By Umer Nangiana
A cluster of Qatar-based Pakistani welfare organisations say they have raised “huge funds, donations and thousands of Riyals worth of charity goods” to help victims of different calamities in Pakistani besides helping the needy based in Qatar over the years.
More than two dozen welfare and community organisations working under the patronage of Pakistan Embassy in Doha met recently for “Leaders Presentation Conference 2015” organised by Pakistan Welfare Forum (PWF) — their umbrella organisation — to apprise each other of their performance so far.
Representatives from different organisations were invited to detail the charity and welfare work they have done for the Pakistani or other communities based in Qatar. The cluster organisations vowed to work together in unison in order to better serve the community with their co-ordinated activities.
“Unity among all the organisations is of utmost importance. We have to stay united if we have to achieve our goals. Let us resolve today that we will work together for the betterment of our community and towards the bigger goal of serving humanity,” said Riyaz Ahmed Bakali, the President of PWF while addressing the gathering.
He also administered a resolution, morally binding all organisations to work with unity and to work actively for the welfare of society. Bakalai, himself an active social worker, has been closely attached with the Pakistani community in Qatar.
He has served the community from the platforms of Pakistan Engineering Forum (PEF), Pakistan Professional Forum (PPF), National Events Organizing Committee and several other local forums in active roles.
Information Technology Engineer by profession, he has worked in several petrochemical and construction companies in Qatar and Pakistan as Head of Information Technology. Bakali is also the founder and Director of The Next Generation Group, running schools in Qatar.
Abdul Janan Bangash of Pakistan Pakhtoon Welfare Society told the audience: “As one of the oldest community organisations, we have raised record amounts of money to help the people affected by different natural calamities in Pakistan including the 2005 earthquake and the floods in the following years.”
Asfandyar Ansari of PEF informed the audience about the activities his organisation has been carrying out for its members who are mostly engineering professionals from Pakistan and some other countries.
“As per our tradition, we have been inviting a number of prominent personalities from Pakistan and other countries for lectures and talks on different subjects. We have also helped many Pakistani organisations find collaborations with Qatari institutions,” Ansari told the people present.
He added that PEF also opened a Science Club in the largest Pakistani community school, Pakistan Education Centre, from where students have gone on to participate in Robotics competitions and win in different categories.
Noor Hassan Bangash from Pakistan Muslim League-N Welfare said his organisation has been actively participating in the welfare activities for the local Pakistani community since 1991 and continues to make every effort to resolve any problems faced by the members of the community.
Many budding organisations also introduced themselves to the community members. One of them is Pakistan Special Needs Community. The co-founder of the community, Nawal Hafeez, told the audience that the organisation was formed six months ago with the aim to cater to the needs of the physically and emotionally challenged people.
“This segment of the society has been a victim of gross neglect and we felt that there was a need for support in order to integrate the emotionally and physically challenged people into the society,” said Hafeez.
She told the audience that her organisation is creating awareness among people to end stigmas attached with such challenged people and to make them inclusive members of the society. For this purpose, the organisation organises teachers’ training and parents’ meet-ups.
Uzma Ansari of Qatar Women’s Forum, an organisation working to help women from different communities, said the organisation works towards women empowerment and provides support to widows and other women in need.
The funding comes from women working behind the scenes and the community at large contributes generously whenever a call is made, said Ansari.
The other leaders who spoke at the occasion included Ahmed Hussain of Pakistan Qatar Business Forum, Qazi Muhammad Asghar of Pakistan Youth Society, Zahid Naryab Bangash of Pakistan Pushto Adabi Karwan, Rahat Mansoor of Pakistan Women Association, Rashid Khan Orakzai of Pakhtoon Professionals in Qatar, Ch. Muhammad Ashraf of Pakistan People Welfare Society, Adeel Akbar of Pakistan Art Society and others.
Pakistan Ambassador to Qatar Shahzad Ahmad addressing the leaders from different community organisations at the conference.
