Mangaluru Couple 44-year-old Saif Sultan, a motivational speaker and his wife, 33-year-old Ms Adeela Farheen, an MBA Student, residents of Kalpane in Kulashekar, Mangaluru set on a 4600 Kms BMW GS 310 Motorbike Ride to Spread Awareness about Blood Donation, from Mangaluru to Kargil, and their ride is expected to complete in 19-20 days. Their ride was flagged off by DCP (Crime & Traffic) Dinesh Kumar in the presence of other dignitaries.
Mangaluru: Last month on 14 June the ‘World Blood Donor Day’ was celebrated all over the World, including India. The Day provided a special opportunity to celebrate and thank voluntary blood donors around the world for their gift of blood and has become a major focus for action towards achieving universal access to safe blood transfusion. Every single donation is a precious lifesaving gift and repeat donation is the key to building a safe and sustainable blood supply.
Everywhere, including Mangaluru at present, blood services face the challenge of making sufficient blood available, while also ensuring its quality and safety. The slogan for the 2023 World Blood Donor Day campaign is “Give blood, give plasma, share life, share often.” The Day focused on patients requiring life-long transfusion support and underlines the role every single person can play, by giving the valuable gift of blood or plasma. It also highlighted the importance of giving blood or plasma regularly to create a safe and sustainable supply of blood and blood products that can be always available, all over the world, so that all patients in need can receive timely treatment.
And here we have a young couple from Mangaluru who set on a mission on a motorbike to bring awareness to the importance of Blood Donation. 44-year-old Saif Sultan, an Motivational speaker and life coach, and his homemaker wife Adeela Farheen, also an MBA Student, will embark on a 4,000 km bike ride (one-way) from Mangaluru to Kargil to spread awareness on the importance of blood donation. The couple have been preparing for this ride for a month, and aim to spread the message of patriotism, and also to show the world that India is a safe place and that wearing a hijab is not about oppression.
The flag-off was held at Lions Seva Mandir, Mallikatta, Mangaluru, and was done by DCP (Crime and Traffic) Dinesh Kumar, amidst other dignitaries and a bunch of couples fans. Speaking on the occasion, DCP Dinesh Kumar said, “This is a very good initiative taken by this young couple in bringing awareness about Blood Donation, which is the need of the hour. With the increase in accidents and other ill-related cases, blood is very much needed, and there has been an acute shortage of blood. Giving blood is a uniquely powerful act”
“Effective coordination can dramatically increase its life-saving impact. Most of us want to make a positive difference in the lives of others – people we don’t know; people we may never meet. Thankfully, there’s a simple, safe and effective way to make the biggest difference of all: Give blood. I wish Saif and his wife Aleeda a safe journey and accomplish their mission aimed for a good cause” added DCP Kumar.
Talking to Team Mangalorean, Sultan said, “The main motive of the long journey is to raise awareness about blood donation. It is also to dispel misconceptions surrounding hijab and demonstrate that it is not a symbol of oppression. In the past, I have undertaken several solo motorcycle rides to different parts of the country. Recently, my wife accompanied me on a 400-km ride to Karwar. It was during this ride that my wife suggested riding to Kargil” Sultan’s wife said. As we ride only 400 km a day, I agreed to join my husband on this ride,”.
The couple are undertaking the ride on a 2022 BMW GS 310 model adventure motorcycle, which has been modified to meet their needs. After Mangaluru, the couple will stop at Honnavar and then at Belagavi. They will visit Pune, Mumbai, Surat, Ahmedabad, Udaipur, Jaipur, New Delhi, Amritsar, Jammu, and Srinagar. The couple is likely to reach Kargil on Independence Day, August 15 and participate in the flag hoisting ceremony along with the Indian Army. “During the ride, I will not just speak to people about blood donation but also take part in blood donation camps to be held en route,” Sultan said and added that he and his wife will donate blood in the camp to be held in Kargil.
He further said that they plan to go on a motorcycle ride to Singapore in 2024 and European countries in 2025. A day before their ride, a blood donation camp was organized with the support of Blood Helpline Karnataka and Red Cross Blood Bank. Saif Sultan also said, “We will be riding on the BMW GS 310 and currently the bike is being modified slightly, to suit our travel needs. While spreading awareness on blood donation is the prime objective of this ride, I would also like people to understand that my wife, who will be wearing a hijab during the ride, indicates that women wearing the hijab are not subdued. Muslim women are educated, and are allowed to do what they want, within the religious framework,”
He further said, “Initially I was planning a solo ride to Kargil, and as part of the preparation, was to go on a 300km ride to Karwar. But when my wife casually asked me if she could also take a ride on this journey, I happily agreed. Earlier our trip to Karwar did wonders. We got to know each other better and therefore planned our Kargil ride together. Our children Hoodh, age 8, and Safa, age 6, are also super excited about our journey,”
The couple will be riding via Honnavar, Belagavi, Pune, Mumbai, Surat, Ahmedabad, Udaipur, Jaipur, Delhi, Amritsar, Jammu and Srinagar, to Kargil. “We will interact with the public on the importance of blood donation, and even carry souvenirs and chocolates to be distributed on the way. We will take a day’s break on every third day of this journey to explore places. We will be blogging about the journey every day. In the presence of Indian Army personnel, flags that will be handed over to us by dignitaries in Mangaluru will be hoisted in Kargil, along with the Kannada flag on August 15. This ride is also a tribute to Kannada superstar Puneeth Rajkumar, whom I had met thrice,” added Saif
Doing Blood Donation is a uniquely powerful act. The blood you give could save the life of a woman suffering birth complications, revive and sustain a child with severe anaemia, facilitate urgent surgery, or provide critical support during a public health crisis. It is a gesture made all the more significant given blood’s core components are yet to be synthesized, making voluntary donation one of the most basic expressions of human solidarity possible.
Well-coordinated blood and blood product systems can dramatically increase the act’s life-saving impact. Nevertheless, more solidarity, commitment and blood are needed: That is, in part, why donating blood is so uniquely powerful. Beyond the symbolic act of giving, the blood collected can only be as effective as the systems that support it. Giving blood is a simple way to save a life, and we need to appreciate Saif and Farheen for their contribution to spreading the word about donating blood.
