers for Zaina's recovery or making sure we were okay or in need of anything.

Our goal is to help the very generous people who tried their hardest to provide everything they could for Nishat and Zaina during our ordeal. We also hope to improve the medical care available to that community and to any future tourists that may get injured exploring that region. We feel the most effective gift that we can give that will provide long-lasting benefit for the people of Hunza Valley is to provide their hospitals (the same ones that cared for Nishat and Zaina) with solar panels and battery storage that can provide free and renewable energy to power their hospital for decades.

Any amount you can give will be put to an amazing cause and will be much appreciated.

*Except for fees taken by GoFundMe.com, 100% of all money donated will go directly toward purchasing and installing the solar panels for the 2 rural hospitals that cared for Nishat and her family.

*Your donation will be tax-deductible. You will be given a 501c3 Letter of Donation to claim on your taxes.

*By the Grace of God, if we can raise more than our goal, we will use the excess funds to buy medical supplies that they do not have, such as oxygen tanks, neck braces, heart and oxygen monitors.

*Below is a video in the local news outlet of the exact same hospital asking for help with their lack of electricity, ONE YEAR BEFORE OUR ACCIDENT! (Copy and paste) https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3159725490906885

*This is a link to the first hospital we were transported to in Hunza Valley, Pakistan: Govt Civil THQ Hospital. https://maps.app.goo.gl/USGucDgUzsWqkuQd9

*The second hospital that we were transported to: Civil Hospital Aliabad, Hunza. https://goo.gl/maps/fwZqRwQartGhkpR6A

*So far, we have partnered with physicians in the Hunza Valley area who already run charity organizations and will help ensure the work is completed and donations are protected. We have received quotes and already chosen a solar power installer. Next, we need to pay for the first installment to buy the solar panels. This is where we need your help.

*We will update you regularly with progress and photos.

If you have any questions or would like more details about this project or how you can help, please feel free to reach out to us