Rayan is now in URGENT need of a bone marrow transplant. He has not been able to find the perfect match which will help increase his chances of survival. Once the match is identified the donation is easy, maybe slightly inconvenient but imagine the gift of life that you will give for saving the life of a 3 year old young boy

We would like to request you to take a bone marrow compatibility test, and if a match is identified then a non-surgical method to borrow some of your bone marrow cells for infusion into Rayan

Alvi Dental Hospital well act as a collection center for anyone willing to come in for a Saliva test. we are open six days a week from 9:30am to 8:00pm walk in and someone from our team will help do the quick & painless cotton swab sampling of your cheek

STEP 1 Bone Marrow Compatibility Test

There is a worldwide effort being held across the US, UK, and many South Asian countries to identify a probable donor. This initial computability test is free, painless and takes 30 seconds. Gender is not relevant, but SOUTH ASIAN ETHNICITY (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Srilanka etc) is very important, due to the under-representation of South Asians on the US national donor registry its important to target south asian countries directly and hence the team of volunteers have ventured to Pakistan to increase the chances of finding a potential match. Follow the Facebook Events Page to locate a testing center nearby, ONLY plan to take the test if you are committing to follow through the donation, since each swab test caries an expense so the team would prefer to test only those who are committed to following through with the donation

STEP 2 Bone Marrow Donation

If by chance you are a potential match then, majority of donations do not involve surgery. There are two methods of donation: peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) [Non-Surgical] and bone marrow donation [Surgical]. The doctor in the case of Rayan has prefered the Non-Surgical method which takes place at a blood center or outpatient hospital unit. For 5 days leading up to donation, you will be given injections of a drug called filgrastim to increase the number of blood-forming cells in your bloodstream. Your blood is then removed through a needle in one arm and passed through a machine that separates out the blood-forming cells. The remaining blood is returned to you through the other arm. Your blood-forming cells are back to their normal levels within 4 to 6 weeks. To learn more, watch the Non-Surgical donation video.

A heart felt plea has been shared by the parents and simply reading their note sends a shudder across the heart.

Step forth and save a life, if you cannot take part in the donation drive do your part and help spread the word, Rayan does not have much time.

Applications should reach us by 31st December 2010. Please also intimate to us whether you would be available for an interview which may be a part of the selection process in the first week of January. The selection is based purely on merit and therefore un-solicited recommendations should not be a part of your effort, in fact it may be detrimental for your evaluation.

For years, orthodontist Awab Alvi has been an outspoken political activist via his blog, Teeth Maestro. With the onset of disastrous flooding in his native Pakistan this July, Awab traveled to the front lines, delivering food and supplies to flood victims. Though the after effects of the floods have caused personal family tragedy, Awab’s fierce love for and faith in his country make him optimistic about the future.

Give us an update on your Pakistan flood relief efforts.

The group of off-roading enthusiasts with whom I was working, Offroad Pakistan, used our 4×4 vehicle experience to go deep into the regions of Sindh, to provide flood relief to the affected people. Since the start of the flooding disaster, we have done about ten flood relief expeditions — embarking on one almost every week since August — taking food and various flood relief items to people in need.

Our flood relief food hampers were proportioned to help sustain a family of five for about a week. In our effort we also have handed them essential clothes and toiletry items, since most had no possessions — their possessions all washed away in the floods.

I’m proud to note that our team has been able to raise a good amount of money. Online we raised about $30,000, while offline with friends and colleagues we were able to muster another $130,000 for our efforts. We have a little cash remaining on-hand, and are expecting to use it for a few more medical camps and food expeditions within the coming weeks.

Now that the floods have receded, what are the country’s major issues?

The NGOs, United Nations, and Pakistan’s army have done a spectacular job. Unfortunately, their impact is like a drop in the ocean, since the government is not stepping up to help the flood victims in any serious way. Rehabilitating the 5 million people needs a far more serious commitment by the Government of Pakistan then what we have so far.

