Shamshaad, a helper at St. Joseph’s hospice and Rehana Khan, a decade old resident, at a fundraising event organized by the Nomad Gallery on Saturday. PHOTO: MYRA IQBAL/EXPRESS
A two-day fundraiser for St Joseph’s Hospice kicked off at the Nomad Centre and Art Gallery on Saturday. The event aims to raise funds to support the hospice that houses hundreds of poor, ill and homeless people, and is facing the threat of closure due to financial constraints.
A selection of works has been displayed at the gallery. The featured artists are S Faraz Ali, Zahra Kazmi, Masood A Khan, Tabassum Rehman, NH Kazmi, Riffat Khattak and Zia Zahidi.
Meanwhile, a silent auction is being held for the paintings and photographs of the artists Azhar Hafeez, Saba Hussain, Manizha Janbaz and Asadur Rehman at the gallery.
Nageen Hyat, the gallery owner, said the initiative was getting a positive response from organisations and individuals, including women and the youth. “Everybody is involved, including volunteers and artists. It is not just the expat community but also the locals who are enthusiastic about the cause and actively contributing towards it. Art is a vehicle of awareness and we are imparting skills through the workshops, raising awareness as well as funds so everything adds up,” she added.
Amir, who was conducting an outdoor pottery workshop, had schoolchildren and volunteers keenly encircling the spinning wheel as they moulded the moist clay into a variety of shapes. A total of six children - three boys and three girls - from Mashal Model School participated in the workshop.
Amna, a third grader from the Convent School F-8/4, said she was excited to be a part of the activity and helping out “the ill people” at the hospice.
Meanwhile, a group of nurses, nuns and patients from the hospice attended the printmaking workshop.
Sister Myriam, a catholic nun who is in-charge of the nursery ward at the hospice, was engrossed in etching a heart on a wooden slab, filling it in with Korean letters spelling out the word “Yes”. She has been working at the hospice for two years.
Seated next to her was Shamshad, a middle-aged nurse who has been working at the hospice for over a decade, who said the hospice inmates are in need of food, medicine and clothing for their survival. “I appeal the community to come forward and rescue the 50-year-old clinic that is trying very hard to do its job,” she added.
Mohammad Sohail, who was on a wheelchair, came to the hospice some 13 years ago when a spinal injury from a diving accident left him paralysed in the lower limbs. At the workshop, he carved a house on the wooden printmaking surface.
Similarly, the calligraphy workshop attracted a sizable number of participants, who were fascinated by the traditional yet outdated craft on paper and wooden planks (takhti) using a wooden, pointed pen (kalam) and drawing ink. The participants included students as well as volunteers from different organisations.
Other activities included a papier mache workshop by NH Kazmi, a puppetry workshop by Zia Zaidi, an acting workshop by Sadia Hyat Khan and a bead-making workshop by the Paper Miracles team.
Micheal Gregory of the Australian High Commission and member of the hospice’s management committee said, “The hospice is very grateful to Nomad for their hard work and support. A group of people from the hospice who came to attend the printmaking class really enjoyed it. The hospice is always grateful for the support of the community and its organisations.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 19th, 2014.
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