Pakistani Philanthropist Wins 2009 UN Prize for Non-Violence
(via pakpositive.com)
Dr Abul Sattar Edhi of the Edhi Foundation in Karachi has been awarded the 2009 United Nations Mananjeet Singh Prize for Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence in recognition of his services for his life-long efforts to ameliorate the conditions of the most disadvantaged groups in Pakistan and South Asia. The prize is given to promote the ideals of human dignity, human rights, mutual respect and tolerance. Dr. Edhi, renowned for his active stand against extremism and his support of human rights as well as for his humanitarian efforts, is one of the most active philanthropists in Pakistan through his Edhi Foundation, which he created in 1957. His Foundation sets up maternity homes, mental asylums, homes for the physically handicapped, blood banks and orphanages, among other services. A non-profit social welfare programme with over 300 centres across Pakistan, Edhi Foundation has branches in several other countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia etc.) bring relief to refugees and other victims of strife and natural disasters. The UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize was created in 1995 on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the birth of the Mahatma Gandhi
Small Pakistani Island Lights Up with Wind-Power
Kharochhan Island, a small island off the coast of Sindh has received electricity through Wind-power by charities and community contributions – making it a little success story of its own. The charity pitched up and installed five wind turbines. Now a fifth of homes — 100 out of around 500 — have been hooked up to the system. It has revolutionised villagers’ lives, which once ended at sunset. Powering homes and businesses with wind turbines — protecting the environment and improving the quality of life, Lying 150 kilometres due south of Pakistan’s financial capital Karachi, Kharochhan is an island of thatched homes where fishermen scrape by on 75 dollars a month and never dreamed of having electricity. Half an hour by boat from the mainland, development on Kharochhan has been hampered by isolation, said Nadeem Jamali, secretary general of a charity helping coastal villages use strong winds to generate electricity. Shah Kamal, who designs wind turbines, says the high winds that batter Pakistan’s 1,050-kilometre coastline are perfect for powering turbines and cutting power shortages. Before his organisation erected turbines, villagers cut down mangroves for firewood to cook meals and used kerosene to light homes, damaging the environment and producing heavy smoke causing allergies. An applied physics graduate said the energy crisis, which sees power cut for 10 hours a day when temperatures top 40 Celsius, forced him to design and mount a wind-turbine generator on the roof of his house in Karachi
Via Pakpositive.com
Pakistan Sets World Record by Planting Half a Million Trees in a Day
via news.bbc.co.uk
A new world record is set by volunteers in Sindh by planting 541,176 trees in a single day, according to the Guinness World Records. The record-breaking tree-planting marathon was witnessed by representatives of Guinness World Records and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Some 300 volunteers, working in groups, planted mangrove saplings in the 750 acres of the Indus river delta region. Mangroves grow in delta regions where the fresh waters of the river mix with sea water. Pakistanis beat the previous team record for tree planting which was set in India just last month when 447,874 saplings were planted in Assam state. Each volunteer group was issued saplings by a panel of experts which also monitored the planting process to ensure that standards set by Guinness World Records were met. The Guinness representative was there to ensure that no old plants were included in the count.
Aisam beats Federer in Basel Open doubles
Via dawn.com
Pakistan’s tennis ace Aisamul Haq Qureshi and his doubles partner James Cerritani brushed aside tennis great and world number one, Roger Federer and his Swiss compatriot Marco Chiudinelli in straight sets at the Basel Open on Tuesday.
Qureshi was at his serve-and-volleying best in the round-of-32 match as he and Cerritani cruised to victory against Federer and Chidudinelli 6-4, 6-3 to book their place in the quarter-finals of the $2.6 million ATP tournament.
Playing in Federer’s hometown, Qureshi and his partner were in control of the match from the first game and although Federer and Chiudinelli produced moments of brilliance, the grit and powerful serve-and-volley game of Qureshi and Cerritani saw them through to the end.
The Pak-American pair will now play tournament first-seeds Daniel Nestor (Canada) and Nenad Zimonjic (Serbia) in the quarter-finals.
Rickshaw Wisdom: Solve the Mystery
Adil Najam Via Pakistaniat.com
Many of you might have recently received this picture of rickshaw poetry in your email recently. It depicts rickshaw poetry under the title “Soch Raha Hai Pakistan.” Its cute. All the more because it is on the back of a rickshaw. And we all love rickshaws. No one more than ATP.
This is why we have featured rickshaws here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. And probably elsewhere too!
That is also why this particular pictures intrigued us much more than just because of what is written at the back of the rickshaw. For some reason, it looked very very familiar. And, yet, different.