For example, the government recently handed out rehabilitation aid in the form of $1,000 debit cards. These poor illiterate people have never used a debit card, let alone operated an ATM machine to make a withdrawal. The problems were made worse, since there were no businesses in the vicinity that offered commodities on a credit card transaction.  This issue let loose a huge chain of corruption across the board. The money was siphoned off  by hoodwinkers who were taking bribes for issuing the debit cards. Another set of bribes were taken to help these illiterate people to obtain the PIN code, and then finally also for assisting them in operating the ATM. Reports have it that at each step of the way, people were coerced into paying these considerable “assistance fees.”

Rather than helping the poor at this time of suffering, the government functionaries have made it their business to mint money from this misery. They are stealing and selling relief coming into their areas, and hoarding large sums of financial aid coming into the region from various donor agencies. Quite simply, the government has not done its part in this massive crisis. These people were really poor to begin with, and sadly they’re even poorer now. I’m sad to say it, but we may have let our people down.

Ever since our flood relief efforts in Pakistan, there has been a general fear of some disease epidemic. There were reports of some incidents of cholera and malaria, but all seemingly were localized and controlled. Little did I know that a waterborne disease would take the life of my father-in-law. He contracted a rare form of meningitis from an amoeba called Naeglaria Fowleri, also known as the “brain-eating amoeba,”  found in contaminated water. The disease kills with 100% morbidity rate, within a period of 48-72 hours from its onset. It quite possibly made its way into our household water streams after the disease and decay following the floods. At the age of 54, his death sent shockwaves through the family. Casual reports suggest that there has been a rise of this amoeba in the last few months, but no effort has been made to document and report these cases in the public domain. For now my first priority is to raise awareness, to help prevent others from contracting this disease. I plan to dig deeper to discover if there is a definite rise of such cases. If so, I will try and help stop this in its tracks.

You are known for your politically-charged blog, Teeth Maestro. What are you blogging about these days?

I’m usually a very aggressive political commentator, highlighting issues from corruption to various human rights issues in Pakistan. But truly, with so many issues, there is only so much one can do at any given time.  Since the start of the floods I have been totally preoccupied in the relief effort, and have leveraged my blog to highlight the problems on both a local and a global platform.

More recently, since the death of my Father-in-Law due to this rare form of meningitis, I am pushing for public awareness of the disease in Pakistan, helping everyone in adopting simple measures to help prevent others from contracting the disease.  I fear that we might have an increase in the incidence after the floods since it may have crept into our household water streams. I hope that with this awareness drive, no one else will be exposed to this lethal disease.  I’m sure in due course, over the following few months, my hibernation from political blogging will end. After all, the optimist within me wants to change Pakistan for the better.

You’ve said 2005 was a milestone year for your blogging.

Yes, I have always been tech geek, and have been blogging for some time. But it was in 2005, when the government of Pakistan put a ban on Blogspot, that I channeled my casual hobbyist blogging into a more consolidated voice, using this platform to state my opinion on issues that are close to me.  Standing up against the Blogspot ban was the turning point in my blogging career, to become an activist for freedom of expression.  I have with time slowly morphed into a civil society activist, taking on issues of corruption, human rights, and naturally a very deep, passionate involvement in various political problems that have besieged our country.

Has your outspoken blogging put you in danger?

Considering the violent nature of politics in Pakistan, I’ve never received any direct personal threats for having raised my voice on various sensitive issues. But I know for a fact that I am being extensively monitored across the board, which I believe is totally expected. I remain thankful to God that nothing has happened as yet. I continue to have good support from my family, though they worry about me sticking my neck out on so many fronts. But they are very supportive in every aspect since they know it’s a good cause.

Has the TED experience aided or influenced you in your efforts?

TED was a life-changing experience for me. In the past, Pakistan’s chronic social and political problems had left me overshadowed with a feeling pessimism. Meeting so many optimistic innovators and creators at TED totally changed me. I became a true optimist, filled with the belief that even one person can make a difference, provided you believe in yourself and your cause with a passion.

I believe it is with the same energy that I, along with our friends from Offroad Pakistan, bring that sense of optimism into our flood relief efforts. This handful of off-roaders collected over $160,000, led ten-odd relief missions deep into uncharted territories of Sindh, and distributed aid to more than 75,000 people. We are also proud to have set up and revamped a dilapidated pediatric ward in Shikarpur, surely impacting the lives of future generations in times to come.

