Human Necessity Foundation Holds Fundraiser
By Ras H. Siddiqui
The Human Necessity Foundation (https://humannecessityfoundation.com/) or HNF is a non-profit registered in the State of New York. It has been gaining some attention recently because it brings to our attention the dire need of people without clean drinking water. If there is a human necessity that one cannot live without, water and food have to top the list. What the HNF is doing is providing water stations in remote areas of Pakistan (and other countries) which are relatively self-sustainable. Since the locations that these water stations serve are without electricity, the pumps which bring up underground water are powered by a solar generated electric source. The old concept of hand pumps works where the water aquifer is closer to the surface but some of these wells dug have to go as deep as 600 feet to find water. Solar powered stations are possibly the best solution possible under these circumstances.
A fundraiser was held to support the HNF and their worthy cause in Sacramento, California at the FreshMed Mediterranean Cuisine on November 18 with a fusion of nostalgia and Naats arranged primarily by the Adenwala family. The nostalgia highlighted here was due to the fact that former Pakistani Pop Music icon who took the path of God and helped to spread Islam’s message, the late Junaid Jamshed, had actively participated and supported the Human Necessity Foundation before his death in a plane crash. For those that may not be aware, Marhoom Junaid had visited Sacramento on at least three occasions that this writer can remember and had many friends in this area including the Adenwala family. On this occasion our community had a chance to reflect on his absence and to carry on his legacy through his brother Humayun Jamshed who was the main Guest Speaker at this event. Humayun, along with other members of the HNF team including the Chairperson of the organization Captain Sheikh Javed, Naat reader Khalid Mehmood and religious scholar Dr Hasan Abunar (who conducted the fundraiser) ,found a full hall awaiting them.
The proceedings began with a fine Qirat by Imam Qasmi from the Downtown V Street Mosque. That was followed by a South of the Border friend of the Adenwala family who described his long relationship with them. He also highlighted the need to address the water issue in Pakistan and its impact in the Bahawalpur area of Punjab and Sindh province. Imam Qasmi returned with some humor as Dr Khalid Mehmood also made a strong case for the water cause.
Humayun Jamshed sang Dil Dil Pakistan (without music), the song that made his late brother world famous. He described for us the multi-dimensional nature of Junaid Marhoom’s life which included clothing, spreading the faith (Tableeq) and relatively unknown aspects like support for this foundation. Humayun provided details of a trip that he took with his brother into a remote area of Sindh during which they encountered a watering hole (the only one for a large area) which was utilized by the local people and their animals not only for drinking water but for other activities as well. He added that there was a great need for this effort to provide stand-alone water sources throughout the country and asked for our support for this noble cause before handing the stage over to Dr Hasan Abunar to conduct the actual fundraiser.
Dr (Sheikh) Hasan Abunar highlighted the continued cooperation between Pakistanis and Palestinians by taking a humorous path which included very spicy Biryani served to him on numerous occasions (Palestinian-Arab food is much milder in comparison) and some choice words in Urdu which he picked up from Junaid Jamshed and other Pakistanis. On his delivery (and I rarely make this statement) many in the audience including this writer became fans of this Jordanian-Palestinian Brother. All one can add is that the fundraising skills of Dr Hasan Abunar are second to none and we hope to see him again in Sacramento at more events (the Sheikh recites the Qur’an beautifully). A substantial amount was raised that evening and the donors, including two Pakistani women who came forward with very generous contributions, need to be commended.
The final segment was a Naat (Nasheed) session during which several made famous by the Late Junaid Jamshed were recited. The evening closed with a fine dinner. Readers are encouraged to visit the Human Necessity Foundation website or contact them via email at info@humannecessityfoundation.com.
