Shehzad Roy in the Silicon
Valley
By Abdulrahman Rafiq
Shehzad
Roy (left) and Anisha Bakshi (right) |
Zindagi is the Urdu
word for life. But for the Prince of Pakistani Pop, Shehzad
Roy it has also taken on another meaning. Shehzad began
a Fundraising Campaign for his Zindagi Trust, here in America,
starting on Friday the 8th of September at Mehran Restaurant
in Newark, California. He was accompanied by Anisha Bakshi
and others at this $100 per person dinner event.
Shehzad is one of Pakistan’s most well-known young
faces. His female fan following is incredible these days
as I recently witnessed first-hand. He has won two of Pakistan’s
high honors for his social work. In the year 2004, he was
awarded Tamgha-e-Imtiaz in recognition of his relentless
efforts for the cause of education of the underprivileged
children under the Zindagi Trust’s ‘I-am-paid-to-learn’
program. And in June 2006, the President of Pakistan conferred
on him Sitar-e-Eisaar in recognition of the Zindagi Trust’s
relief efforts and services for the rehabilitation of the
October 8, 2005 earthquake victims. But if you speak to
him about these awards you will not find him tooting his
horn (as a matter of fact he actually plays the guitar and
sings incredibly well).
What is the “I am Paid to Learn” Program? Zindagi
reaches out to working children and provides them basic
education, supplementing, rather than disturbing the finances
of their families. It does this by providing incentive to
the working child and his/her parents in form of cash payments
of Rs.20 for each session attended.
The evening’s program was well attended by Silicon
Valley Pakistanis, who donated generously to this cause.
A grand sum of $22,800 was raised on the blessed night of
Shab-e-Barat.
All in all it was a well planned out event, from the entertainment
to the catering. The entertainers, in addition to the well-known
Shahzad Roy, included several unknown artists like Anisha
Bakshi from both the San Francisco Bay Area and Pakistan.
(The author is a technology professional in the Silicon
Valley, a free-lance writer/journalist for the Pakistan
Link and Newsline, the co-founder of the Silicon Valley
Pakistani-American Council (SVPAC), and founder of the Pakistan
Science & Engineering Foundation—kindling the
flame of Science & Innovation in Pakistan. He can be
reached at arafiq@paksef.org)
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