It is with the same vigor and energy that I believe that it is possible to change Pakistan for the better. No longer shall we be held hostage to terrorism and corruption, but with a vibrant and conscious civil society, we can create tidal waves to foster change.

You are a blogger and activist because you want to give back to Pakistan. What inspired you to become an orthodontist?

I am a dentist, my father is a dentist, my grandfather was a dentist, and my great-grandfather was a dentist. Four generation of dentists was like royal dental blood that runs in the family. I must admit that the only thing I saw while growing up was dentistry. Education through the years, one decision at a time, led me smack into the field of dentistry. Even to today, I don’t regret it for a moment. A day-time job as an orthodontist, and by night masquerading as a digital activist.

I enjoy sharing my professional passion with my students. In our set up, we have four in-house post-graduate orthodontic residents who get hands-on training at our hospital every day. They learn from both my father and me. They learn important aspects of orthodontics during a four-year internship, culminating in a comprehensive exam to become certified to treat people on their own. During the months of flooding, my students’ training and quite a number of my own patients may have suffered from my long periods of absence. But practically everyone has been supportive and understanding. Many have in turn actually pitched in to help us collect items for flood relief missions.

After you completed your own dental studies in the US, you turned down several job offers there. You call yourself a proud member of the “reverse brain drain movement.” Why did you make the decision to move back to Pakistan?

There are two aspects to that. One is that my father already had a dental hospital set up in Pakistan, which was undoubtedly an easy step: I felt I needed to take over the reins of his clinic and his dental hospital.

Secondly, I felt the need to return to Pakistan to serve the people of my country, as they too should be entitled to top-notch medical care. If everyone greedily flocks to the land of opportunity in the US, then it will be the people of Pakistan who will suffer. I’m very proud of being part of the reverse brain drain coming back to Pakistan.

Another compelling argument for me in moving back home is that you are a first-class citizen in Pakistan, as compared to a second-class citizen in the U.S. You will always be an immigrant in the U.S. — you will never be a citizen by birth.

Your love of Pakistan runs deep, and the country’s natural beauty is one reason you enjoy off-roading so much. Do you bring your family with you on these trips?

Pakistan is a beautiful place, unfortunately with the present security situation it has totally disappeared from the tourism landscape. So if foreigners can’t enjoy this, the least we can do is thoroughly enjoy its beauty ourselves.

Off-roading is an adventure sport combined with some real hard-core camping.  We go mostly in the winters to enjoy a few days off.  I generally go alone with friends from the Offroad Pakistan club, though at times have extended an invitation to my wife, Sadiqa. But Sadiqa has a few demands which she wants met, before she would take the off-roading plunge me. She wants a proper bed, prefers a neat and clean lavatory facility, and also does not want any small, crawling bugs around her! I have squarely told her that I cannot meet any three of the requirements in the wilderness. So she is comfortable staying at home, and I get my two or three days of fun time alone. And she is totally jealous of that fact. [Laughs].

She thinks I’m a little cuckoo in the head because of this thing I love to do. The flood relief has recently consumed my time, but I’m sure in due course that will wind down, and we will slowly resume our relaxed fun off-roading trips again, exploring Pakistan itself.

Off-roading gives us an excuse to go into unexplored, uncharted areas of Pakistan. We’ll be traveling along some amazing terrain, and at each turn one is awed by the beauty that this country holds. I wish the security situation would get better, and then it would be a delight to show off this small country of ours to the hordes of adventure tourists that jet-set around the world.  For us, you don’t need to travel to Europe and America to enjoy beauty: we truly have it all right in our backyard.

There are many aspiring social entrepreneurs out there who are trying to take their passion and ideas to the next level. What is one piece of advice you would give to them based on your own experiences and successes?Learn more about how to become a great social entrepreneur from all of the TED Fellows on the Case Foundation blog.

Social entrepreneurs need to understand one thing alone: work for a cause that is close to your heart. When you do it with passion, you can sustain the energy for a longer period of time, and mere stumbling blocks thrown at you don’t deter you from the ultimate goal.

