Hi-tea, folk music and an auction to raise money

Supporters of The Citizens Foundation host event to raise funds to educate the underprivileged.

KARACHI: The organisers of the Supporters of The Citizens Foundation fundraiser wore traditional outfits and the 300 women who turned up to take part in the auction wore their best clothes on Thursday.

The women-only auction, the fourth annual event of its kind, was followed by hi-tea at Maneezah Omar’s house in DHA. “We wanted to host an evening where women could come and enjoy themselves,” said STCF vice-chairperson Bushra Afzal. “Every year, we introduce a new theme but we must not forget the main reason for this event, which is raising enough funds to educate the underprivileged.”

The tabla was playing in the background, adding to the festive mood and cultural set-up and the women were thoroughly entertained by writer and poet Anwar Maqsood, who was hosting the evening. The guests, such as model Nadia Hussain, fashion designer Shaiyanne Malik and actor Azra Mohiuddin, also added to the glamour of the evening. Furniture and paintings, jewellery and a return ticket for Bangkok, were put up for the auction and most of the items were sold by the end of the evening.

Humaira Hayat, who runs a company called Le Mosaque Elan which deals in mosaics, furniture and artwork, donated several items from her collection. “It is vital to educate children because that is one way of ending poverty and reducing the crime rate in Pakistan,” she said.

“It was a very well put together event,” said a guest, Afaaf Hameed, at the end of the evening. “The Citizens Foundation has made a great effort in changing the lives of so many children.”

Azra Mohiuddin also agreed that the evening was well planned. “I am a member of Saarc and have sung at one of the previous TCF events,” she said. Mohiuddin bought a carpet and a necklace from the auction.

STCF event community incharge Humaira Tahir Ayub said that all the proceeds would go directly towards the education of the children. “All the food and auctioned items that you see here today have been donated to us and we are extremely thankful to everyone who helped us in making this evening a success.”

Amna Zahid, the coordinator for fundraisers has been working for TCF since its birth in 1994. “This evening was a team effort and I am happy that it turned out to be a successful one,” she said. According to her, the idea behind the cultural theme for this evening was that education and culture go hand in hand. “One is incomplete without the other and we need to incorporate our culture into our education systems as well,” she added.

STCF volunteer director Nilofar Saeed felt that it was important to keep working and generating funds to educate children. “An auction or cultural event is an ideal way of doing it.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2010.