GCT – Page 2 – Newswire Pakistan

November 26, 2022November 28, 2022

Green Crescent Trust launches its 160th charitable school in Karachi

Karachi, November 26, 2022 (PPI-OT):Green Crescent Trust (GCT) said on Saturday that it has launched its 160th charitable school in Sindh as a step forward to achieving its goal of enrolling 100,000 out-of-school children in the province by the year 2025. According to GCT information, the new charitable school has been opened in an underprivileged part of the Azizabad area of Karachi.

The new GCT school in Azizabad in the next few years will enroll a total of 720 students from underprivileged families for education up to class 8th. Another GCT school is functional nearby and has been functional for past many years. The location of the two schools shows that the issue of out-of-school children in the midst of Karachi is as grave as in a faraway rural area in Sindh.

A large number of concerned philanthropists, dignitaries from various walks of life, and donors of the GCT attended the launching ceremony. Speaking at the launching ceremony, the GCT CEO, Zahid Saeed, thanked the concerned donors and philanthropists for continuously supporting the drive of this charity to educate underprivileged students in Sindh. He said the generous and uninterrupted support this charity had been receiving from its donors would enable it to achieve the target of increasing the number of its charitable schools in Sindh to 250 by 2025 for enrolling a total of 100,000 children from needy families.

He said the concerned donors and philanthropists had to come forward and generously support genuine charitable drives in the education sector as they did so during the coronavirus pandemic and as in the recent flood calamity, which had massively damaged the school infrastructure in Sindh. Zahid Saeed informed the audience that the GCT has employed over 1400 qualified teachers to educate around 29,000 students from underprivileged areas of Sindh. 2,000 orphan children are fully supported by GCT.

He praised the noble services of GCT patron-in-Chief, Sardar Muhammad Yasin Malik, who had been exceptionally supporting genuine charitable causes in the society including the campaign to enroll out-of-school children in the country.

Zahid Saeed mentioned that the GCT is fully open to the idea of launching partnerships with like-minded charities to further its goal of educating every child in the province. Zahid Saeed told the audience that the GCT partnered with the Sindh government also in furthering its drive to educate underprivileged children. For this purpose, GCT has been running 17 schools in partnership with the Sindh Education Foundation, Government of Sindh.

For more information, contact:
Green Crescent Trust (GCT)
Office # 310 and 311, Plot # E1-RSM Square Commercial Area,
Block 7/8, Shaheed-e-Millat Road, Karachi, Pakistan
Tel: +92-21-34556238
UAN: +92-21-111-111-GCT (428)
E-mail: info@gct.org.pk
Website: www.gct.org.pk

March 20, 2022March 21, 2022

SAF-GCT charitable alliance to enroll another 10,000 out-of-school children in Sindh in one year

Karachi, March 20, 2022 (PPI-OT): The alliance of the two leading non-profits has announced to enroll 10,000 more out-of-school children in one year in the network of jointly run charitable schools in Sindh. The non-profits Shahid Afridi Foundation (SAF) and Green Crescent Trust (GCT) made the announcement to this effect at their joint annual fundraiser held here at a hotel and attended by the leading businessmen and philanthropists of Karachi. The two charities have been working together in the education sector for the past four years having an enrolment of over 3,000 children from underprivileged families in eight jointly run schools in backward areas of Karachi. Both the charities aim to expand their network of charitable schools to tackle the gigantic task of enrolling out-of-school children.

GCT CEO, Zahid Saeed, said that over 22 million children are still out-of-school in Pakistan. He said the authentic data showed that the number of illiterate children in the country surpassed the total population of Australia. He said the latest verified data compiled by GCT showed that Pakistan’s total spending on education exceeded the defense budget of the country. He said the education budgets of provincial governments, Islamabad, Azad Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, if combined together was more than the annual defense budget of Pakistan. He said that Pakistan despite spending Rs 1,300 billion on education annually was far from tackling the issue of out-of-school children as their number kept on increasing every year.

GCT Trustee, Saad Zia, said that a group of concerned businessmen 28 years back had adopted an abandoned building of a government school and hired teachers to revive academic activities for the needy children in a backward area of Karachi. He said that the adoption of the government school building became the basis of GCT’s creation that had now 155 charitable schools all over Sindh having an enrolment of 29,000 children of the needy families.

He said the footprint of the GCT’s charitable work had been present all over Sindh as its schools were situated from Sukkur to the Arabian Sea coast. He told the audience that the GCT established its schools in such backward areas where there had been no prior facility to educate the children. He said the GCT’s charitable network enrolled 1950 orphan children who were not just provided education but the pressing economic needs of their families were also regularly fulfilled.

Introducing his charity to the guests of the fundraiser, SAF Chief Operating Officer, Rizwan Ahmed, said the cricket celebrity Shahid Afridi had entered the field of charitable work in 2014 with a focus on the areas of health, education, community development, sports, and emergency relief for the deprived communities. He said that in all the SAF ran 14 charitable schools all over Pakistan having an enrolment of 4,207 children from destitute families who were being given education free of charge.

