Islamabad: Al-Khidmat Foundation, an NGO is delivering to downtrodden segments of Pakistani society . Its providing much-needed financial support to poverty-ridden millions of Pakistan in various fields, besides equipping them with training in basic areas like IT, vocational training and providing them financial support to help them to enable to create self-employment rather them looking for jobs whose availability is getting like a herculean task in Pakistan.
NEWSMAN spoke to Hamid Athar, president Al-Khidmat Foundation in Islamabad, in an exclusive interview on strategy of Al-Khidmat Foundation to operate in focused areas and other related issues like sources of funding, its priority areas and network being used by it to operate on field. Mr Hamid Athar seems having inborn instinct to work for social sector and provide relief to the needy.
On the outset of the interview, Mr Hamid Athar said “ Al-Khidmat Foundation has 7 priority areas to operate in and provide much-needed financial support to those Pakistanis who deserve for it”. These focused and priority areas included health, education, disaster management, youth training , safety net to orphans and character building of young Pakistanis . Mr Hamid Athar said Al-Khidmat Foundation accords top priority to health and education and projects related to these areas get major funding. He said Al-Khidmat Foundation since its inception in 1990 is striving to provide financial help to those who do not have enough financial resources to get education and play role of a vibrant member of Pakistani society . He claimed that Al-Khidmat Foundation has credit of providing financial support to hundred of thousand students who were intelligent , but had no much financial support to carry on their education at higher level. Similarly, Mr Hamid Athar said since the start of its operation , Al-Khidmat Foundation has provided medical facility to millions of Pakistanis . Recalling the procedure to identify needy individuals, Mr Hamid Athar said Al-Khidmat Foundation has its network at gross-root level which physically verifies any request from any individual for help and on founding the case authentic its provided financial help. He said Al-Khidmat Foundation has set up a network of hospitals across Pakistan where professional doctors provide medical cares to those patients who do not have financial strength to go to costly hospitals for medical care. He said since education is one of top priority areas of Al-Khidmat Foundation, it provides financial help to the deserving students irrespective of gender and any political affiliation. He said as of today Al-Khidmat Foundation has credit to provide financial support to hundreds of thousands Pakistani students. According to Mr Hamid Athar , Al-Khidmat Foundation is also providing financial support to Palestinian students who are studying in Pakistan, but having financial problems in meeting expense due to Isreal war on Gaza .
When Mr Hamid Athar was speaking to this correspondent , a Palestinian student currently studying in Islamabad walked in Al-Khidmat Foundation’s office in Blue Area for getting a cheque to pay his educational expense. Mr Hamid Athar received Palestinian student warmly and handed over a cheque to him. Many other applicants mostly women were also seen visiting Al-Khidmat Foundation office who were provided financial support to meet their monthly expense. Al-Khidmat Foundation also provides small loans to unemployed Pakistan under its’ ‘Roazgar Scheme’ . Talking on ‘Roazgar Scheme’, Mr Hamid Athar said Al-Khidmat Foundation provides small loans for self-employment which ranges between Rs 10 thousand and one hundred thousands and its play a key role in fighting out unemployment in Pakistan . Disaster management is also a key area of Al-Khidmat Foundation for serving humanity. Referring to Al-Khidmat Foundation’s serves in natural calamity-hit area, Mr Hamid Athar said ‘ Our network gets into action in any area in Pakistan and even abroad where some natural calamity occurs and those who fall victim to any calamity are provided relief under 3 –R –Rescue, Relief and Rehabilitation. He referred the cases of 2005 earthquake which left Pakistan and Azad Kashmir battered and collapsed and said Al-Khidmat Foundation’s volunteers worked tirelessly to help the people hit by 2005 earthquake and then again Al-Khidmat Foundation’s volunteers reached to flood hit people in Balochistan and Sindh in 2022 and they provided relief to its victims by providing them safe places, food, shelter and basic facilities like medical care. He said Al-Khidmat Foundation is now providing support to Palestinian who are left without food and shelter as a result of Isreal’s war on Gaza. He said Al-Khidmat Foundation is sending medicines , tents and food items to Palestinian through its international partners like Red Crescent. He said Al-Khidmat Foundation has a country-wide network to provide shelter to orphans where they are provided necessities as well as education to enable to become a vibrant member of Pakistani society.
