Keralites crowdfund Rs 18 crore for toddler\'s treatment in 7 days

Kannur: When kind-hearted netizens joined hands, a whopping amount of Rs 18 crore was raised within seven days time for the treatment of a 18-month-old child from Kerala. Merely a week after forming a committee to provide financial aid to Mohammed, son of P K Rafeeq and Mariyumma from Kannur’s Mattool panchayat, the family informed the public that over Rs 18 crore has now reached the bank account and requested the people not to deposit any more.

Mohammed, merely 18-months-old now, suffers from a rare genetic disorder called spinal muscular atrophy. The toddler requires a dose of Zolgensma, one of the most expensive drugs in the world and medical experts have suggested that the child will have to be administered the dose of the medicine before he reaches the age of two. Mohammed's parents were left with no option but to come forward with a public appeal for financial support to import the drug.

Soon, a crowdfunding campaign was initiated and a treatment committee was formed. The treatment committee, headed by MLA M Vijin, had a week ago appealed to the public for donations for the treatment of Mohammed.

But what was unexpected is the way helping hands reached out to them. The campaign went viral on social media and the treatment committee mobilised the target amount merely in a week.

The treatment committee on Monday informed that over Rs 18 crore has reached the bank account and asked the people not to deposit any more. "We have received more than Rs 18 crore in the bank account.  People came together and raised the amount for our little boy," Mattul panchayat president Farisha told reporters.

Incidentally, 15-year-old Afra, the elder sister of Mohammed, was also suffering from the same disease and is in a wheelchair.

The medicine will have to be procured from abroad and the treatment committee has petitioned the state government to initiate the process for procurement