World Cancer Day- Shaukat Khanum Memorial hospital

Jazz Foundation activity at SKMCH was organized on the Children’s Cancer Day where the Torchbearers interacted with over 1000 patients. Various activities were planned for the day including: face painting, storytelling and board games.

Anti Tobacco Campaign

Jazz Foundation in collaboration with Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital observed the anti tobacco campaign during the month of May. The Foundation organized orientation sessions in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad offices to create awareness about the adverse effects of tobacco consumption. The sessions attracted an attendance of more than 200 Jazz employees. Moreover, Jazz also disseminated text messages through its bulk SMS service to a customer base of 15 million. The text messages highlighted the adverse effects of tobacco consumption and encouraged audience to quit the habit.

Wall building Activity SKMCH Peshawar

Jazz commissioned its inaugural activity in Peshawar at the Shuakat Khanum’s Peshawar Chapter. The activity included distribution of giveaways amongst the construction workers and a bricklaying/wall building activity at the facility.

Guriya Ki Shadi

Jazz Foundation in collaboration with Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital celebrated “Guriya ki Shadi” with the young resident cancer patients and their families. The event was based on the childhood game of arranging a celebratory wedding of play dolls. Torchbearers arranged traditional wedding rituals and distributed 150 gift bags and snacks. Young patients were greatly amused by the celebrations and were appreciative of the volunteers’ efforts and participation.

Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital

Jazz Foundation’s Torchbearers helped organized Annual Children’s Mela at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital (SKMCH). Participating Torchbearers spent the day with young patients and took part in different activities including storytelling, face painting and board games. The second activity of the year in collaboration with SKMCH was conducted in April and featured interactive storytelling and role-playing for the young resident patients at the hospital. The activity was held with the aim to provide the young patients, some of whom have been retained at the hospital for months, a chance to interact with the outside world and to alleviate their spirits. Jazz has regularly carried out SMS based call for donations for the hospital. In particular during Ramadan Zakat Collection Campaigns, text messages are sent out to hundreds of thousands of Jazz subscribers petitioning for donations in favor of the hospital.

Global Handwashing Day

Global Handwashing Day is a global campaign to motivate and mobilize millions around the work to wash their hands with soap. The campaign is dedicated to raising awareness of handwashing with soap as a key approach to disease prevention. Jazz Foundation in partnership with United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Defense Society Residents Association Welfare School and Pehli Kiran School System organized a nationwide drive to celebrate the Global Handwashing Day. The initiative was aimed at inculcating the habit of hand washing amongst children as a means of preventing communicable diseases. The Jazz Torchbearers arranged sessions in various educational institutions in Karachi and Islamabad. The sessions were attended by almost 3,000 students who participated and celebrated in various activities held on the day.

Nationwide Employee Blood Drive

Jazz Foundation organized 2 blood donation drives during 2013 at various company premises. Employees generously donated blood to show their support for the noble cause. The Foundation partnered with Sundus and Fatimid Foundations to raise awareness amongst employees regarding the importance of donating blood. Experts from the Sundas Foundation also held sessions to educate Jazz employees about the need for safe donation and the importance of safe blood transfusion. The sessions also helped to promulgate amongst employees that safe transfusion of blood helps save millions of lives every year. Blood donations can help patients suffering from life-threatening conditions live longer and with higher quality of life, and supports complex medical and surgical procedures. The second blood donation drive for the year was held across 20 Jazz offices. The enthusiasm shown by the Jazz employees was noticeable resulting in collection of over 502 pints of blood.

Saying No to Tobacco at Jazz

World No Tobacco Day is observed around the world every year on May 31. It is intended to encourage a 24-hour period of abstinence from all forms of tobacco consumption across the globe. To commemorate the day, Jazz Foundation organized various activities with the aim to discourage smoking amongst its employees and members of public. The activities were held to create awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco and to promote a healthy life style.

