How Imran Khan’s mission to build cancer hospital inspired a South African boy

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s mission to build a cancer hospital in Pakistan for the poor not only has benefitted thousands of needy patients but it has also inspired many around the world.

One such individual is Riyaad Minty, a South African-born digital media strategist, who is currently working with state-run Turkish Radio Television (TRT) as director of digital.

The TRT official was responding to a tweet Friday stating that the Turkish drama “Resurrection: Ertugrul” has a motivational impact on the Pakistani cricket team. 

The show has gained immense popularity in Pakistan since it began airing in Ramazan.

In a series of tweets, Minty shared his personal experience of how his life is connected with Pakistan through “Ertugrul”, “cricket” and “Imran Khan”.

“Life has an interesting way of connecting the dots when you look backwards,” Minty said and added, “as a young kid growing up South Africa, I remember some distinct moments in my life that were linked to Pakistani cricket.”

Minty shared, he started supporting Pakistan’s cricket team because of many in his community opted to “boycott” the South African cricket team due to their “racist” policies.

This was also because of Imran Khan’s mission to establish a charity hospital in the country, which he said, had a “profound” impact on him.

“I remember my support for the team was largely because of Imran Khan and his focus on building a cancer hospital in memory of his mother. A speech I did in school when I was around 10 years old, was about Imran Khans story. Something that had a profound impact on me.”

Recalling his school days, Minty said he was allowed to miss class only once when Imran Khan was in the town for a fund-raising function.

“I was one of the only kids in the crowd, and seeing this @ImranKhanPTI made a point to come over to shake my hand and sign an autograph.”

“So, all theses years later to hear that the Pakistani cricket team is finding motivation from one of our @TRT shows, really hits close to home for me,” he tweeted.