KARACHI / LAHORE: The concerned philanthropists and donors of Punjab by generously donating for providing quality schooling to children from the deprived communities in Sindh are playing an important role in strengthening the cause of national unity.
Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman stated while speaking at a fundraiser organized to collect donations from Lahore’s business community for the schooling of 10,000 students from the deprived areas of Sindh.
The Punjab Governor said on the occasion that the government always required the support of noble charities for the provision of quality healthcare services and education to the children of destitute communities in faraway and underprivileged areas in the country.
He said that genuine charities were able to serve the downtrodden people only after receiving unwavering philanthropic support from noble donors from the business community.
The Governor held out the assurance that the government would fully support the charitable work by non-governmental organizations to enroll the out-of-school children in the country as the state alone didn’t have the resources to fulfill this fundamental obligation as per the constitution.
He suggested that the government education authorities should work in close coordination with the concerned NGOs to ensure quality schooling for every child in the deprived parts of the country.
Speaking as the guest of honour, Caretaker Punjab Industries Minister SM Tanveer said that the philanthropists and business community in Punjab have always acted as a patron for generously donating to lessening the miseries of the downtrodden communities in Sindh.
Tanveer said that like his late father, noted industrialist SM Muneer, the cause to educate children from the deprived areas of the country was very close to his heart as he would do his best to support this noble charitable drive.
APTMA Patron-in-chief, Dr. Gohar Ejaz, said that the presence of a large number of leading businessmen and industrialists at the fundraiser especially those from the textile industry showed well that they stood fully committed to the cause of enrolling every out-of-school child in the country.
He said the concerned industrialists irrespective of the prevailing economic crisis and a slowdown in business activities would continue with their philanthropic activities for the uplift of the deprived communities.
He said that unwavering philanthropy was the only noble way for the industrialists to pay back to the country that enabled them to earn name and fame in the business sector.
Dr. Ejaz said the concerned community of businessmen and industrialists in Lahore was always available to host more such events to support the drive to educate students from lesser privileged areas of the Sindh.
CEO of non-profit Green Cresent Trust (GCT), Zahid Saeed, said that his non-profit had established 160 charitable schools having an enrollment of over 30,000 children from needy families in Sindh.
He said the support his non-profit had received from concerned businessmen in Lahore made him optimistic about enrolling hundreds of thousands of out-of-school children in Sindh under a joint effort by the government and concerned charities.
He said the GCT was well on track to increase the number of its charitable schools in Sindh to 250 with an enrollment of a total of 100,000 students from deprived areas till 2025.
He expressed his gratitude to the business community of Lahore for generously donating to the charitable drive of his non-profit in the education sector.