My own heartfelt passion is to bring about a positive change in Pakistan. I want us to move away from the hopelessness found at the hands of our inherently corrupt rulers, to a more positive and progressive Pakistan. Once we realize what we can do, I believe nothing will stop us from touching the stars.

This interview also included a new interactive feature for TEDFellows facebook page where a question was put up for discussion, the question asked from this interview was “Why do you think there’s a lack of media coverage about what’s going on in Pakistan, and how do you think we should change it?”

Alvi Dental Hospital is proud to have recently entered into an association with a german company to provide high-end digitally custom fabricated lingual braces which are tuned to quickly straightening of your teeth in the shortest time possible, the lingual braces are tucked in the backside of your teeth, no one needs to know you are having braces unless you deliberately open you mouth wide enough to show them, else within a short span of time, you are guaranteed to have straighter teeth. These braces are casted in Gold alloy this enables a clean and pristine treatment without any allergic reactions or discoloration of teeth

Dr. Awab Alvi has been extensively trained in the precision treatment of lingual orthodontics during his post graduate training at Saint Louis University. The classical and older designs of lingual braces were cumbersome and the overall treatment took longer then regular braces, we at Alvi Dental Hospital never truly offered this option to our patients, Until the improvement in technology to custom fabricate these lingual braces perfectly for each person

Now with drastic improvement in technology Alvi Dental Hospital is proud to be one of the first few dental practices to offer computer precision designed lingual braces for your teeth, a huge advantage of quicker treatment without the hassles and problems of the standard (older) lingual orthodontic treatment. All without no one ever knowing that you got braces, since everything was conveniently hidden behind your teeth

He was voted in by more than a hundred countries with a clear majority when 62% delegates casted their votes in his favor. He soundly defeated candidates from India, Brazil, New Zealand, Italy, Malaysia and Armenia. Millions are spent in the campaign for these elections by some countries with embassies and foreign ministries playing a major role, but Dr Alvi won the election without any extraneous expenses or help. Delegates gave importance to his candidature as the Asia Pacific Region had recognized him and bestowed the List of Honor award on him for outstanding contributions to dentistry.

This was the biggest congress of dentists in recent years and there were more than 10000 participants. The floods in Pakistan were also discussed in the General Assembly where it was decided to consider helping the flood victims in Pakistan similar to the effort done for Haiti by the World Dental Federation. It must be pointed out that no Pakistani or Indian has ever been elected to this prestigious position before.

• Chris Anderson, Curator, TED
• Jacqueline Novogratz, Founder/CEO, Acumen Fund
• Roshaneh Zafar, Founder/CEO, Kashf Foundation
• Asad Umar, CEO, Engro
• Monis Rahman, Founder/CEO, Naseeb Networks
• Asad Rezzvi, CEO, e-Cube Global
• Joshinder Chaggar, Theater Artist

It was followed by an Op-ed by Dr. Awab Alvi published in his weekly column at Express Tribune on 11th of June. Videos and Pictures of the event can be seen at the TEDxKarachi website

A Global Ideas Bank

With the advent of open-source, the sharing of ideas is giving birth to a wealthy community of ideas and this has the potential to transform society. I share an idea, the world hears of it, we improve the idea and soon this community of ideas helps reshape the world. For one brief moment in a small corner of Karachi a glimmer of hope emerged, it was as if the clouds of doom and gloom, negative politics, rampant corruption and mindless terrorism had yielded. Some 500 people attended a four-hour session called TEDxKarachi with many inspirational speakers. Pakistan witnessed a sea-change of possibilities.

From the drawing room leaders that we generally are, often an idea emerges which quickly degenerates into a political discussion and is soon tarnished with abundantly laced pessimism, of which we are masters too. Some of us have lost hope that Pakistan can be changed for the better. This overwhelming negativity — a mindset which I believe has been drilled in by our leaders — has scared the common man away even from his own dreams, undermining any chance of proactive change.

