Dr. Lawrence Faulkner. Director Sankalp-People Tree Hospitals Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, Bangalore, India and Medical Coordinator Cure2Children Foundation Florence, Italy. The ideal cure for thalassemia, or for any other genetic disorder, would be to selectively correct the faulty gene in the relevant cell type in a safe, effective and affordable way.

21st January was a landmark day. It was the day when we discharged the 10th children from Sankalp-People Tree Center for Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplantation. The center which was inaugurated on 27th August 2015 has cured the first 10 children from thalassemia. All the children are doing well. We undertook the responsibility of offering a reliable, rational and affordable cure from thalassemia and we are happy to share that with 100% success in the first 10 transplants we have made firm progress.

Although born and raised in Chennapatna, the town of toys, Syed Fahim’s childhood was not a joyous one. His life was different form the other little kids he met in school. Every month, he had to travel to Bangalore – 60 kilometers away from home – for a pint of blood, the only thing his body couldn’t produce. During the rest of his time, he had to juggle between studies and failing health. Fahim was born in 2011. His mother Samren recalls how seven months after Fahim’s birth, he suffered heavily from cough, cold, and fever. Their local doctor referred him to St. John’s hospital in Bangalore.

In the last month alone, we came across two blood donation camps which we will cherish in the archives of our good memories. On 3rd Jan, Sankalp organized a blood donation camp with the Terapanth Yuva Sangh, a Jain institution located in Gandhinagar, Bengaluru. It was one of those rare camps where women donors outnumbered men. A lady aged 54-55, who was one of the committee members, was the first donor for the day. What followed next was a crowd of saree-clad middle-aged housewives who were lined up to donate. In a camp where 49 people donated, more than half were women.

As Sankalp Patrika celebrates six years of publication, we have a good news to share with you. Sankalp Patrika now has an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) - 2455 – 409X. This eight-digit serial number helps a serial publication get uniquely identified. The number is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title, ordering, cataloging, and archiving. We would like to thank all our readers for their continued patronage. We promise to keep the torch of knowledge burning.

The history of our jawans is filled with lesser known tales. While some are lost in the pages of history, others went unnoticed and don’t have shining medals to associate with. We bring you three such tales of bravery.

When 21 Sikhs defended a military post against 10,000 Afghan invaders

The Battle of Saragarhi is the tale of incredible valour of 21 soldiers who remained unconquered even in death.

Dear Readers, We are happy to share the 6th volume of Sankalp Patrika with you. We took upon ourselves what seemed to be like a herculean task to prepare a 16 page newsletter every month way back towards the end of 2010. As we look back, we are very happy we decided to take that step. Sankalp Patrika has helped us connect far and wide.