Volunteering Work

Volunteering

The first time I volunteered for a good cause or a charity was in 1975. I had just returned from the USA, where I finished my training (Air Force pilots’ training) and discovered that my younger brother Behrouze was terminally ill with leukaemia (a malignant disease of the bone marrow and other blood-forming organs, which leads to anaemia and deficiency of blood cells). My family kept it from me while I was in the US, fearing that it could affect my training. Behrouze needed lots of blood transfusions to fight the vicious disease, but the newly formed Iranian Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS - formed in 1974) was not yet fully known and short of donors. That was when I became a campaigner for IBTS, distributing leaflets and encouraging my friends and colleagues to donate blood. Unfortunately, my brother died within just a few months, and I was sent to the Dezful Airbase (southwest of the country) to finish my training on the F-5 tactical fighter jet. Later, I was sent to Tabriz Airbase to begin my military career, which put an end to my civilian activities for years to come.

Soon after the revolution of 1979, when I was going through the process of leaving the Air Force, the Iran-Iraq War started (1980), which prompted me to return to active duties at Tabriz Air Force Base (Northwest of Iran) temporarily. That venture lasted about six months, after which I conceived the idea of establishing an aeronautical research institution to launch an independent Iranian aviation industry, starting with the design and manufacturing of small utility aircraft. The idea was supported by many of my friends and