Saba Homes and McDonald’s: Bringing Smiles All Around
By Qudsiyah Munir
The most beautiful thing in the world is the smile of a child who is enjoying life and is happy. No amount of wealth and power can replace its worth. And when kids are orphan, the ones bringing that smile on their faces, are the ones who are carrying on the work of divinity and become its right hand. Saba Homes and McDonald’s have done just that.
“The journey to this stage of completion of Saba homes has been long and difficult, but our beloved Prophet (SAW) talked highly of the importance of taking care of orphans and this inspires me every time I feel like I cannot go any further.”
These views are shared by the founding chairman of Saba Trust Mr Saghir Aslam who has been doing humanitarian work in countries like Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, India, and Iraq for the past 55 years. Saghir Aslam and his wife Bushra Aslam are well-known philanthropists who have been living in Southern California, USA. This project of theirs has been born out of a natural love for Pakistan, their country of origin, and has been enhanced by their sense of gratitude for the opportunities and blessings of life they have enjoyed in their adopted country, the United States of America.
They left the comforts of life in the US and decided to move back to Pakistan to launch the Saba Homes project because they had always been aspiring to provide love and affection to children. Most importantly, to the children who have lost a loved one and crave for parental love and security.
Mr Saghir Aslam and his wife always wanted to adopt kids and love them as their own; Saba Homes is the manifestation of their dreams. And they are running it the way our religion teaches us to do. They are currently housing 35 girls and 15 boys and providing them with the best they can, considering their finances. The girls and boys are provided with clean and healthy lodgings, proper clothing, and healthy food. They go to high quality education institutions.
Mr Saghir’s aim is not just to fulfill their primary needs but to build their self-esteem and sense of belonging. His dream is to see them grow up to be useful citizens of Pakistan and play a leadership role in the welfare and progress of their homeland. To inculcate such traits in the orphans, they provide the girls and boys with recreational opportunities as well so that they can live their childhood like any other kids around the world. A visit to McDonald’s is one such recreational endeavor.
McDonald’s has always remained on the forefront of any activity that concerns giving back to society and lending a helping hand to anyone who needs it. Being an international fast food franchise, McDonald’s always understood the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility and directed their resources and energy to create sustainability for their business and macro environment as well. Whether it is initiatives for keeping Pakistan green and planting trees to hosting children from orphanages to enjoy happy meals, McDonald’s has made sure they never lag behind in such a noble cause.
On their 40 thanniversary, McDonald’s in the spirit of its philanthropic endeavors, hosted children from Saba Homes and offered them a quality meal. The resulting happiness was evident from the beaming faces of the girls who enjoyed every minute and every bite of it. This happiness and joyous moments will be engraved in their memories for posterity. The children had a wonderful time and fully enjoyed the scrumptious meal.
Such activities are a hallmark of Saba Home’s administration which is always striving to provide the kids the same environment that normal kids enjoy in their homes. Through these activities, the children are assured that they are not unwanted or outcasts, but are an important and worthy part of society, loved and cherished by those they come in contact with. This kind of treatment has given the girls of Saba Homes confidence and sense of self-worth that is readily evident from the confidence they exude. This is a big achievement of MrSaghir and his wife, Mrs Bushra who love being called Papa and Mamma by the children. They are the real life heroes, at par with the likes of Edhi and others, whose lives are to be celebrated and not ever forgotten.
For the first 40 years, Mr Saghir ran the Trust on his own, taking nothing from anyone. However, with the beginning of programs for boys and startup of Saba School of Excellence simultaneously, they are in real need of donations and funding from any source that is ready to help. They need the funding to run these programs while striving to maintain the high standards they have set for Saba Homes. They are using every penny for the welfare of the orphans and making sure that the donors’ money is used in the most efficient manner possible.
As a nation, Pakistanis are known for their generosity as they consider contributing to a just cause no less than a religious duty. And Saba Trust over a period of time has proven itself worthy of such assistance - from individuals and companies. Let us come forward and help Mr Saghir and his volunteers to ‘Honor the Orphans’ in a befitting manner and prove to the world that Pakistanis truly are the most generous nation of the world.
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