Careem & Pink Ribbon Launch Fund Raising Campaign for Breast Cancer Hospital

Sidra Ahmed* felt the bump in her chest but due to lack of funds and awareness did not get it checked from a doctor. Preoccupied with fulfilling her duties of a wife and mother of three she ignored the pain until it became too much to bear. She finally confided in a friendly neighbor who fearing the worst convinced her to see a doctor. It was what had worried her, Sidra had breast cancer in advanced stage.

Globally, October is recognized as the month of awareness for breast cancer, a life threatening disease that affects more than one million women each year. There are many Sidra Khans who succumb to breast cancer, passing away after a long painful illness.

In Pakistan, one out of every nine women are diagnosed with breast cancer, many diagnosed too late to save their lives.

Let that reality sink in. Every woman that you know is at an 11.11% risk of falling victim to breast cancer. Sadly, there is little that we are doing about it as a community. The good news is that breast cancer in its early stages is highly treatable.

The bad, unfortunately, is that breast cancer in its early stages does not manifest itself in a recognizable form. There are, however, signs and it can be detected using some simple techniques recommended by doctors around the world.

There is a need for collective action, though. There are millions of women in our country who cannot afford a mammogram (a screening for breast cancer), and certainly cannot afford the treatment.

One organization that has worked tirelessly towards bringing access to healthcare for women in Pink Ribbon Pakistan, and this October, they have partnered up with Careem to raise donations towards their megaproject – a hospital dedicated to breast cancer.

“Careem has never shied away from taking the front seat when it comes to raising a voice for issues that affect us all. And with #TakeCare, our message is clear: our community is all of our responsibility, and we do not have to wait for someone else to come and fix our problems for us. I urge you to use this simple code and keep the chain of donations going,” says Junaid Iqbal, Managing Director, Careem.

Careem, as part of its campaign #TakeCare, has launched a promo code, PINK10, where Careem shall donate Rs.10 per promo usage. It is a simple formula: one square foot of the hospital that Pink Ribbon is working towards costs approximately Rs. 3500 – the more you use the promo code, the faster we can move towards providing subsidized health care.

The code is open to Careem users in Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi on Go, Go+, and Business car types. The campaign ends on the 14^th of October.

The power really does lie in all of your fingertips now.

Chalo, let’s donate!

*name changed to protect privacy.