‘Empowerment through Education’ Program Gains Momentum
By Farhana Mohamed Khan, PhD

 

Consul General N. M. Jadmani (sixth from left), Dr. Farhana Khan (seventh from left), Syed Ashraf Ali (fifth from left) and members of the Board of Directors of the Pakistan American Forum

Pasadena, CA: This year, the Pakistani American Forum selected an upscale restaurant in Pasadena, California to hold its annual fundraiser of its pride project, Merit Grants for Young Women (MGYW).
MGYW provides sustained educational support to under-privileged but meritorious young Pakistani women throughout their educational pursuit. MGYW also partners with bona fide charity schools in impoverished suburbs of major Pakistani cities as well as in rural Pakistan where more than 60% of the population resides. The main goal is to educate the poor girl child, well beyond basic literacy, so that she can become a confident productive member of the society.
This event was very well attended by Americans of non-Pakistani origin and youth – especially Pakistani-American students - from local universities. This is a very positive sign, which shows that there is a wide support for viable projects being undertaken to benefit Pakistan.
Two UCI Pakistani Student Association (PSA)’s office bearers Essam ul Haq and Ambreen Mohamed emceed the first half with the well-known community leader Ashraf Ali being the emcee of the second segment. Dr. Farhana Mohamed presented MGYW activities with Dilshad Shah highlighting some unique items for silent auction.

A group of youngsters who participated in the function

The Consul General of Pakistan, Noor Mohammed Jadmani and Mrs. Jadmani graced the occasion. Mr. Jadmani shed some light on the importance of educating women and what the present government is doing to uplift the literacy rate in Pakistan, especially amongst women. He also applauded PAF directors and volunteers for coming up with a very effective strategy to promote the education of needy young women from Pakistan.
Another unique feature of the event was an exquisitely decorated boutique table where numerous elegant Pakistani and European costume jewelry, shawls, paintings, and handicrafts were available for the silent auction. Tahara Asad organized the booth and conducted a very successful boutique sale for the MGYW Project.
The Qur’anic recitation was done by young Haseeb Khan. The fabulous entertainment segment was covered by Ashraf Ali, Arshad Ali, Azra Malik, Essam ul Haque, Fahad, Umair Ansari, Hasan Chugtai, and Bhangra Team from Cal State Fullerton. The PAF directors, who made the program a standout success, were Nasreen Pervaiz, Tahara Asad, Dilshad Shah, Iram Iqbal, Zille Zaman, Rukhsana Arastu, Azra Said, Farida Merchant, and Farhana Mohamed.

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