Winning for Pakistan – Imran Khan’s Journey in his own words
Imran Khan has always been winning for Pakistan. But how did a world-famous cricket star make his vision of a cancer hospital a reality?
Read about Imran’s journey in his own words, collected from interviews with him over the years.
My mother died of cancer. She was someone I loved the most. In her last stages I would be with her all day and my sisters would sleep with her at night. One night she suddenly woke up in extreme pain and she was still in a semi-coma. And my sisters said, ‘Let’s get Imran.’ But even in this state she said, ‘No don’t get him. He’s tired.’ How can you explain that love?
As a Muslim I accept death. I know that everyone has to die. But what I could not come to terms with was the pain in which she died. I saw someone that close to me, for two months, in extreme pain. I think only people who have seen cancer patients can know how they suffer. I think that suffering touched me very deeply. It was like a watershed in my life.
It was during this time, in one moment, that I decided to build this cancer hospital. I was waiting for a doctor outside surgery and this old man walked in with a slip in his hand and asked the assistant, ‘Have I got all the medicine?’ And the guy said, ‘No. You still need one more.’ And I saw this man’s face just go into depression and he went out. So I asked the assistant what the problem was.
He said, ‘His brother is dying of cancer, and he has brought him from a hundred miles away from somewhere, and there’s no bed in the hospital so he’s got him lying on the floor. All day he labours and then comes back and sits with him all night. He labours to buy him medicine.’
That became a turning point for me, because I thought, here I am, privileged. I have everything. And look at what I’m going through. What must this poor man be going through? That’s when I decided I would build a cancer hospital where a poor man can walk in and if he doesn’t have any money, he shouldn’t need to worry about having a loved one being treated.
You know, I never asked my father for money. Because I always felt you compromise your dignity when you ask for money, even if it’s from as close a relation as your father. So for me to then go around the whole country asking for money, it was an incredible experience. The greatest lesson I discovered was that generosity has nothing to do with someone’s bank balance. It changed me as a human being.
Before, I was not a charitable person, I’m ashamed to say. Because that’s what sports does to you, there are no prizes for coming second, so you are ruthless. It kills all compassion. But when I saw these poor people giving money; tea boys coming in the van and giving everything; people taking off their watches – I felt ashamed! That’s when I gave almost half of what I had to the hospital. And gradually I became its biggest donor.
My biggest prize money in cricket was winning the World Cup in 1992. The total amount was £90,000. I gave all of that to the hospital, and 15-20% of my subsequent earnings.
On the 29th of December 1994, when the doors of Shaukat Khanum Hospital opened, it was a feeling of triumph within the country. It was like winning another world cup.
Since the Pakistan team took home the cricket world cup in 1992, Imran Khan dedicated himself to building a cancer hospital, where the needy could receive treatment without charge. With your support, his dream changed the face of cancer care in Pakistan.
Almost three decades on, we’re building a third free cancer hospital in Karachi. Find out more about Imran Khan’s Journey and Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospitals.
Find out how you can support our Karachi hospital build.