He said the water supply projects built by the SAF had benefited over 25,000 families in 90 villages that had been supplied around 102,400 gallons of filtered water. He said that during the initial strict lockdown imposed in the country against the spread of Covid-19, Shahid Afridi had himself travelled 18,000 kilometres all across the country especially in Balochistan to give food rations to the needy families.

He said that Afridi had to attend the fundraiser himself but couldn’t do so due to worsening of his health due to the injury as the cricketing star had personally sought an apology from the prospective donors who wanted to become a partner with him to educate children of the deprived areas.

Short documentaries of both the NGOs were shown on the occasion. GCT’s documentary was about an orphan graduate of GCT’s school network, Danish Ghafoor, who later graduated from the IBA. Ghafoor after completing his education became an entrepreneur by establishing his own livestock farm that now employs the local needy population of his village in Mehrabpur.

The documentary shows that every child enrolled in the charitable schools of the GCT and SAF has the potential of following the footsteps of Ghafoor in practical life. Renowned actor, Adnan Siddiqui, conducted the show and expressed his fullest commitment to the alliance formed between the GCT and SAF for educating the children of needy families.

January 9, 2022January 10, 2022

Green Crescent Trust’s and Shahid Afridi Foundation’s Third joint fundraiser in Lahore on 13th January

Karachi, January 09, 2022 (PPI-OT):The alliance of two leading charities of Pakistan-the Shahid Afridi Foundation (SAF) and Green Crescent Trust (GCT) for the first time are jointly stepping outside Sindh and coming to Lahore with an aim to extend their joint charitable work all over Pakistan for enrollment of the out-of-school children. The third joint fundraiser of the GCT and SAF will be held at a hotel in Lahore on January 13, 2022 to generate funds for the provision of quality school education to 10,000 out of school children belonging to the deprived communities in the country.

The two non-profits joined hands in 2018 to work together for the education of the out of school children of the deprived communities. Both the charities have been jointly running 8 schools having an enrollment of 3,000 students from the backward areas. The SAF and GCT have the aim to increase the number of their jointly managed charitable schools to 100 in the next five years for the children of the underprivileged areas.

Punjab Governor, Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, will grace the occasion as chief guest. Leading sports celebrities including Shahid Afridi, Pakistan Cricket Team’s captain Babar Azam, Squash Legend Jahangir Khan and many players of Pakistan Cricket team will attend the event. Dr. Amjad Saquib, Founding Chairman, Akhuwat and 200 plus leading businessmen with families will also grace the occasion as guest of Honour. The sports memorabilia belonging to these celebrities will also be auctioned to generate funds for the noble cause.

Renowned humorist Anwar Maqsood will make a special appearance at the fundraiser. Other notable guests expected on the day, include Punjab School Education Minister Murad Raas, Punjab Sports Minister Muhammad Taimoor Khan, APTMA patron-in-chief Gouhar Ijaz. Celebrity actor, Adnan Siddiqui, Anwer Maqsood and Raja Matlub will jointly conduct the proceedings of the fundraiser. The SAF having extensive charitable work in many fields all across the country in recent past conduct a successful food ration drive during Covid-19 lockdown with active in-person participation of Shahid Afridi.

The GCT has been working in the field of education for the past 28 years with a network of 155 charitable schools having enrollment of 29,000 students of the deprived families. SAF Chairman, Shahid Afridi, said that his non-profit had joined hands with the GCT in view of its 28 years-long work to educate children of the backward areas, as the concerned charities of Pakistan should combine their resources in the same manner to do the noble work of ending illiteracy in Pakistan.

GCT CEO, Zahid Saeed, mentioned that in a recent meeting, President Dr Arif Alvi also appreciated the continuing partnership between the two charities while saying that the alliance emerged as an ideal example for the non-governmental sector of Pakistan to work together to enroll out-of-school children in every part of Pakistan.

December 23, 2021December 24, 2021

Sindh Government to partner with sincere charities to resolve major issue of out-of-school children: Saeed Ghani

Karachi, December 23, 2021 (PPI-OT):Sindh Information and Labour Minister, Saeed Ghani, has said the Sindh government has the aim to partner with the bona fide non-governmental organisations, which have been striving hard to enroll out-of-school children in the province. The Sindh Information Minister express the intention to this effect while speaking as the chief guest to the participants of a Fun Gala organised at a famous holiday resort of Karachi for 1,200 orphan students enrolled in the charitable schools of the non-profit Green Crescent Trust (GCT). The Sindh Information Minister said on the occasion that the charities like the GCT had been doing an excellent job by furthering the cause of the government to provide quality and proper education to every child regardless of his or her social status.

He appreciated the GCT’s partnership with the Sindh Education Foundation to run schools for the underprivileged communities in the province as this alliance should be further expanded. He said the enrollment of the out-of-school children in Sindh was indeed a gigantic task as the provincial government did need the support of the sincere non-governmental organizations to achieve this goal.

He said the provincial Labour Department had the intention to launch partnerships with the non-profits like the GCT to educate children of the labourers in the province. He appreciated the special program of the GCT to ensure welfare, quality education, and entertainment of the orphan students enrolled in its charitable schools throughout Sindh.

