Meeting Partners in Pakistan

During their visit to Pakistan for the Executive Council Meeting, members of The World Federation and Regional Federation teams, along with councillors, dignitaries and guests visited different parts of the country, meeting with some of our partners to discuss our ongoing and upcoming projects. 

HYDARI BENEVOLENT TRUST, KARACHI

The team started off in Karachi, where Shan e Abbas Hassam, Secretary-General of The World Federation, Dr Akbar Mohamedali, President of CoEJ, WF Councillor Sibtein Asaria and other dignitaries from Africa Federation visited Hydari Benevolent Trust (HBT).

HBT are working on a number of exciting projects, including small business loans for the Khoja community and a skill development programme for Khoja women. It was great for the team to learn about their programmes in more detail and see the depth of the fantastic work being done for our community

FATEMIYA HOSPITAL, KARACHI

The following morning, Shabbar Dhalla, Vice President, Mohamedkazim Bhaloo, Hon Treasurer, Mahmood Dhala, Assistant Secretary General, and Muntazir Bhimji, Assistant Hon Treasurer of The World Federation along with Dr Munir Datoo, the WF-AID Health Coordinator, and Ali Bandali, ZCSS coordinator together with dignitaries and councillors visited the Fatemiya Hospital, which has state of the art facilities including two operating theatres.

Dr Mohsin and Fauzia Jaffer Foundation have kindly pledged through WF-AID to develop their Eye Centre, so they can continue providing treatment to as many people as possible.

FATEMIYA EDUCATION NETWORK, KARACHI

In the afternoon, The World Federation’s Office Bearer team and Councillors were invited to visit the Fatemiya Education Network where the team witnessed the excellent facilities provided by FEN which included their own Gym, swimming pool and matrimonial centre. The team were joined by Regional office bearers and councillors to have lunch with Pakistan Federation and the Karachi Pirhai Jamaat EC team, where they also saw a presentation on the vast range of the activities undertaken by the Jamaat.

Following on from the Executive Council Meeting in Karachi, some of the team continued with their visits. This included Mahmood Dhala, Dr Munir Datoo and Sibtein Asaria, who were joined by Ali Bandali, the ZCSS Coordinator, Iqbal Panju from the WF Secretariat, Councillors Sibtein Asaria, Mustafa Kassam and Zohra Rajpar and other dignitaries and guests.

HABIB UNIVERSITY, KARACHI

Their first stop was Habib University, which is the first Khoja University in the world. It is a modern and well-equipped institution with fantastic resources from the modern and well-designed buildings to the teaching staff and facilities, which would be the envy of any ivy league university. The group were given a tour of the university and met the faculty, who gave an in-depth presentation about the university. The World Federation is looking to partner with the university to help more of our community students attend this fantastic University.

HUSSAINI BLOOD BANK, KARACHI

Hussaini Blood Bank was the next stop for the group, which is an organisation The World Federation has supported by providing them with essential equipment. This blood bank started off as a small blood bank and is now a fully-fledged blood treatment centre with their own building. They now treat many patients with Thalassemia by giving them blood transfusion on a regular basis.

BAITUL SUKOON CANCER HOSPITAL, KARACHI

They also visited a Cancer hospital which The World Federation has supported in the past. They were given a tour of the hospital and met with the doctors and management staff. It was fantastic to hear from the doctors and staff, who spoke passionately about their work.

Mahmood Dhala, Dr Munir Datoo and Ali Bandali, together with Madiha Raza, the head of WF-AID, Dr Akbar Mohamedali, the CoEJ President, Murtaza Bharwani, CoEJ Hon Treasurer, and other guests were hosted by Hussaini Foundation for the external visits for WF-AID projects in Northern Pakistan.

ZAINABIYYA DIAGNOSTIC LAB, ISLAMABAD

Their first stop was the Zainabiyya Diagnostic Lab where a cancer screening service is provided to the residents of the area. This clinic has been established with the support of WF and has been providing this essential service to the local people for many years.

PAK POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE, CHINIOT

The team then visited The Pak Polytechnic Institute, which is an engineering college that provides useful and employable education to the youth of the villages around Chiniot. The gracious hosts showed the team around and told them more about the types of training courses they offer.

KHADIJA BINT FATEMA HOSPITAL, CHINIOT

The team visited the Khadija Bint Fatema Hospital in Chiniot, which has some fantastic facilities. Through the generosity of the Mohsin and Fauzia Jaffer Foundation, the hospital will be developing a brand new Eye Unit in the near future!

IMAM KHOMENI TRUST, MIANWALI

The next day started off with a six hour road journey to Mianwali, where the team were met with representatives from the Imam Khomeni Trust (IKT). WF-AID and IKT have been working together for several years on various projects.

The team were lucky enough to see some of these, including visiting their fully equipped clinic, which provides medical services to the residents. In addition, there is a girls college teaching religious and secular subjects along with skills like sewing and baking which the ladies then use to supplement their income. The team saw their bakery, where the ladies work. The team has pledged to upgrade some of their equipment, including their oven. The team also saw the sewing machines, which WF helped to fund, so that women can earn a living. This is a part of our ongoing work in Microfinance.

We have worked with the organisation to build toilets as well as a huge water tank that supplies water to the entire college. We had only recently funded these projects so it was heart-warming to see them in place already! We also saw a well that we had funded a long time ago still in use and benefiting the community.

Finally they asked is to plant some trees to mark or visit, which was an incredibly touching end to a fantastic visit.

AL KAWTHAR UNIVERSITY

Upon their return to Islamabad, the team visited the Al Kawthar University for boys, which is a full boarding facility with impressive grounds, buildings and facilities. They had a tour of the grounds and engaged in a discussion about their work and how WF can get involved. They also talked about their students and how many of them travel to Najaf to continue their studies once they have graduated from Al Kawthar University.

USWA COLLEGE, ISLAMABAD

The final stop for the team was the USWA College in Islamabad, where we sponsor education for many children through our Zainabiyya Child Sponsorship Scheme. The students also undergo army training. The team learnt about their plans for expansion and discussed our plans to support them.

The team were very grateful for the incredible hospitality shown by all of the partners and projects they visited. It was an eye opening experience to see all of these projects and meet with the people working on them each day. The WF will inshallah be supporting more of these projects in the near future.

Speaking about the trip, Ali Bandali said ‘All in all visiting Pakistan was a humbling experience as their hospitality was unmatched and there is a tremendous amount of work going on there and we have just scratched the surface in terms of the help that is required there and the need of the people. This trip gave us the confidence to work with our local partners more closely and inshallah extend the work we are already doing there’.