Sacramento Community Steps Forward for the Disabled in Pakistan
By Ras H. Siddiqui

 

Helping Hearts, Caring Souls (HHCS) is a non-profit organization with a US presence in Plano, Texas. It is focused on helping disabled people in Pakistan by providing health services, education, and vocational skills to them. It is well known that the lives of the disabled are not easy anywhere, but in countries like Pakistan, they can be especially challenging providing them the resources required. It is for this reason that HHCS held a fundraiser on February 25, 2024, at the Platinum Hall of the Town & Country Event Center in Rancho Cordova. With local help from Waqar Khan and Bilal Adenwala, this event attracted around 100 people.

Before we continue, it is also important to mention that accompanying Ms Anjum Anwar, the founder of Helping Hearts Caring Souls (HHCS) to this program were team members Arif Mansuri, President & CEO of PL Publications, publishers of Pakistan Link and Urdu Link, and Los Angeles area luminary Jamal Khawaja. Entertainment was a major attraction here too and was provided by Saima Jehan who was ready to rekindle our memories of the Melody Queen Noor Jehan. Also slated for the opening act was local rising singing star Sherry Khan.

Waqar Rizvi was emcee here and he did a terrific job. When Rizvi is not going out to bat for the disabled, he is also running for a seat on the Stockton City Council this year for which he deserves our support. He thanked everyone for coming here on a Sunday evening for a very good cause. There are great people who are doing beautiful things for Pakistan, but it is even better that we can all participate in the work that they are doing, he said. And starting the formalities he invited Rayhan Jitalah to deliver the invocation (Tilawat).

Rizvi returned and said that people who do good for others are great souls. And Pakistan needs a lot of help because there are many people who are poor and nobody else cares for them. It is people like you who are providing that help. No event is possible without a team, he said. And tonight, two local names remain prominent from Sacramento who are always busy doing good for the community, namely Bilal Adenwala and Waqar Khan. He asked for a round of applause for both and invited them to say a few words.

Waqar Khan thanked everyone for being here tonight and praised the work that HHCS is doing. It is very important to help others, especially in your country of origin, he said. The money that you donate tonight will be going to a reputable place. Please help them if you can. Bilal Adenwala concurred and said that the good work of HHCS has been verified through a site visit. Waqar also thanked Arif Mansuri and Jamal Khwaja for their presence.

Waqar Rizvi returned and said that there is a huge social services gap in Pakistan that the government is unable to fill. It is organizations like HHCS through which people are getting care. He praised our Greater Sacramento community for being always generous. You guys have hearts of gold, he added. He also took the time to thank the media present (Ras Siddiqui and Azmi Gill). Rizvi also introduced Pakistan Link’s Arif Mansuri whom he described as a role model and invited him to speak.

Mansuri said that he was humbled to be invited here by HHCS and the local organizers. He thanked Ms Anjum Anwar for founding this charity and Waqar Khan and Bilal Adenwala for their hospitality during their visit to Sacramento. He also took the time to recognize this writer for his long association with Pakistan Link (no thanks needed, it is a community service) and Azmat Gill of Dunya News. He asked everyone in the audience to imagine a world where everyone is embraced with open arms regardless of their disability, social status, race, or origin. A world where they are treated with respect and dignity and where the barriers of handicap are shattered and limitations are transformed into opportunity. That is the world that HHCS is striving to create, said Mansuri.

Mansuri said that he was very impressed with Mohtarma Anjum Anwar and the work that HHCS is doing. While people like us sit in our living rooms and complain, she goes back and is doing something for the people there. In Pakistan, the handicapped have few options besides begging on the streets. In America, we have the ADA (thank God) to protect the rights of the handicapped. Not in Pakistan. He added that HHCS is doing remarkable work and deserves our support. The charity that you give now will be like a shade on the day of judgment, said Mansuri.

Mohtarma Anjum Anwar next delivered her evening keynote, and she came well prepared for it. Waqar Rizvi was right in his introduction of her that it takes a lot more courage for a woman anywhere, especially one in Pakistan, to do what she has embarked on. Anjum thanked everyone for being here and sacrificing their Sunday evening for this noble cause. Persons with disabilities are suffering a lot in our country (of origin), she said. They don’t have supporting resources, and nobody bothers if they get an education or a job or not. Even their own family may discriminate against them and hide them as it is a stigma, said Anjum. They think that if they have someone with a disability in the family they will not receive future marriage proposals (Rishtay) for their other children. 

The pain, suffering, and helplessness of the parents whose kids cannot do normal daily things is difficult to watch, said Anjum. “Since I have started on this cause, I have become so humbled,” she said. Allah (SWT) has given us a lot. We are blessed to be in this country, blessed for being American citizens, in a country where we have rights, support, and opportunities. She also requested anyone here to come and see her when they visit Pakistan. She lives in Islamabad and the HHCS facilities in Peshawar and Lahore are not too far away. You can see for yourself as to what kind of work is being done.

Disability is a very technical and sensitive field, said Ms Anwar. “This is not my profession, but my passion,” said Anjum. And the motivation comes from the people we are helping, she added. People sometimes think that I am crazy (mein paagal hoon) because I left America to go to Pakistan. While many Pakistanis want to come to America, then why am I now in Pakistan? A very moving video of Muhammad Azeem, a person without arms and legs who paints and teaches painting in Pakistan was shown. It was indeed remarkable. A longer documentary on examples of how the “Differently Abled” are being helped by HHCS was also shared. 

For further inspiration, a very motivational speech by Jamal Khawaja was delivered next. Jamal shared some of his own stories and how his involvement with HHCS began. He especially appreciated their very low overhead costs. Khawaja next conducted the fundraiser with the assistance of Bilal Adenwala and Waqar Khan. Waqar wore many hats this evening as co-host, owner of the venue, sponsor, and overseer of the delicious meal that was served next. Thank you Waqar Bhai! 

During dinner and before entertainment, some emerging voices from the local political scene got a chance to say a few words. Gul Khan who is running for Folsom City Council, Shak Khan from Lodi, and Khalid Jafri who is running for US Congress got a chance to share a few words. They do care for people with disabilities, both here in California and Pakistan, a fact that needs to be noted here.  

Entertainment closed the evening starting with guest singer Malik Awan singing one Punjabi song. He was followed by opening act Sherry Khan who started with an inspiring “Allah Hu” and two other songs. And finally, the incredible Saima Jehan who also happens to be related to the Late Melody Queen Noor Jehan. What a trip down memory lane for many of us as Saima sang some of the finest numbers both in Urdu and Punjabi that Noor Jehan had sung and left as a legacy for Pakistanis. The only regret for many of us was that this event was on Sunday evening, and we had to leave before it ended because of work in the morning!

(Readers interested in assisting the Helping Hearts Caring Souls effort are invited to visit their website at:   https://hhcsonline.org/  for more information).