HDF Michigan Chapter Raises $ 300,000
By M. Shahid Yousuf

Fifteen years after its founding, the Michigan Chapter of Human Development Foundation (HDF) continues to have the fund-raising ability despite other charitable organizations competing in the same space of education, health and poverty alleviation in Pakistan. The gala charity event held on May 11 th, 2013 at the Adoba Hotel (formerly Hyatt Regency) in Dearborn was packed to capacity as all the tickets had sold out in advance of the event. The gathering took place against the backdrop of Pakistani elections to which attendees had been glued to for much of the day. Given that Human Development Foundation is apolitical there was only a passing reference to it but all the stress was on people of Pakistan specially the children’s needs.

Mr Masood Khan, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations, gave the keynote address in which he stressed that the Pakistani expatriate of professionals were ambassadors of Pakistan and brought the two nations of USA and Pakistan together. He said that the real capital of Pakistan was the human potential. He admitted that there were difficulties but remained hopeful of these being resolved. He said some of the problems were those of legacy and others were self-created. He said the genius of the people was second to none. Commenting on the elections of Pakistan the same day, he said that they were free and fair and that this will be a milestone and that a vibrant civil society will emerge.  Referring to the relative prosperity of the audience, he said that small change could run a school in Pakistan for a year.

The gathering was also addressed by Mr M. Salahuddin Khan award winning author, a radio host in Chicago, engineer, inventor who has written op ed pieces in Huffington Post and San Francisco Chronicle. The fundraising was conducted by Abdalmajid Katranji, MD, a micro-vascular surgeon and clinical assistant professor at Michigan State University. APPNA Treasurer 2012  Dr Tariq Shahab also addressed the gathering and spoke on the role of APPNA and its future.

Human Development Foundation was founded on the 50 th anniversary of the founding of Pakistan and was dedicated as a gift to the people of Pakistan. It is a 501 C3 charitable organization promoting education, microloans, training of teachers, and village development in Pakistan. HDF has a four-star rating of the Charity Navigator indicating that it “Exceeds industry standards and outperforms most charities in its Cause.”

 

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