After many hurdles and delays, the much-awaited Karachi’s Green Line Rapid Bus Transit Project finally became operational on Saturday with 25 of 80 buses in the fleet.
In the trial phase, the buses will shuttle passengers between Surjani Town and Numaish Chowrangi for four hours — 8am to 12pm — until January 10. The service will then move to full-scale services from 6am to 10pmIn the ‘soft start’, the buses will only shuttle between 11 of the total 21 stops on the route.
The ticket price will vary between Rs 15 and Rs 55 while the children up to three feet tall can travel in the BRT for free.
[Karachi 15 January 2021] Muhammad Ayan and Muhammad Aman, born as conjoined twins to Mr. and Mrs. Israr Ahmed, are now living as two healthy children after a successful separation surgery performed at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) on 12 December 2020.
Ayan and Aman were Omphalopagus type of conjoined twins, in which the bodies of the two are joined at the abdomen and several internal organs are shared, including liver and sometimes the intestines. The twin brothers shared a small portion of the liver.
Credit: AKUH
‘It was an extremely challenging journey for us. Before coming to AKUH, I had a dream that Ayan and Aman were separate. That dream gave me hope’, said Israr, while narrating the events that led him to AKUH. ‘My family and I were convinced that this hospital is for the rich and receiving treatment from here will never be a possibility for us. But, my Allah made the Aga Khan University Hospital the saviour of my children. The doctors told us to not worry about the expenses, as they would be taken care of by the Patient Welfare Programme.’
Conjoined twinning is a very rare congenital anomaly, with an overall incidence of 1 in 250,000 births. This happens when the embryo does not separate successfully in the mother’s womb to form two individuals. Although there is no known cause for the conjoining, it can be diagnosed early in the pregnancy through an ultrasound.
While surgery is the only method of separating the conjoined twins, it cannot be performed in all cases. This is because the complexity of and survival rates after the surgery depends primarily upon the joining sites and the type and number of organs joined internally.
Credit: AKUH
To perform this exceptionally difficult surgery, a multi-disciplinary team of highly skilled healthcare experts came together to meticulously plan and organise their efforts. These teams included Doctors, Nurses and Technicians from Paediatric Surgery, Anaesthesiology, and Radiology amongst active participants, and Gastrointestinal Surgery and Neurosurgery amongst those on stand-by. The nature of this surgery is such that it demands double the amount of resources and concurrent functioning of all teams to manage and save both lives.
Prior to the surgery, an advanced imaging and three-dimensional prototyping was used to fully understand the nature of the conjoining, expertise required and necessary reshuffling of the resources. Dr. Zafar Nazir, Paediatric Surgeon at the Aga Khan University Hospital, led the efforts to perform the 8 hour-long surgery with the support of over 50 clinical and administrative staff.
‘This is a rare surgery that the Hospital has performed for the second time. A tremendous amount of effort went in to the rearrangement of the resources, both inside and outside the Operating Room. But, at the end of this procedure, it was a joy to watch both the boys get a new life’, commented Dr. Zafar Nazir as he recalled the events of the treatment.
The role of the anaesthesiologists was of great significance, as they had to ensure that both the babies were stable throughout the procedure. ‘The perioperative care of Ayan and Aman was like no other. As they were joined at the torso and facing each other, a complete incision required flipping them around. Therefore, we could not have intubated them, as it would have hampered the movement. We opted for an intravenous drug and ensured a thoroughly managed sedation throughout the procedure’, recalled Dr. Faisal Shamim, Anaesthesiologist at Aga Khan University Hospital.
Israr Ahmed and his wife are not the only parents to have gone through this pain and suffering of finding the appropriate treatment. There are many such families who are in dire need to receive compassionate care and high-quality treatment. Treating such rare and critical health conditions offers the experts at the Aga Khan University Hospital, a commendable opportunity to test and enhance our systems and capabilities, and learn to design innovative health solutions for our people in Pakistan. But, most importantly, it gives us immense joy to watch distressed families go back home healthy and happy with their loved ones.
Pakistan’s premier Youth Leadership Summit, the 19th Young Leaders Conference, hosted by the School of Leadership to be held in Karachi, has been announced to kick-start from Saturday, 19th December 2020, at Dreamworld resort, in accordance with strict Standard Operating procedures stated by the authorities.
The theme for this year’s YLC is ‘BREAKTHROUGH’ – finding the courage to take life head-on and breakthrough your confines to transform yourself. The most innovative leaders realize that success is the result of a simple orientation and unwavering consistency, and YLC aims to breed the next generation of leaders by inspiring the youngsters to consciously shift towards the possible, continue to learn, discover, and create.
The six-day and the five-night event will be held under strict SOPs while implementing all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of the attendees. Taking responsibility at the time of a pandemic, SoL has organized the 19th YLC with only 200 student attendees and implementing strict rules to be followed by everyone present.
Young Leaders Conference is a yearly event held to inspire the youngsters from around the country to expand their horizons by fully exploring cultural differences, gaining firsthand exposure to the challenges of the world, developing a passion for leadership while exploring a future career, and gaining a fresh, new perspective.
The six-day leadership journey provides an out-of-classroom learning experience and rigorous curriculum that equips students with the confidence, independence, skills, and global competitiveness required of the next generation of Leaders.
The Young Leaders Conference 2020 will also host prominent personalities from various sectors of business, government, and private corporations to guide and inspire the young minds.
For the six-day event, the young participants will go through leadership training, learn from influential speakers, and engage in skill-based workshops and activities under strict SOPs and social distancing.
