In a district-level speech competition organized by the Umeed Foundation, Malkapur’s Al-Huda Urdu Girls School and Junior College student, Nazifa Namus, emerged victorious, securing the first position.
Daughter of Tariqullah Khan, Namus impressed judges and spectators alike with her eloquence.
She was awarded an honorary certificate and a cash prize of eleven thousand rupees.
The event, held on Sunday, garnered attention from dignitaries such as Abdul Karim Salar, President of the Education Society, and Rajesh Akde, a prominent member of the Provincial Assembly.
Also present were Maulana Ashfaq Qasmi, Haji Rasheed Khan and senior police officials from the city.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Education / by Zaina Aman (headline edited) / Radiance News Bureau / March 06th, 2024
Salihah Tabassum, daughter of Muhammad Waheed Ahmed and wife of Muhammad Atiqur Rahman, has achieved a remarkable milestone. She has obtained a Ph.D. degree in Zoology from Glocal University, Saharanpur.
Her doctoral dissertation, titled “Implications of Seasonal Variations on Global Health: An Examination through the Lens of the United Nations,” explores crucial aspects of global health in relation to seasonal changes.
Salihah’s research was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Banshidhar Singh. She successfully completed her research and underwent a viva voce examination on February 23, 2024. The examination, which was attended by Dr. Vinod Kumar, Associate Professor, and Dr. Banshidhar Singh, Assistant Professor, as well as other Zoology experts, affirmed the quality and significance of her work.
Salihah, Correspondent of Naunehal Urdu High School, Adilabad, is grateful to the Almighty for her success and acknowledges the unwavering support and guidance of her father Muhammad Waheed Ahmed and her husband Muhammad Atiqur Rahman, who are her pillars of strength.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Education / by Radiance News Bureau / April 02nd, 2024
Following the Islamic principle that ‘if your neighbors sleep hungry while you are there, then you are not a true Muslim,’ neighbours in Pune Kondhwa in Maharashtra have replicated the initiatives of “Roti Bank” (bread bank) across many Indian cities and soup kitchens run by religious organization in the West, to address the hunger in the IT hub.
“Ark Charitable Trust’ was launched in August 2019 when many people in the city had lost jobs or livelihoods due to the COVID and hunger was rampant.
The trust was set up by a Kondhwah couple Aliya Shaikh and Nasir Shaikh from their house. The trust has been running a “Roti Bank” to and feeding widows and destitute women who are forced to wander around in search of food of alms to buy it.
Gradually, the Shaikhs realized that feeding people was a temporary solution to the problem of poverty and they started focusing on its root – lack of education. The trust got involved in educating children wandering on streets picking trash and leftover food and enrolled them in various schools
The trust has also provided job works to many widows whom they came in contact with while distributing food.
The Trust distributes food among people of all castes and religions.
Aliya Shaikh says she completed her 12th from Abeda Inamdar College in Lashkar area of Pune.
“I wanted to study, but I got married early, so I could not and then I realized what if I did not study? I can teach the girls living around me. My children today are doing well; studying in schools but what about those who do not have money? That is why I am trying to ensure that no one’s education stops due to financial constrains.”
Nasir also completed his schooling from Moledina High School in Lashkar area. Though he joined class eleventh he had to drop out due to financial problems at home. He started working as a commercial painter.
Nasir says, “Food satisfies the hunger of the stomach, while education satisfies the hunger of the mind. That is why both are considered basic needs.”
After seeing the work of Nasir and Aliya, a neighbor Ayesha Shaikh also joined them.
Ayesha, 65 has retired from a good position in a multinational company. Aliya, 30, works as a beautician and Nasir, 40, is a building contractor. All three work for ‘Ark’ while handling their business and family responsibilities.
In many weddings a lot of food is left over. To ensure this food doesn’t end in trash bins of the city, the Trust has displayed boards in key points in the city with this statement printed on these: ‘If you have leftover food, contact us… We will deliver this food to the hungry stomachs.’
‘Ark’ also gets financial support from various people and institutions on their auspicious occasions.
