Choir to raise funds for hip operation

From the archive, first published Saturday 25th Feb 2006.

Choristers will be singing from their hearts next month to raise money towards life-changing surgery for a little girl.

The Christian Music Fellowship Choir will perform in Oxford on Monday, March 27, three weeks after Gulshat Kadyrova, from Turkmenistan, undergoes a hip operation at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, in Headington.

The six-year-old was born without any hip sockets and needs surgery to help her walk properly and run for the first time.

Her mother Bahar, 31, sold all her household belongings to pay for treatment in their home country in Central Asia, before bringing her daughter to Oxford last month for specialist treatment.

More than £6,000 has been raised towards the operation so far, but a further £9,000 is needed.

Once Gulshat has recovered from the surgery a week on Monday, she will have to undergo a further operation -- costing about £20,000 -- to correct a condition called scoliosis, curvature of the spine.

Otherwise, her spine could bend over into her pelvis, crushing her internal organs, within the next few years.

Members of the Christian Music Fellowship Choir are among Oxford residents who have offered to support Gulshat's Fund. Donations have also been made via the Oxford Mail.

The choir will give a performance at Northway Evangelical Church, in Sutton Road, Northway, at 7.30pm.

Although admission is free, the choir is hoping to raise as much money as possible through donations.

Choir member Claire Fullalove, 64, of East Oxford, said: "The choir is very keen on helping this little girl, and we hope the performance will be so pleasing that people will give generously.

"It's certainly a worthy cause, and what it really needs is for a business to show support and sponsor Gulshat."

For more information about the concert, call Ms Fullalove on 07855 865194.

Anyone who wants to donate to the appeal can send a cheque payable to Rivers of Life Church (Oxford), with a note on the back saying "For Gulshat's Fund", to reporter Samantha Simpson at the Oxford Mail, Osney Mead, Oxford, OX2 OEJ.

If you or your business are raising funds to help Gulshat, please call Ms Simpson on 01865 425422.

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