My father believed, as do Sarah & I, that our country has provided us with such immense opportunities and bounties that it is our moral obligation to give back to our community in any way that we can.
Pakistan is a land of great talent, boundless potential and countless dreams. To say that these blessings have not been adequately tapped into yet, would be an understatement. A large proportion of our population lives in severely challenging conditions, with limited access to even the most basic facilities and amenities, such as education, healthcare and clean drinking water.
Our ethos has always been to help people help themselves, as the old adage goes, “give a man a fish, and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and feed him for a lifetime”. This we have followed from the start, when we joined hands with communities in Kashmir following the devastating earthquake of 2005, to rebuild entire villages and settlements flattened that Dark October.
That project was an eye-opening one; I realized that people want nothing more than the affirmation of helping themselves stand on their own feet. Since then, we have been partnering with the leaders and councils of communities across Pakistan to help them address their basic, collective needs such as access to education and basic health care.
To that end, we have also been assisting deserving individuals in pursuing higher education and vocational training in their chosen fields. The Zaman Foundation is consistently providing scholarships and stipends to students who have demonstrated a passion to learn and a determination to persevere.
In the 18 years that the Zaman Foundation has been active, with each successfully concluded project, we feel ever more strongly that, despite our best efforts, the work we do is but a drop in the bucket. There is so much more to be done, so much more depth to dig.
It is our hope that Allah, the Most Merciful and Most Bountiful of Givers, continues to strengthen our hands and our resolve to reach out to those who are less fortunate than us”.