The three started this work from their homes without any funds. For the first eight days, Aliya used to cook food while Nasir distributed it. For the next eight days, Nasir took to cooking and Aliya to distribution. They would alternate their responsibilities ensuring that no single person has to take workload.
Aliya says, “We kept reaching out to the needy. As the work progressed, other people came forward to help us. Some started helping us financially, other by donating rations like oil, grains, etc.”
Soon many others more people had joined Ark.
Nasir empathises more with poor and says they are very sensitive. Instead of doling out food, the trio started a ‘Roti Bank’ to give dignity to those needing food.
Nasir says, “The work of ‘Roti Bank’ is not a one-day job. We cannot do one program in one month and then do the next program the next month. It has to be continuous work.
“It’s a challenge to feed their children and send them to school. But it’s also satisfying to see that someone’s life is changing because of you.”
“We have seen people cooking using paper as the only fuel. We have seen them struggling to satisfy their hunger,” says Ayesha. Food is provided to 50 families every day through ‘Ark’. Children’s education fees are paid.”
Aliya, Ayesha and Nasir deliver food to the people of Kondhwa, Bhagyodayanagar area. But the needy people of Hadapsar and Katraj area are not able to reach them every day, nor is it possible for Aliya, Ayesha and Nasir to take food boxes there every day.
So all three of them go to that area and distribute enough ration for at least two months on the basis of the given identity card. They also offer ‘Sehri’ and ‘Iftari’ facilities during Ramzan. A satisfied Ayesha says,
“It is a pleasure to be able to reach out and help the needy. Because of the work of Aliya and Nasir, I am associated with a good organization.”
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Stories / by Chhaya Kavire, Pune / April 04th, 2024
Shabnam Shabbir Shaikh of Aambijalgaon, Maharashtra, trashes stereotypes of Indian women. Having picked wrestling as her field, this 28-year-old woman has broken all the shackles that a girl child faces while growing up in a small village.
Hailing from the village Aambijalgaon, Karjat, of the district Ahmednagar Shabnam was born in Jammu where her father Shabbir Sarabhai Shaikh was posted in the Indian Army. She is the third child of her parents and she grew up seeing her mother Rizwana Begum looking after the house and the family. However, Shabnam’s father always wanted his daughter to be brave, self-reliant, and break social stereotypes.
A great votary of women’s education Shabbir Shaikh encouraged his wife Rizwana Begum to complete her MSc degree after their marriage.Due to her father’s frequent postings across the country, Shabnam did her schooling mostly at the Army schools in Ambala, Udhampur, Srinagar, and Ahmedabad. After her father’s retirement, the family settled in their native village and Shabnam joined the local school.
She joined the 11th class in the Dada Patil College, Karjat, in the science stream. despite an irregular and sluggish bus service to Karjat, she somehow managed to study and also attend coaching for wrestling.
Coach Shabnam with her team
Shabnam completed her Bachelor of Physical Education (BPE) from Aurangabad (Sambhajinagar). She also got a diploma certificate in Coaching from the National Institute of Patiala, Punjab, and later did her Master’s from Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University and then registered for her PhD studies.
Shabnam’s wrestling career began at the age of seven with her father as her coach. Shabnam says, “’My father is my first guru.”
Shabnam came from a family of wrestlers: her grandfather Sadarbhai Shaikh and great-grandfather were well-known wrestlers in the area. Their ancestral house has a wrestling arena where she watched male members of her family and neighbours practice wrestling.
Shabnam had to face the scorn and disapproval of her extended family and relatives when she started practicing wrestling. People even asked her family why she was allowed to wear shorts.
Shabnam at the convocation of the University
Shabnam started with Kabaddi, a game that requires a lot of alacrity and stamina.
Initially, she did not get to enter the arena where her brothers wrestled, so she took to Kabbadi. “I used to think that if I wrestle and win that will be my victory. Even if I lose, it will also be my failure. Will happen… I expressed my desire to wrestle to my father. He responded positively.”
Shabnam’s father had a precondition for training her. He wanted her to concentrate on training and practice for the first two years. She started receiving training from her father and two elder brothers.
