Amb Masood Khan Commends Citizen Foundation-USA’s $3.5 Million Fundraising for Education in Pakistan
By Elaine Pasquini
Washington: Masood Khan, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, was a keynote speaker at the annual gala of the DC chapter of The Citizen Foundation (TCF) USA, on October 22, 2023. The annual high-profile event drew nearly 700 leading businessmen, professionals, entrepreneurs and community leaders of Pakistani descent in the region.
“Pakistan has made impressive strides in education,” Ambassador Khan told the large crowd. “Our overall education score has improved over time in access, quality, achievement, and gender parity, but we still have a long way to go to educate every child and ensure quality education. These are our national goals as well as UN-designated sustainable development goals. To achieve these goals and prepare our children for the future, we need more schools, more funding, infrastructure, qualified teachers, improved gender equality, refurbished curricula, and modern educational technologies. We are moving down to that path.”
The evening event, emceed by renowned Pakistani-American entrepreneur Hasnain Aslam, raised $3,510,400 with a pledge of seven new schools to be established and supported by the Pakistani-American community members of TCF-USA.
Paying a glowing tribute to the valuable contributions of TCF-USA, Ambassador Khan noted that since its inception TCF has built 1,900 schools for nearly 300,000 children. The DC chapter alone has established 43 schools throughout the underprivileged and impoverished areas of Pakistan, providing over 5,000 children the opportunity to shape a successful and promising future.
“You have unlocked those opportunities which were not available to these underprivileged children before,” the ambassador noted thankfully. “The people of Pakistan are grateful to you for this precious gift that you have given to them. You have become a respected brand in Pakistan and abroad.”
The ambassador also recalled TCF contributions during the devastating floods in Pakistan last year and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ambassador Khan lauded the services of Ms. Shimmi Kidwai, the president of TCF, who has also been honored with the prestigious Tamgha-e-Khidmat award for her decades-long meritorious social and humanitarian services.
“Have faith in Pakistan,” the ambassador urged the attendees. “Keep unity in your ranks. Continue your work to strengthen Pak-US relations. Be confident that together we would succeed.”
In conclusion, Ambassador Khan repeated the quote of American poet Maya Angelou: “Giving liberates the soul of the giver” and the quote of Greek philosopher Epictetus that “Only the educated are free.”
(Elaine Pasquini is a freelance journalist. Her reports appear in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and Nuze.Ink.)
