Luton burns survivor appeals for funds for specialist hospital in Kashmir

Luton burns survivor Shamiam Arif and her mum Tahira. Shamiam will speak at a charity dinner next month which is raising funds for the first ever burns centre in Kotli in Kashmir, where she was born

She will be giving a speech at a charity dinner

Brave Luton student Shamiam Arif who suffered life threatening injuries as a baby when a candle fell into her cot will speak at an event aimed at raising funds for a specialist burns hospital in Kotli where she was born.

The 20-year-old, who is studying for a degree in film production at Hatfield, lost both hands in the blaze and her skull was burned down to the lining of her brain.

Her mum, Tahira, said had there been any basic medical knowledge in Kotli when the accident occurred, Shamiam would not have suffered such horrific wounds. But there was nothing at the time and the distraught family had to travel four hours by bus to reach the nearest hospital.

"There wasn’t even anything as fundamental as a first aid kit or bandages,” Tahira recalled. “Shamiam’s little hands were covered in blisters and we’ve subsequently been told that if we had done something as simple as pricking or bursting them, her hands could have been saved.”

In recent years there have been several similar disasters in the area – in the latest two young sisters died after a fire was lit using kerosene.

Shamiam came to this country for life-saving surgery at St Andrew’s Burns Unit in Chelmsford where she was treated by her beloved ‘Uncle Doctor,’ Professor Peter Dziewulski.

She had the Krukenberg procedure to split her forearms to form two ‘fingers’ and has undergone numerous operations over the years. But in spite of her devastating injuries, her sunny smile and ‘can do’ attitude have won her admirers wherever she goes.

She’s thrilled the new hospital will provide the specialist care she so desperately needed and will prevent anyone else experiencing the physical and mental pain she still endures.

Work on the new Kort hospital in Kotli’s Azad district has already started and is expected to be completed within three years.

It’s being built with help from the Kort charity which provides hope for orphans.

It is organising the charity dinner at Crescent Hall in Dunstable Road on December 10, which starts at 6.30pm.

Prince Naseeb Abbas will be among the honoured guests and there will be a presentation by Kort founder and chairman Mohammed Akhtar.

> For tickets call 07950 444904 or 07904 169342.