Every morning at 4 o’clock she was sent to pick lemons from their farm located about 10 km away. She learned the nuances of wrestling and participated in her first competition in Ludhiana (Punjab). She bagged a silver medal and there started her winning streak.
Shabnam says, “Once in my village, my father came to know about a competition in Delhi. I was just 10 years old at that time. He gave me a paper with the address written on it and a train ticket and wished me good luck for the journey.”
At that time she wondered why she was going alone, ‘Why don’t my parents come with me? But my father always used to tell me that some battles in life have to be fought alone,” she says going down memory lane.
Shabnam Shaikh with her trophy
Shabnam won the title of ‘Women Maharashtra Kesari’ in 2010. She has won the gold medal in ‘Shirdi Kesari’ for three consecutive years since 2009, the gold medal in ‘Latur’ in 2011, gold medal in the ‘Maharashtra State Kustigir Parishad’ competition for six consecutive years.
She has also participated in four inter-university competitions, 10 national competitions, and more than 15 state-level competitions. In the national level ‘Great Bharatkumari Wrestling Competition’, Shabnam is the first winner not only from the Muslim community but also from Maharashtra.
Shabnam says her father taught her that one doesn’t need an outer veil. “Always keep the veil that differentiates between good and bad people in front of your eyes!” he told her.
Shabnam says, “People used to question my parents’ ways. A girl should not play sports like wrestling. Teach her to fast (during Ramazan) and pray. Don’t you want only boys to play wrestling? Hundreds of questions were asked but my parents did not let the pressure of society affect me.
“My father never changed his opinion under the pressure of society. He never let these things affect my game. I always got the support of my parents and my elder brothers.”
Shabnam’s mother Rizwana Begum says, “I have not two, but three ‘sons’! My brothers did not give me a share of our parents’ property. But, I will not let this injustice happen to my daughter. I will give her everything she deserves. Shabnam has brought glory to us. As a mother, I will always be proud of her.”
Shabnam’s thesis for her Ph.D. degree is ‘Comparative study of emotional maturity of rural and urban women wrestlers in Maharashtra’. She toured the entire state for research.
Shabnam is the first woman in India to do a doctorate in sports studies. While doing her Ph.D. in Wrestling, there were often deliberate attempts to embarrass and thwart her effort to earn a doctorate.
In the year 2017, Shabnam was selected as the junior coach of the Wrestling Women’s Association of India; she imparted wrestling training to Anushka Sharma and Salman Khan for the film ‘Sultan‘. Shabnam has represented India in Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.
She currently works as a ‘Senior Trainer’ in the ‘Wrestling Women’s Association’ of India. India has never had success in the ‘World Women’s Wrestling Championship’ till now. However, in the ‘Under-20 World Championship’ of 2023 India won seven medals in ‘Women’s Wrestling’. Out of these, three are gold medals.
Shabnam Shaikh after her victory in a foreign location
Dr. Shabnam Shaikh is today known as the ‘International Wrestling Coach.
Shabnam says, “I was selected as the coach of ‘Maharashtra Team’ for the national tournament held in Gujarat last year. Twenty-four hours ago, my name was canceled! I was not given any idea about this.”
“Many times, despite having the right credentials and qualifications, I am not given a chance. Probably, because I live with self-respect! I always think that when someone asks me, “How did you get all this?’ I should proudly tell him, ‘I have earned it through my hard work.’
Shabnam says, “Wrestling gave me identity. Sometimes I wonder, ‘Is wrestling a curse or a blessing for me?’ Initially, relatives and other people of the society hated seeing me wrestle.
“Later, when I started winning competitions, people would post the news of my success on their ‘status’ on various social media platforms and write the caption, ‘Congratulations and best wishes to our sister or relative.’
After reading the news of my winning, I became everyone’s relative at that time! But, they speak against me on behind my back! However, now they hesitate to speak against me openly!”
Shabnam says, “Most of the time I am rejected for marriage. I play wrestling. The suitors who come to see as a potential candidate for marriage, see my trophies and see ‘Doctor’ written next to my name. When they go home their answer is, ‘We don’t want such an educated girl.'”
