climbers can reach the summit of Mt. Everest”. According to the MAHAK Institute Public Relations department report; after his return to Iran following his Everest climb, Mr. Dehghan got ready in the “Farhad Khabiri” Amphitheatre in the MAHAK hospital yesterday at 6 pm on Tuesday. Mr. Dehghan showed a presentation on his experience of reaching the summit of Mt. Everest in this ceremony, which included some of the most prominent Iranian mountain climbers, Mr. Dehghan’s coworkers, the staff of MAHAK institute, and those interested in mountain climbing.
In the beginning of the ceremony, Mrs. Shirin Sedigh Nejhad (head of MAHAK Support Services Division) as well as one of the professional staff members at the MAHAK specialized hospital, introduced MAHAK as the only specialized hospital in the Middle East specializing in pediatric cancer, mentioned MAHAK’s continuing efforts over the past 20 years of supporting children and the families of children diagnosed with cancer. About the subject of Mr. Dehghan’s climb, Mrs. Sedigh Nejhad said: “I admire what Mr. Dehghan did for the children of MAHAK, especially considering the difficulty of what he accomplished. What he achieved was certainly out of the goodness of his heart, as I believe no one can do something so challenging for any other reason”.
She also said: “We here at MAHAK are also in love with what we do, and after what Mr. Dehghan did, in my opinion we have (in some sense) also “climbed” to the peak of love, humanity, and a sense of dignity. Over the past 20 years, 16,200 children have been treated for cancer in MAHAK hospital and we are happy that we gave these children the opportunity to live their lives”.
Towards the end of her speech, Mrs. Nejhad emphasized: “We support our kids in all aspects in MAHAK institute and hospital, such as: medical support, education, marriage, bone marrow transplants, etc. We also support them in leading happy and healthy lives. In MAHAK, we respect people of all religious and ethnic backgrounds, race, creed, and financial situation”.
In the continuation of the ceremony, a short film entitled “above the clouds” by directors Amir Hossein Babaei and Pantea Mansouri and starring Fatemeh Motamed Aria was shown.
In the other part of the ceremony, Mr. Dehghan spoke of the difficulties of his climb to the summit of Mt. Everest and said: “In order to climb to the peak, I did many exercises to train for the climb, and read about various positive and motivational stories of reaching the summit in different websites which motivated me to do the climb. It was important for me that in addition to being physically fit for the climb, to having positive energy and being mentally prepared as those play an important role in mountain climbing. For this reason, I chose carrying the flag of MAHAK Institute to the top of Mt. Everest as the motivation for my climb”. He also said: “MAHAK gave me positive motivation because these children suffering from cancer must struggle to stay alive and I believe I must help them with their struggle. The moment I decided to dedicate my climb to the children of MAHAK was when I felt I had truly reached the summit of Mt. Everest”.
In the continuation of his speech, Mr. Dehghan spoke of carrying the pictures of the late Mohammad Oraz to the summit of Mt. Everest: “In memory of Mohammad Oraz, the 1st Iranian mountain climber to set foot on the peak of Mt. Everest, I believed that I should carry his legacy to the top of Mt. Everest. When I decided to take his pictures to the peak, the motivation for my climb doubled and I felt that I now had two great reasons to reach the peak. Thankfully, I reached the peak and fulfilled my goals,” Mr. Dehghan said.
Later, Mr. Dehghan emphasized: “This climb was completely independent and I did it alone; the circumstances of the climb were such that it was just me, a Sherpa (a guide of Mt. Everest), and a cook and the total cost of the climb was 44 million toman (41,749.70 USD). For this reason, I looked for a sponsor, which I couldn’t find because in our country it is not common for athletes to receive sponsorships. In the end, one of my good friends, (who asked to remain anonymous), helped me in this matter, and I am forever in debt to him”.
In continuation, a documentary of Mr. Dehghan’s climb to the top of Everest was shown and Mr. Abbas Mohammadi spoke about the philosophy of mountain climbing to the audience.
Mr. Dehghan, in the last part of the ceremony (about the aftermath and impact of his climb) said: “At the peak of Everest, I came to the conclusion that we should take the knowledge of overcoming difficult challenges (such as conquering Everest) and apply them to our daily lives. In my opinion, nothing in life is without outcomes, and for me, this climb had a very positive effect. God gave me many things with the experience of climbing to the peak of Mt. Everest, as I not only fulfilled my goal of reaching the summit, but also learned how to deal with the hardships in my life”.