Meet the man who raised 53 cr for needy

 Hyderabad: Several women could be seen anytime during day at the office of the Helping Hand Foundation (HHF) at Nanal Nagar office, waiting for their turn to meet the staff for help.

No one has to wait for more than five minutes for their turn. “This has been our philosophy not just at our office but at the 30 hospitals in Ranga Reddy and Hyderabad districts where our staff is present,” says Mujtaba Hasan Askari who runs the Foundation. “Making medical care accessible and helping the needy by sponsoring costly surgeries is a main goal of HHF,”he adds.

A former Infosys employee, Mujtaba, 51, started the foundation in 2007. “After working for 14 years, I decided to quit and plunged full time into HHF,” says Mujtaba. Till date Rs 53 crore was raised by HHF that has come handy for 5,000 surgeries. Thanks to the long years in the IT sector, Mujtaba was able to connect with employees who were willing to donate.

 “We have 33,000 e-mails of employees from various companies who support us through donations.” The thought of helping people could be traced to his college days. Recollecting an incident, he said, “When in the university, college friends and I raised Rs 1.25 lakh for the treatment of a milk vendor’s son who was suffering from Craniopharyngioma, a rare type of brain disorder.” He adds, “Giving it back has been in the family, my father too always helped people in need.” Friends in need.

Apart from the growing number of donors, there are Hyderabadi families who have been supporting the cause. For instance, Ali Azam, a builder and a stakeholder ZindaTilismathcompany, was the first person to present him a cheque of Rs 2 lakh when theHelping Hand Foundation was started.

 Azam still continues to fund HHF. He has been the largest contributor to date contributing about Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh per month.The foundation also gets considerable donations from Aladdin Trust. Several Musilim families contribute as part of zakat.
 
“Most of the patients are recommended by the donors,” said Mujtaba. Speaking about transparency, he says, a bi-monthly newsletter is sent to all the donors with all the details of the surgery with a break-up of the money that was spent.

  -Asna Khundmiri