Speaking on the occasion, GCT CEO, Zahid Saeed, thanked the donors, supporters, and sponsors of the GCT, which enabled the non-profit to run a special program for the orphan students enrolled in its charitable school network. He said the Fun Gala was a regular annual feature for the orphan students as such programs would also be held shortly by the GCT in Hyderabad and Larkana.

He said the GCT had been running a network of 155 charitable schools in the backward areas of Sindh having an enrollment of 29,000 students belonging to destitute families. Zahid Saeed said the GCT had been making progress to achieve its vision-2025, which aimed to increase the number of its schools in Sindh to 250 with an enrollment of a total of 100,000 students from underprivileged families.

Both Sindh Information Minister and GCT CEO expressed gratitude to the management of the holiday resort for granting a special opportunity to the orphan students from the deprived families of Sindh to spend a day full of fun and entertainment as like the regular resort members. A large number of donors and prominent persons from different walks of life attended the event.

December 21, 2021December 22, 2021

1200 orphan students of GCT, from deprived communities of Sindh to have fun day at Karachi’s Prominent holiday resort

Karachi, December 21, 2021 (PPI-OT):Around 1,200 orphan students belonging to underprivileged families are all set to spend a full day at an expensive holiday resort of Karachi and will avail a full day membership and the complete range of its recreational facilities available to its regular members. These students belong to the charitable school network of the non-profit Green Crescent Trust (GCT) who will spend the one full day a prominent Resort in Karachi on December 23, 2021. Around 200 orphan students from Tharparkar and nearby towns will attend Karachi’s event and also spend a night at the resort on the eve of the Fun activity. CEO, GCT Zahid Saeed paid thanks to the management of the resort for their generous contribution in the noble cause of supporting the orphan children.

The Orphan Fun Gala is an annual feature of the GCT’s Orphan support program. A total of 1850 plus orphan students enrolled in the charitable schools of the non-profit will become beneficiaries of the program. After Karachi’s activity, similar recreational events will also be held in Hyderabad and Larkana in next week. The upcoming gala in Hyderabad is expected to be attended by 400 orphan students from nearby 13 towns while 200 students from 4 towns will attend the entertainment activity in Larkana.

The Karachi’s gala is expected to be attended by a large number of well-wishers, supporters and donors of the GCT’s charitable program. Sindh Information and Labour Minister, Seed Ghani will grace the occasion as Chief Guest. Sindh Information Minister in the past, many times attended the GCT’s events to support its charitable campaign in the education sector in Sindh.

“We have been striving hard for the past 28 years to enroll out-of-school children in Sindh as for the purpose, we have 155 plus charitable schools having an enrollment of 29,000 students belonging to the deprived communicates in Sindh,” said GCT CEO Zahid Saeed. He said the GCT under its vision-2025 aimed to increase the number of its schools to 250 with an enrollment of 100,000 deserving students. “We have been collaborating with our partners to implement the Vision-2025,” said Zahid Saeed.

“Orphan Fun Gala is part of our extended drive, which we have been running to support and patronize orphan students in our network as the drive contains other welfare measures also to help out these needy children,” he added.

November 4, 2021November 5, 2021

Non-profit Green Crescent Trust all set to launch two new projects in Badin to expand its charitable campaign to educate children of Sindh’s backward areas

Karachi, November 04, 2021 (PPI-OT):Furthering its drive to enroll out-of-school children in Sindh, the non-profit Green Crescent Trust (GCT) is all set to expand its network of charitable schools by undertaking two new projects in district Badin. A new charitable school of the GCT will be inaugurated while the ground-breaking of another school building is going to be performed in Badin on November 6. Sindh Education Minister, Syed Sardar Ali Shah and Local Government Minister, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah are expected to grace the occasion as the chief guests.

Recently, a delegation of the GCT met Sindh Local Government Minister and briefed him about the efforts of the non-profit during the past 27 years to educate children of the backward areas of the province. The Faruqi campus of the GCT in Badin, which is being inaugurated, will initially enroll 200 students up to Class 5. The school will be upgraded in due course of time. The ground-breaking of the new GCT school in Khoski will also be performed on the same day. This multistorey building will be constructed in 18 months.

The purpose-built school building will be used to enroll gradually 2,000 students in five years in double shift. The GCT commenced its charitable work in Badin in 2001 as it has existing four schools in the district that have the enrolment of 750 children of the deprived families of the rural areas. The GCT has been actively working to expand its network of charitable schools in the province as in June this year the then Sindh Education minister, Saeed Ghani, performed the ground-breaking of the new campus of the GCT in Mehrabpur on a one-acre area to be used for enrolling 2,500 children.

“We stand fully committed to implementing the vision-2025 of our charity that is to increase the number of GCT’s charitable schools to up to 250 with an enrolment of 100,000 students belonging to the destitute families,” said the GCT CEO, Zahid Saeed. He expressed gratitude to the well-wishers, donors, sponsors, and partners of the GCT for their constant support for the cause to provide quality school education to the children of the least developed areas of Sindh.