Shabnam continues to work hard to ensure that other girls do not face what she has.
Her advice to the youth: “No matter what happens, do not get tired. Do not give up the fight.” Her dream is to build a wrestling center for girls.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by Chaya Kaveri / February 29th, 2024
Rukhshi Kadiri Elias (Third from left) with her team of Taajira
“Empower the men to empower the economically empowered women,” jokes Rukhshi Kadiri Elias, an articulate lady with her mellow voice igniting the conversation. She is the founder of Taajira – (The Businesswoman), a massive network of entrepreneurial women creating a revolution, not only in Kolkata but in other places bringing two different kinds of women together, to work together and empower each other.
Warm eyes, glowing skin with her royal demeanour, and her energy kindles hearts, which is probably why she was able to garner a massive community of thousands of women that all started in 2019.
Born and brought up in a caring home, Rukhshi helped her father with his business, looked after his office in his absence attended to his phone calls, and set up his appointments. At that time she was in the college. During her school and college days, she always stood up for friends.
Good at maintaining humans relationships, she remains in touch with her schoolmates at the Loreto School in Bowbazar and today 35 of her childhood friends are joined in by a WhatsApp Group.
Since 1974, the friends have encouraged each other, and met each other’s emotional needs, and financial difficulties, where some were going through midlife crises. Rukhshi made a special effort to initiate these get-togethers.
At the Taajira exhibition Titliyaan
Speaking to Awaz-The Voice, she recounts one of Taajira’s inspiring stories, “One incident shook me. One day, a girl reached out to us on Facebook. She was a victim of domestic violence and in a state of shambles. As I shared this with some of the administrators in our group “Taajira-The Businesswoman”, having now reached over 32,000 members, I was hesitant to approve her post publically. Some of the legal advocates said she needed immediate legal help. While that was right, I said that she presently needed strong emotional support, because she would have to pay a lawyer if she went the legal way.
“We decided to reach out to her and we reached her home and counseling made the husband realize his mistake. I finally approved her Facebook post and I was stunned to find a rush of support for this girl from hundreds of other women with similar stories. This was a big eye-opener to me that domestic violence is a huge unspoken issue in many homes. Most of the women do not know their legal rights and continue to live in abusive situations for years, incapacitating their ability to even work.
“After this incident, Anuradha Kapoor who founded Swayam, a feminist organisation dedicated to advancing women’s rights did an online talk on Taajira’s Facebook group which was a great success. The happy end of this girl’s story is through Taajira, she got into a flourishing resin art business and her husband changed realizing his failings, and supports her now, and she is a transformed woman – what a miracle!”
I asked her who her greatest inspiration to start Taajira was, she replied, “Way back then in my college days, Noor Jahan Shakil, President, of All Bengal Muslim Women’s Association used to take me along with her on her outreaches to the slums of Kolkata which jolted me out of my comfort zone. I suddenly realized there was a big world out there where millions were still suffering and living in deplorable unhygienic conditions. She had two centers – one for vocational training, tailoring, and fashion designing, actively involved with Muslim women, bringing them out of the four walls of their homes into the world, and teaching them about hygiene and health. I still connect with them helping them to create events.
“Noor Jahan Shakil is an amazing lady, now way beyond 90 years, still very agile and interested in what we are doing, coming forth with suggestions and it was her life that inspired me to think beyond the limitations of my home.”
Rukhshi Kadiri Elias
The story of the inception of Taajira was set in 2019 when Rukhshi Kadiri Elias found herself being added to many WhatsApp groups all seeking some sort of sense of identity apart from their homes. It was at that point that Rukhshi said, “Instead of adding me to different WhatsApp groups, let us get together on one platform, let’s set up a Facebook group.” The group aimed to help women set up businesses that networked together because the seller is also the consumer, so in some way, they all needed each other. The biggest challenge of this group was getting women, who were not tech-savvy to learn to use social media and basic skills.
Their first meetings started in Rukhshi’s home, later, went on to be hosted in their newly formed restaurant, and later, also others offered their halls.
There was a conglomeration of all kinds of women from different strata of society with different needs, from restaurant owners to maids.