If a deliberate effort is not made to seek out positive energy we will continue to live a mechanised life at the mercy of our very own ‘pied pipers’, visibly taking us towards disaster. Why can’t we have more positive energy to motivate and inspire our youth, to dream and to achieve? Once they succeed, Pakistan will jump out of the morass into a new world. Motivation is like an addictive drug, the more you have the more people around you are affected with positive energy flowing outwards. For a resurgent Pakistan we need this critical mass of motivation and effort.

TEDxKarachi on June 4 had the audience sitting on the edge of their seats when eight outstanding speakers inspired the audience into dreaming of a new Pakistan.

It showcased success stories from individuals like Asad Umar, who is leading Engro’s effort for tapping into the energy resources of Thar coal, Roshaneh Zafar of Kashf Foundation who champions micro-financing for women, Monis Rahman who has created Pakistan’s popular online job portal and the motivational speaker Asad Rezzvi. Each in their own way showed how positivity can lead to change, a strong message for all attendees. But some of you would not have been there to see, hear and imbibe this energy. This is where TED comes in. From 500 to 5 million participants is the leverage the TED concept is all about.

Ask any audience member and they will sing accolades about the event, but what about millions who would have benefitted but could not attend? TED – Technology Entertainment and Design – is a non-profit organisation which provides a forum to outstanding doers and speakers and then throws all these wonderful ideas to a bigger audience of millions who access TED websites every day. From Nobel laureates to entrepreneurs to agriculturists and even magicians and dancers have held the stage for a precise 18 minutes, and in the process the best of knowledge and inspiration has been made available. Pakistan through TEDxKarachi has entered into the phenomenon of a global ideas bank.

We have to start believing in our own selves to bring this country on the road to progress. We should no longer tolerate mediocrity; our own ideas must shape our destiny, not the ideas of some corrupt Tom Dick or Harry who has no vision beyond the infinite depth of his own pocket. TEDx which is you and me and an idea, intends to do more of such events across educational institutions and very soon Pakistan will be feted to a new breed of inspiring youngsters who will lead Pakistan to a brighter future. Let there be no doubt that we shall change Pakistan.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 11th, 2010.

Videos and Pictures of the event can be seen at the TEDxKarachi website

If you are interested in following our team of doctors, head over to the Dentists link and join them as well

Of the list of 103 TEDIndia Fellows from around the world Dr. Awab Alvi is one of the five Pakistanis who would be invited to Mysore for a four day networking conference to meet and exachange ideas amongst probably the future innovators of the world

TED.com stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, but in effect it has over time transformed from a mere annual conference to become the center or hub for brilliant innovative ideas for the future. Many creative people from all walks of life come to this organization and ultimately to the TED conference to showcase their creation, in 18 minutes, to an audience of scientists, scholars, creators, and leaders with the hope that it can become the a successful project of the future. For many who have never heard or watched any of the famous 18-minute TEDTalks presentations just take a swing at any of the videos found on the TED.com website

Of the 103 TEDIndia Fellowship inductees there are a total of 5 Pakistanis invited to the TEDIndia event in November at Mysore.

1. Awab Alvi (Pakistan) – Dentist, orthodontist and author of Teeth Maestro, a prominent Pakistani political blog
2. Shandana Minhas (Pakistan) – Print and screen writer; her first novel, Tunnel Vision was published in 2007, she is working on her second
3. Aun Rahman (Pakistan) – Pakistan Director for Acumen Fund, a global nonprofit social venture fund
4. Asher Hasan (Pakistan/US) – Founder CEO of NAYA JEEVAN, a social enterprise dedicated to providing low-income families with affordable access to quality, catastrophic healthcare
5. Shahida Saleem (Pakistan) – Founder of Sehat First, a social enterprise providing access to basic health care and pharmaceutical services across Pakistan

The microscope is used to do dentistry at 24x magnification, which is a substantial leap from the 1x by the naked eye (which most dentists use) or 3x with magnification glasses. You can actually do more acurate dentistry overall. We are now the only dentist in Pakistan to perform Microscopic Endondontics now have the ability to do cutting edge dentistry right here in Pakistan.

Call our offices to set up an appointment for a pain free, highly accurate root canal treatement with Dr. Awab Alvi

Dr. Arif Alvi has since then been actively involved in helping guide the FDI into further developing issue of the third world countries