One such story that had a deep impact on him was of a lady who faced serious complications in labour. Despite worrying signs, the lady’s husband resisted moving her from the home to the community health centre leading to the woman losing her life during childbirth.

While Sarmad remembers his mother expressing deep frustration about the episode and the prevalent culture of home-based deliveries in the area, he also remembers her resolve. Her resolve to address the issue by leading awareness sessions in the community that covered important hygiene issues, factors affecting child health and the reasons why births in healthcare facilities were safer for a mother and child. He also remembers how his mother shared simple tips with pregnant women about ways they could personally monitor and maintain their health.  

Inspired by his mother’s initiative and the impact it was having on people in the area, Sarmad also decided to pursue a career as a nurse. But his decision was met with opposition from those around him.

“Back then, people around me and my relatives didn’t want me to choose a profession that they unfortunately believed was meant for females and was predominantly about cleaning patients and other ‘menial’ tasks. Many of them tried to sway me into rethinking my decision but my mother’s encouragement and her often covert support for my career enabled me to apply to AKU’s School of Nursing and Midwifery.”

Sarmad believes nursing is his calling and he is currently exploring a range of areas to bring healthcare and health awareness to people around him. One such area is laughter yoga, a group-based exercise routine where people gather to laugh together. 

He explains that the philosophy of laughter yoga is based on the insight that voluntary laughter has the same physiological and psychological benefits as spontaneous laughter. In many sessions, he’s found that people feel more relaxed and at ease with themselves after the exercise. He adds that in many cases participants begin to laugh genuinely in the middle of sessions and as the contagious nature of laughter takes hold, the atmosphere transforms to one of real chuckles and joyful faces all around you.

Sarmad explored the art of laughter yoga alongside his nursing studies and then sought the help of a renowned doctor from India, Madan Kataria, who specialises in the alternative therapy. 

“I applied what I knew about laughter therapy to mixed groups of people in Karachi and the northern areas. The feedback I got from people ranging from senior citizens to young adults was mostly positive. In order to learn advanced concepts of laughter yoga, I contacted Dr Kataria and he enrolled me in one of his courses. I was part of a couple of virtual arrangements for practicing laughter yoga and it was during these virtual hangouts that I felt I could establish a virtual laughter club in Pakistan as well.”

Sarmad is currently completing his nursing internship at the Aga Khan University Hospital. Besides gaining the clinical skills needed to care for patients, he has also been pursuing his interest in paediatric and adolescent health by raising awareness of issues around gender and sexual health. For the last four years, Sarmad has been taking specialised courses on a variety of issues from counselling those facing child abuse, to assisting adolescents facing challenges during puberty and guiding people on family planning matters. He is now a certified master trainer in Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and is sharing his knowledge with teachers, healthcare providers and community volunteers so that they too can become advocates for these important causes.

He credits the staff and faculty at the University for enabling him to raise awareness of these issues which are often deemed to be taboo.  

“The mentorship of faculty and staff at SONAM and the Medical College has enabled me to speak on subjects that are normally brushed under the carpet. It is essential to tell children that all problems can be discussed and to encourage them to speak out on sensitive issues such as abuse, harassment and puberty. It is really important to reach children and to support them before they suffer a loss of confidence that makes them withdraw from others. ” 

Sarmad feels the best way to speak on delicate issues is by being confident, as in his experience, the openness with which he approached sensitive issues in various schools, urban communities and government hospitals in Karachi, made youngsters more receptive and encouraged them to become part of the discussion. However, he cautions that the confidence, needs to be backed by knowledge which comes from working with young patients and from studying issues in paediatrics.  

Sarmad credits the environment at AKU and campus initiatives such as Ignite, a platform to present new ideas in healthcare run by the Critical Creative Innovative Thinking Forum, for helping him develop the skills to promote causes he feels are important.

“Platforms such as Ignite made me realise that there is so much more to my life as a student than just studying. It opened my mind to new pathways. I was proud that I was standing at fora where medical students, doctors and consultants were present. The uplifting environment around me pushed me towards thinking that I too could make valuable contributions to healthcare and belong to such platforms as an active participant.”