There are two groups in Taajira, one group is an elite group who made brand names for themselves through Taajira, and the other group is the economically deprived.
The Elite group helps the economically weaker women with startups, not with money but with goods to the other group to help launch their businesses and out of the profits of the retail rates, they pay back the elite group only at the wholesale rates so that they make a large marginal profit.
There are also intense training programs at the Tajara Elite Club where makeup artists, teams, stylists, bridal packages, ladies who make their organic herbal products, sari drapers, henna designers, masseurs, seamstresses, and even taught driving, grooming, polishing, and other crafts.
At their monthly meet, they pair up, and here the weaker women are imparted skills. During the pandemic, garments were sold online, but they now have their showrooms and stores, so the elite group needed salesgirls, managers, accountants, chefs, and other staff.
She said,”50% of our staff from our restaurant Shaikh’s is from Taajira. While we started as a group to financially empower women, even men were getting jobs. Husbands, sons, and brothers as chauffeurs, chefs, cooks, and other such help so the entire family gets help.”
She said, “We have a legal panel with lawyers and advocates, another panel for counselling for those who need emotional help, doctors who help women with their illnesses, lady police officers who help women with their paperwork, food licenses, and advice.
We have a marvelous doctor who runs The Soul Clinic, Dr. Shabtab Elahi who unlocks the healing power of yoga, with her set of yoga trainers, and focuses on weight loss.
Rukhshi Kadiri Elias with Taajira members
Taajira members from the Wellness Center hold nutritious tea parties with healthy snacks. The focus on hygiene, health, mental well-being, and financial stability is a big boost to Taajira’s growth because we are not just a workforce but a caring community and like a large family with a very personal touch.”
Mysteriously, as Taajira was established in 2019, it seemed a divinely appointed timing as they helped hundreds of families during COVID-panic-driven days in 2020 and beyond to tide through this rough season and come across safely. She says that Taajira was the only online portal open those days for help to the public. Food was the biggest need during COVID-19, and home-cooked food was delivered directly to homes. Since there was no bread in the markets, the ladies in Taajira started baking bread, making thalis (meals) supplying the ones trapped at home and without food.
In one instance, a member of Taajira from the UAE send an SOS message to Taajira to reach out to her septuagenarian parents stranded without food. The Taajira chef delivered food for free until a maid could look after them. Incredibly, the Taajira team delivered not only food, but also medicines, and other assistance to families, and college students were given money and food. In this great season of caring, Taajira grew to be a more community-focused and family-hearted organization.
Taajira’s recent big venture was Titliyan, an annual big exhibition, held once a year, with 111 stalls in the year 2022 and 175 stalls in 2023 and close to 10,000 people visited it.
Rukhshi said with a note of pride that many exhibition curators are now getting their ideas drawn from Taajira members getting 90% of their income through their wares in these exhibitions. She said, “I am, after this appointment on my way to an exhibition in Khidirpur.”
Rukhshi’s journey to create Taajira also required her supportive family, husband, and two sons, who incidentally are great sportsmen, swimmers, footballers, and hockey players, and her wonderful daughter-in-law. She proudly shares the addition of her grandson to the home, now six months old whom she is very involved in taking care of while her daughter-in-law, who is a counsellor in Loreto, goes to school.
All family members proudly pat each other’s backs for their accomplishments. Their recent achievement was their famous restaurant, Shaikh’s, a 42-seater lavish but affordable restaurant launched three years back by her sons, with its cutting-edge culinary excellence seated in the Park Circus area in Beckbagan, near Quest Mall, famed for its aromatic rich Indian, Middle Eastern flavors drawing flocks of people.
As a graduate of Fine Arts and a diploma holder in fashion design, she honed her skills to help the processing of Taajira smoothly. Rukhshi says that the journey to making Taajira a reality has only been possible with the assistance and dedication of her panel of moderators, such as Zainab Saigal, Shumaila Khalid, Ifra Nadeem, Sujata Latif, and Sumaiya Munir applauding the strength of networking together. She said, “We have a strength of 33000 women, now, so we need at least six women to herd them!”
