First lady calls for charity work

First Lady Samina Alvi presided over a ceremony during the distribution of 100 wheelchairs in Islamabad.

The wheelchairs were given through Dawood Global Foundation in collaboration with the Islamabad Foreign Wives Association (IFWA).

"I want to appreciate Tara Dawood and Dawood Global Foundation for arranging these wheelchairs and I hope, we work more and more together in the future. I really appreciate this effort, it is a very good step," said Samina while addressing a ceremony. "I welcome you and it is so nice to see you contributing wherever there are such charity activities. Thank you,” the first lady said while referring to IFWA.

She added: Banks are offering loans to start businesses and there is vocational skill training to help you for jobs. This is something we want to do with Tara. We have a set-up in Karachi and are trying to bring a vocational centre to Islamabad and Lahore as well."

"We are very humbled by this experience of interacting with and giving to some of the most unseen and oft times forgotten citizens of our nation," Tara Uzra Dawood said, adding: "We appreciate the first lady's presence and are so grateful to the generosity of IFWA and their trust in the LADIESFUND 10,000 wheelchairs project."

The distribution was at the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine where 100 wheelchairs were split between handicapped individual women recipients and the hospital.

“I am very happy that the wheelchairs donated by IFWA will improve the quality of life of disabled women and give them more independence,” said Irena Smetankova, IFWA President and spouse of the ambassador of the Czech Republic.

“My goal is to deliver wheelchairs to people with disabilities in every corner of Pakistan,” said Ammad Siddiqui, Project Manager, LADIESFUND Wheels.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th, 2022.