"I am the change" campaign is a yearly campaign by the Engro Corporation as part of their CSR efforts. Since its inception in 2013 the Foundation has recognised and celebrated agents of change in the social development, education and health care sectors.
This year the awards ceremony was held at the Pearl Continental Hotel in Karachi and was attended by professionals from both corporate world and development sector. The event started off with a panel discussion on how people perceive "change" and how it is important to change the way community service is being done to make a difference in people's lives. The panel consisted of Mr. Ali Ansari from Engro Corporation, Mr. Zohair Sharif from Coca Cola, Mr. Kimihide Ando from Mitsubishi and Mr. Abrar from National Foods. The panellists emphasised on the need to take responsibility as active citizens and help bring the much needed change in society by volunteering time, money and skills to empower the underprivileged.
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| Zahid Mengal of Azat Foundation and Hussain Dawood |
It was amazing to see the work of all the social entrepreneurs who were nominated and their efforts towards education, skill development, livelihood and healthcare programs are commendable. Partnerships and corporate sector support will definitely help strengthen their efforts and will also streamline the way forward for future projects.
Mr. Hussain Dawood presented the awards to the winning projects of I am the change 2014 - 2015 campaign. The recipients included the Azat Foundation in the category of education, working to provide education and youth empowerment opportunities to individuals from various areas of Baluchistan including Noshki, Kharan, Awaraan amongst others.
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| Orangi Pilot Project |
In the category of Livelihoods, the award was given to Orangi Pilot Project that continues to focus on urban development and works with the underprivileged in the arena of micro-finance and micro-enterprises, helping set up small businesses such as embroidery, footwear manufacturing and other small cottage industries reaching out to over 100,000 individuals through various projects.
The winner in the category of Health was Child Life Foundation (CLF) an NGO providing comprehensive child health care services from emergency care to prevention. CLF provides free medicines, essential oxygen systems, medical monitors and most importantly trains doctors and nurses to help save the lives of children at imminent risk reaching out to approximately 800 child-patients every day.
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| Child Life Foundation |
Previous winners of the IATC Awards in the various categories include organizations such as The Dream Foundation; The Garage School; Patients Welfare Association; Karachi Vocational & Training Centre; Child Aid Association; KhwendoKor (Peshawar); Akhuwat (Lahore).
The event concluded with a mesmerizing performance by the children of Karachi Public School. The children's rendition of Ameer Khusro's famous qawwali "aaj rang hai ri" was just the perfect ending to a heart warming event.
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| Children of Karachi High School |
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