Jazz’s No Tobacco Campaign comprised of the following:

• No Smoking Counseling Sessions (LHR, KHI, ISL)
• Activation at Customer Centers
• Visual presentations in cafeterias across the country
• TB On Ground activation at SKMH
• SMS dissemination to subscriber-base
• Placement of self-help literature at customer centers
• Health Advisory, in collaboration with HSSE and Pakistan Medical Council

Pink Ribbon Campaign

Jazz Foundation in collaboration with Pink Ribbon launched a month long nationwide breast cancer campaign in October 2012. This effort is a continuation of Jazz’s nationwide support for the Pink Ribbon Campaign during ‘Pinktober’ as part of which Jazz has collected donations through SMS campaign and has also educated customers using information material distributed through bill inserts, customer care centers and advertising. As part of the campaign, the Foundation also helped Pink Ribbon organize information sessions for Jazz’s female staff members.

National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine-Up-Gradation Drive

Jazz Foundation upgraded the therapy and rehabilitation facility at the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM) by contributing a state-of-the-art Triton DTS Spinal Retraction Unit as well as refurbishing the treatment area. The ‘Spinal Retraction Unit’ was imported by the Jazz Foundation to aid the NIRM in providing specialized therapy and treatment for up to 1200 patients every month. Jazz Foundation Torchbearers also participated in the refurbishing of the treatment area to ensure patients would be treated in an environment that is pleasant and conducive to rehabilitation. The facility was inaugurated by Rashid Khan, President & CEO Jazz, in the presence of Dr Fazle Maula, Director, NIRM.

Patients’ Counseling Session at the Indus Hospital

Jazz Foundation Torchbearers conducted multiple counseling sessions at the Indus Hospital, Karachi. The counseling sessions were aimed to offer patients the opportunity to look at a number of issues that may be affecting them emotionally in a safe, non-judgmental and understanding environment. Torchbearers were offered the chance for patients to speak openly and in confidentiality about the issues that matter to them.

Mobile Dispensary

One of Jazz Foundation’s longest running projects has been in the form of a ‘Mobile Dispensary’ provided to the Khidmat Foundation. The dispensary provides free of cost basic healthcare to under-privileged areas in the surroundings of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, through the availability of a doctor, basic testing tools for common ailments and medicine.

In addition, the Foundation has also undertaken a number of initiatives to address a number of widely prevalent health issues across Pakistan. These causes have been undertaken in partnership with credible partner institutions.

National Polio Eradication Campaigns

Jazz Foundation has supported the Prime Minister’s Secretariat’s Polio Control Cell during the National Polio Eradication Campaigns over the last few years. As part of this partnership, Jazz has broadcasted information through SMS alerts to its subscribers across Pakistan. These messages were sent out as a means of creating awareness amongst the masses about the dangers of polio, as well as encouraging parents to get their children vaccinated during ongoing campaigns.

Blood Donation Drives

Jazz Foundation organizes regular blood donation drive amongst its employees in collaboration with institutions such as the Fatimid Foundation & Sundas Foundation. These drives collect blood for children of deserving families suffering from a range of chronic and life threatening illnesses including Thalassemia, and other blood diseases.

Cancer Awareness Drives

Jazz Foundation and Pink Ribbon have been working together since 2006 to mark October as ‘Pinktober – the Breast Cancer Awareness Month’. Each year, a series of nationwide awareness drive are initiated through bill inserts, dissemination of awareness literature, advertising billboards and other promotional material. Jazz also supports Pink Ribbon by organization a fund donation drive, enabling customers to contribute towards the cause via SMS.

Jazz Foundation has also been supporting the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre for a number of years by organizing Zakat collection campaigns during the month of Ramadan. This campaign includes enabling SMS based donation for customers, distribution information via bill inserts and promotional material at customer care centres.

In 2012, the Jazz Foundation contributed PKR 3 million towards the construction of an out-patient facility at the under-construction Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital and Research Center (SKMHRC) in Peshawar, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa. The contribution by Jazz Foundation is intended to assist SKMH’s efforts to provide state-of-the-art facilities to the people of the region.

Developing Hygiene Awareness

In 2012, Jazz Foundation and UNICEF joined hands to launch Global Handwashing Day across Pakistan. Global Handwashing Day is a broad-based initiative to spread hand wash hygiene-awareness, educate children on the proper technique of hand washing as well as reaffirm a commitment to proper hygiene.

UNICEF celebrated Global Handwashing Day 2012 across Pakistan by providing 250,000 children with hand washing soap as well as lessons to nearly half a million children on the benefits of hand washing. Jazz Foundation sent out informational messages to its subscriber base to raise awareness, and also involved Jazz Torchbearers in school based activities to help spread awareness amongst children.