PADF Awards for Syed Sarwat and Raana Faiz
At an impressive ceremony in Newark, CA, the PADF awarded this year’s Habib Jalib Moral Excellence Award toSyed Sarwat, a well-known Bay Area businessman, for his little-known philanthropic activities. According to a PADF press release, the award was presented to Mr Sarwat in appreciation of “ building a vitalizing hub of community life in the Bay Area; for providing moral and material support to those in need without ever seeking recognition, or acknowledgement; and for embodying Abdul Sattar Edhi's mission in a totally different line of work."
Habib Jalib (1928 - 1993) was a great peoples' poet. This award has been instituted for the less known aspects of Jalib's poetry and personality: his inherent kindness and his sublime care for humanity as exemplified in one of his couplets:
Hum loog mi'laingay to mohabat sai mi'laingay
Hum nuzhat-e-mahtab hain hum nur sahar hain
(Whenever we meet, we shall meet with love | we are the soft glow of the moon and the light of the dawn).
The PADF also awarded the Maulana Zafar Khan Lifelong Achievement Award to
Ms Raana Faiz who hosts a popular radio program.
There was a palpable prayerful silence in the hall, when the name of the recipient of the Maulana Zafar Ali Khan award was announced. Ms Raana Faiz, has been undergoing treatment for cancer. Mr. Syed Sarwat, a family friend, accepted the award on behalf of the ailing radio journalist.
The award was presented to Ms Raana Faiz in appreciation "For thirty years of community service with unflinching dedication, endless energy, and intense commitment to the betterment of the Pakistani-American Community; for playing a unique role in the furtherance of Pakistani culture and public life; and for enriching the community life by making her radio program an authentic "Voice of Pakistan".
Maulana Zafar Ali Khan (1873 - 1956), a journalist, writer, poet, orator and above all a freedom fighter, had effectively pioneered the notion of independent journalism in Pakistan. The award in his name was instituted to strengthen the tradition of journalistic honesty, integrity and courage.
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