The conference will focus on themes related to Personal Development, History and Arts, Corporate Exposure, Community Development, and helping Youngsters understand how to go back and make an impact in their communities.
Tabba Heart Institute Commemorates World Heart Day 2020
Use heart to beat heart diseases for society, your loved ones and you
World Heart Day is the biggest awareness-raising platform for Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD). CVD is the number one cause of death on the planet. It has many causes: from smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, to air pollution,
In the time of COVID-19, CVD patients are faced with a double-edged threat. Not only are they more at risk of developing severe forms of the virus, but they may also be afraid to seek ongoing care for their hearts.
Like every year, Tabba Heart Institute commemorates this day with full fervor and zeal by organizing various activities spread over a month with an objective to create awareness about heart disease and its risk factors and educate people about heart healthy life style and diet.
The series of activities started from 25th September with an educational program for general practitioners about importance of heart healthy lifestyle. The hospital website, social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube engaged the users through informative blogs, video messages from senior doctors and administration of the hospital. Active participation on live TV & FM radio shows on prominent channels was also arranged by the hospital to reach out to the mass audience.
The main event for this year Free Cardiac Screening Camp took place on the 27th of September at the hospital premises. The mega camp, which offered free cardiac screening through lab tests and doctor consultation, saw a huge turnout of public from all walks of life. The hospital also offered special discount on various hospital services including Free Calcium Scoring test to propagate the message of healthy life on world heart day.
The similar event is also planned at Tabba Heart Outreach Centre in Hyderabad on 9th of October.
The month long activities will continue till the third week of October, 2020.
Dubai-based ‘Coded Minds’ organizing its first-ever summer camp in Karachi
This is the first time a Dubai-based education company will be offering its top-of-the-line courses in Pakistan
Karachi- A Dubai-based global education company, Coded Minds, that offers iSTEAM (Innovation, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) subjects, is launching its Pakistan operations by organizing its first-ever summer camp in Karachi. With a vision to bring good quality advanced technology education at the grassroots level, Coded Minds’s first Summer Camp in Karachi is being offered at an affordable cost.
“We are very excited
that we will be able to serve the education sector in Pakistan,” says Omar
Farooqui, founder, and president of Coded Minds. Since it launch, in 2017 the
company has grown rapidly in the Middle East and Asia.
“We are now officially
registered in Pakistan and we aim to provide the best education to the young
generation of the country so that they can play a crucial role not just for
Pakistan but also at the global level,” Farooqui said.
“There is a major
misconception that technology education is expensive. It is completely the
other way round. The price point of our first ever summer camp actually
reflects the same. We believe quality education has not just to be affordable
but also reachable to the grass root level.”
Farooqui, who has had
meetings with President of Pakistan Dr Alvi and the Federal Education Minister
Shafqat Mahmood in February 2019, says that Pakistani talent can rule the world
if they are provided with the right skills and education.
“It is so heartening
to see that the government of Pakistan is committed to providing modern
education to its students. We as an international education company are determined
to play a role in this transformation,” he said.
“Coded Minds has plans to introduce global learning systems across the board in Pakistan- no matter what is your social and financial status,” Farooqui said.
The five-day Summer Camp will continue from June 24-28 in the North Nazimabad area and is being offered for a fee of PKR 2000 per student only.
The courses offered are Introduction to Programming, Scratch Jr., App Development. Children between the ages of 4-13 will be able to attend this course.
Each session will be 4 hours long and the course will end in 5 days. Those who are keen to participate can write to pak@coded-minds.org
Karachi: Usman Institute of Technology (UIT) affiliated with NED University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi, held a launching ceremony for UIT’s Cisco Networking Academy (NetAcad) to be established at its Karachi campus and CISCO’s National Conference.
The guest for the event was Kashif-ul-Haq, Cisco Country GM, Marc Khayat, CISCO Technical Manager Middle East and North Africa, and other invited guests, students and NetAcad team members.
With award distribution and presenters Mohammed Jinini and Faheem Anwar who were an integral part of the daylong event. He is also a certified ethical hacker and network associate from CISCO.
The Internet and Education will be the great equalizers of the next century, creating enormous opportunities for people and countries that succeed in harnessing the power of information and knowledge. But the lack of Internet-supported education and the shortage of technology-savvy workers are global dilemmas, threatening to place nations that fall behind at a permanent disadvantage in the new economy.
The Cisco Networking Academy Program at UIT is a timely response to these challenges.
UIT stated that: ‘Having a Cisco Networking Academy at UIT will help to deliver a comprehensive, 21st-century learning experience to help students develop the foundational ICT skills needed to design, build, and manage networks, along with career skills such as problem-solving, collaboration, and critical thinking.
Students complete hands-on learning activities and network simulations to develop practical skills that will help them fill a growing need for networking professionals around the world.
Cisco Systems, through this innovative partnership, the Cisco Networking Academy program is preparing students for the demands and enormous opportunities of the information economy, while creating a qualified talent pool for building and maintaining networks.
The academy at UIT will impart training among the students with leading-edge technologies in the field of networking. Availing this opportunity, students can be trained to deal with real-life networking design issues, find complex networking solutions, and to troubleshoot problems. The successful candidate will achieve a certification titled “Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)” which is highly sought after in the industry.
Cisco Networking Academy is a global education program that teaches students how to design, build, troubleshoot, and secure computer networks for increased access to career and economic opportunities in communities around the world. Networking Academy provides online courses, interactive tools, and hands-on learning activities to
help individuals prepare for ICT and networking careers in virtually every type of industry
Technology Keeda 