An encouraging moment arrived when the globally connected Calcutta University asked Taajira to suggest a few names of their women to train guide and support them technically. These ladies were picked up and it was a good venture of collaboration to bring profit to both.
Shaikh’s restaurant
On another occasion, a lady who makes chocolates got a huge order from the American Consulate to supply them with 500 boxes of chocolates during Christmas, another lady got a massive order for jute bags and a lady who makes momos and other delicious nutritious snacks now gets regular orders from The American Consulate, business avenues that transformed their incomes and lives.
Recounting one amusing incident, Rukhshi said, “One day, I received a call from a lady announcing that she wanted to work on an online business, but she was not tech savvy. The lady also mentioned that due to her arthritis and other problems, she was unable to work outdoors but needed the money to maintain herself and pay for her medicines. After giving her some ideas, I asked her, “Ma’am, how old are you?” and she replied brightly, “I’m only 73!” I visited her and got her in touch with an Anglo-Indian seamstress who used to stitch nighties, so the lady was able to get into an online trading business and sell nighties to meet her financial needs.”
While membership to Tajeera is free, there is a fee to join the talk shows. She mentioned that there are women who broke away from Tajeera and started their businesses for their reasons, but this was never the aim of Taajira whose power lay in massive networking to support thousands to lakhs together. She said, “Everything is changing fast. Eating habits changed where people now are more into fast foods, apparels changed from saris to most women now in jeans and kurtis, society is transforming quickly.”
She said, “In a strange twist of fates, the men who once mocked the efforts of Tajeera exclaiming it was a taboo for their women to work outside the home are now accepting women working outdoors, and even standing alongside and helping them, and some are even staying at home and looking after the children while their wives are out selling their wares at grand exhibitions,, isn’t it incredible! Things have changed so much in just a few years. Each day, we are moving towards a brighter light and now society is changing so much that when women don’t work, people ask, “How come you’re not working?”
She said emphatically, “Taajira has two ideologies – to help the poor and to economically empower women and we are starting to network a revolution!”
The day is too short for her and she said, “I still have not arrived, we are still on the way, one target is related to another and then it opens another dimension.”
Rita Farhat Mukand is an independent writer.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by Rita Farhat Mukund / February 24th, 2024
Dr Begum Fatima Shahnaz being conferred the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters), the second highest French civilian honour by the French ministry of culture for her significant contribution to arts and literature, on Thursday. ( Photo: DC)
Hyderabad:
The multifaceted Dr Begum Fatima Shahnaz was conferred with Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters), the second highest French civilian honour by the French ministry of culture for her significant contribution to arts and literature, on Thursday.
The Jawaharlal Nehru gold medal winner for writing in her teens, Dr. Shahnaz was felicitated at a special investiture ceremony at Alliance Française by Consul General of France, Bangalore, Thierry Berthelot.
The teary-eyed Shahnaz broke into French as she thanked the distinguished guests and shifted to English after a minute or two.
“I didn’t realise I was speaking in French, it comes so naturally to me and I sometimes think in French too,” said the actor, writer, humanitarian, journalist, theatre & art director, professor and journalist.
Talking about the significance of the honour, she said, “France has supported me, and through me, it has supported the Indian people. A Hyderabadi being honoured is an honour to all my people. This places huge responsibility on me, as a citizen of India.”
She also spoke about France and its relationship with Hyderabad and recalled her college years there.
Hailing from royal Indian dynasties, Shahnaz is an actor from the Institut d’Arts Dramatiques Rene Simon in Paris, and is associated with Broadway in New York. She completed her education with a stint at the legendary French school of cuisine, the Cordon Bleu and hopes to bring a new dimension to ‘nouvelle cuisine’ through innovations in Indo-French culinary arts.
Her works include Golconda, Khaki-poems on Pulwama, Saraswati, Shards, Prince of Tears, The New York Poems, Kaleidoscope Eyes, Tiger in the twilight, among several others.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation / by DC Correspondent / May 19th, 2023
Javed Shaikh filling potholes of the roads in Pune
‘Make a sacrifice for others’ happiness; God will surely reward you..’. Such remarks are read in the stories of Saints and Sufis. However, some people around us are silently walking this talk. Javed Shaikh, a young man from Pune, Maharashtra, is one of them.
