My Friends,

Today I come to you with my final message as your president, and to share a few final thoughts with all of you. As my second term comes to an end, I am thankful to all of our member IMA's for entrusting this role to me and IMANA, and it has been my distinct honor to serve FIMA for the last four years.

Over this period, FIMA's relief work has spanned the globe, through natural and man-made disasters, as well as unrest within many of the countries that we serve. From the series of devastating earthquakes of Indonesia and Smoa in 2009 to the recent tragic events in Egypt and Syria, the Islamic medical communities have faced tremendous challenges and have been working diligently to combat trauma and disease.

After the great success of FIMA Save Vision, we launched our SaveSmile and SaveDignity projects in 2010, and by the Grace of Allah SWT, both projects have produced wonderful outcomes. IMANA Medical Relief and Doctors World Wide-Turkey collaborated in Sudan and Gaza, Palestine and have performed over 700 cleft lip and palate surgeries. Many future cleft lip camps are being scheduled. In the true spirit of networking under the umbrella of FIMA, member IMA's have started combining and coordinating their efforts to achieve best results. FIMA Relief has been engaged in providing services to the humanity across the globe. These activities are expanding as the IMA's are collaborating in various projects under the umbrella of FIMA.

Another accomplishment that we can all be proud of is the creation of the E-Newsletter, which has been a successful vehicle for informing people both inside and outside the organization about the work of FIMA and other IMAs around the world, and enabling the exchange of ideas and thoughts between our member organizations. All E-Newsletters are being archived on the website and will help in preserving and maintaining the history of FIMA. We are now on the Wikipedia encyclopedia and the page was updated in April, 2013.

I am indebted to so many people for their help and assistance over the last four years. Leading this organization is truly a team effort, and we have been blessed to have such a wonderful group of people, working on your behalf these last few years. The executive committee members that served with me have shown their loyalty and sincere commitment to our organization, and we have been blessed with dedicated individuals who are generous with their time and finances to keep this organization alive. The FIMA council has approved creation of the advisory council comprising of past presidents and senior members and will be elected in Cape Town meeting, insha'Allah.

Currently, FIMA is working to get registered as a tax-exempt non-profit organization in USA, South Africa, and Pakistan. Fundraising and the transfer of funds will become easier once the respective counties approve these applications. We now have 41 active and allied member countries. It amazes me how a global organization like FIMA sustains itself with a small budget and yet has been able to produce powerful results.

I am encouraged by the increasing enthusiasm that our younger member physicians continue to show for relief work all around the world. Please continue to be active in your communities, no matter where you are, and get engaged with your local IMA organizations, where you can help to drive the next generation's vision for relief work.

I am proud of the work that we have done over the last four years, and I hope that we left the organization stronger than we started. I wish the incoming president all the best, and I pray that our future leadership continues and builds on top of the work that the past and current executive committees have accomplished. May Allah SWT forgive us for any shortcomings, whether intentional or unintentional. FIMA is only as strong as all of you, and the passion that you display when you serve others in the name of Allah SWT. I thank you for allowing me to serve you in this role and will continue to dedicate myself to the cause of assisting Islamic Medical Associations around the world.

Dr. Parvaiz Malik
President FIMA 2009-2013