Luton burns survivor Shamiam helps raise £285,000 for specialist unit

Brave Luton burns survivor Shamiam Arif has opened her heart for the first time about the terrible injuries she received as a baby – and her courage was recognised by more than 400 people attending a fundraising dinner.

Her speech was so well received it’s been suggested the 20-year-old uni student becomes an ambassador for KORT, the charity building a specialist hospital and burns unit in Kotli, Kashmir – Shamiam’s family home.

The event at Crescent Hall on Saturday (December 10) raised a whopping £285,000 towards its £500,000 goal.

Shamiam was only four months old when a candle fell into her cot and left her with devastating disabilities. She lost both hands and her skull was burned down to the lining of her brain, simply because there were no adequate medical facilities in the area.

She told the packed audience: “The local hospital didn’t even have basic first aid or bandages. I was covered in blisters – and if they had just advised to prick or burst the blisters, my hands might have been saved."

Instead, her parents were sent to the Kharia Burn Hospital eight hours away. But by then it was too late.

Fortunately for Shamiam, the charity Muslim Hands heard about her condition and she was brought to the UK for life-saving treatment at St Andrew’s Burns Unit in Chelmsford.

She was seen by renowned Professor Peter Dziewulski – her beloved Uncle Doctor – who did the Krukenberg procedure, splitting her forearms to form two fingers. She has undergone numerous operations since then and wears a helmet to protect her vulnerable head.

Now 20, and studying film production at Hatfield, Shamiam held up her ‘hands’ on the platform stage and said: “I’m here today because I want to change lives for other people in Pakistan.

"This is what happened to me because there was no knowledge or equipment to help burns patients. I lost not only my hands but half my skull and all of my face.

"I have scars on my legs and not enough skin to keep me warm on these cold nights.

"But I’m not here to talk about me and make you feel sorry for me. I’m here to make a difference, so that no one else has to go through what me and my family have faced over the last 20 years.

“I’m here today because I want to change lives for other people in Pakistan."

There have been several similar cases since Shamiam’s accident. The most recent involved two young sisters who died trying to cook their family a meal – but the fire was lit with kerosene.

Shamiam commented sadly: “They could have been saved if there’d been a burns hospital in Kotli or they’d been seen by a doctor with some knowledge of burns.

"When I learned about the KORT project, I finally decided to speak out about my life because this could help hundreds of people.”

She urged everyone to dig deep and their response was immediate and overwhelming.

KORT founder Choudhary Akhtar expressed his admiration for Shamiam and described her speech as ‘powerful.’

He added: “A burn injury can be one of the most severe causes of trauma requiring specialised treatment.

"KORT is building a specialised Burn Centre Kotli to meet these critical needs. We pray this will become an important and useful asset for the local people.”

The event was attended by many Luton dignitaries including Lord Qurban Hussain, deputy Luton council leader Aslam Khan, former Luton mayor Riaz Butt, Cllrs Tahir Malik, Sumeera Shahid and Katija Malik as well as Central Mosque Imam Ejaz Ahmed.

There was musical entertainment from Prince Naseeb, whose passion is nasheed songs, carrying beliefs and lessons about Islam.

The former Manchester bus driver and Oldham wedding singer has already raised more than £3 million for charity, delivering food packs in Bangladesh and helping families affected by famine in Yemen.

He also raised more than £4,000 for the NHS at the height of the pandemic. As temperatures in the UK soared, he helped distribute water bottles, fans and biscuits to frontline workers.

In addition, he is an ambassador for KORT (Kashmir Orphan Relief Trust), one of Asia's biggest orphanages, with a wider mission to help crisis-stricken communities around Pakistan.

The KORT burn centre in Kotli is estimated to cost £500,00 and should be completed by April 2024.

The generous crowd at Crescent Hall raised more than half of this, with big donors from Domino’s Pizza, Haleema Travel, Hassan Caterers and Derby Muskorteers.

MC Habib Malik said Shamiam was a young star, remarked on her sunny smile and called for her to be an ambassador for the charity’s burns unit.

Her mother, Tahira, was moved to tears by Shamiam’s speech and said how proud she was of her brave daughter.

Linda Barr, who runs Shamiam’s appeal fund (set up to pay for her medical treatment when she first arrived in the UK) with her husband John McGoldrick said: “We’ve also known she was an utter superstar – now everyone else will realise it too.

"And what an astonishing amount of money was raised. She would be an amazing ambassador for the charity.”

If you’d like to donate to the Kotli Burns Unit, call 0300 123 7774 or 07927 091 061 (lines are open 9am 0- 5pm, Monday to Friday). Or visit www.kort.org.uk

> KORT was founded in October 2005 after a devastating earthquake hit Kashmir, killing more than 80,000 and leaving thousands of children parentless.

Watching the story unfold on TV, Choudhary Akhtar and a group of friends were compelled to act. They set up KORT to offer long term support to these orphans

The charity now works in a number of humanitarian areas and the burn unit in Kotli is one of their latest projects.