Javed’s work has changed the lives of many people and inspired others to be changemakers.
Pune is a bustling city that shines in the night under the impact of electricity. However, some bastis in this city continue to remain enveloped in the darkness and inconspicuous. Those living in the brightness of electricity often tend to overlook the dark houses and huts.
While most tend to ignore these dark spots, Javed Shaikh was drawn to them.
Javed lives in the Yerwada area of Pune. In his locality when he spotted human dwellings without electricity, he knocked at the doors and inquired why the inmates lived in darkness. Their reply invariably was: “We have no money to get an electricity connection; the connection has been removed due to non-payment of bill.”
Javed Shaikh gifting a solar panel to a beneficiary
It made him sad; the helplessness of poor people was overwhelming. He decided to use his knowledge to help them. He thought of using solar energy to get these people rid of the cycle of paying electricity bills.
Growing up in Pune, the 34-year-old Javed had grown up with frequent power disruptions due to shedding by electricity suppliers. He graduated from the Sinhagad College of Engineering, Pune.
Philanthropy was always part of his family’s culture and therefore he too was keen to contribute to making a difference in society.
As against the tendency to seek a job after completing studies and setting down, Javed started his business like his uncle Sadiq Sheikh whom he always admired.
Javed lives with his mother, wife, and elder sister. Like Javed, his sister Wazia also wanted to do social service. Therefore, both the siblings set up the ‘Yusuf Foundation’ in memory of their father. The Foundation was set up in 2020 during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With the idea that the Foundation must start with fulfilling the basic needs of the people, he paid attention to the missing electricity in the lives of the poor.
He started researching low-cost options for providing electricity and zeroed in on solar energy. He thought that if solar panels were installed at the roof of each house, the poor could get electricity and also rid of the recurring bills.
Javed started from his neighborhood. To begin with, he chose families where either the male head was missing or non-working due to unemployment or disability.
Initially, the foundation installed solar panels on the houses of 10 families.
The solar panels were selected to provide continuous power for eight hours on a single charge. The inmates of the houses could use electric bulbs, run fans, and also charge their mobiles with it.
Javed Shaikh and his sister serving people
When the first solar panel lit a bulb in front of a big crowd, people instantly called Javed “Allah ka banda: (Allah’s man). However, his help is not for people of a specific religion. Poverty is the sole criterion for the foundation to provide solar panels to the people.
Yusuf Foundation took another initiative to fill the potholes on the main roads, which are dangerous and have resulted in many accidents.The problem of potholes becomes even more deadly during the rainy season. The Yusuf Foundation filled potholes on many busy roads of Pune with the help of modern technology ‘cold mix’. This saved many lives. His initiative was greatly appreciated.
On the plans of the Yusuf Foundation, Javed told Awaz-the Voice that he would like to work on the environment.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Yusuf Foundation distributed essential items like facial masks, food, and water in large quantities to the needy. It also organised a competition for orphans in the Azam Campus College in collaboration with the Center of Arts, Pune.
Javed is responsible for raising funds for such programs.
Javed keeps a part of his income from business aside from social work. The families believe in giving back to society and thanking the Almighty by helping others.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Stories / by Panmamd, Pune / February 10th, 2024
The ladies’ wing of Sahebaan Welfare Trust (SWT) hosted the inaugural session of the ‘Community Welfare Talks Series 2024’ at Senate Hall, Inland Ornate Complex, in the city on January 21, with Siraj Ahmed, Managing Director, Inland Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, inaugurating the event.
Ahmed, in his inaugural address, lauded the efforts of SWT at initiating the talk series for the benefit of the community members as well as the society at large.
Meraj Yousef, Executive Director, Inland Buiders, who spoke on the occasion, pledged his support towards community welfare activities of SWT.
Educationist and Motivational Speaker Obeida Shoukath, who was one of the speakers of the day, spoke on the challenges faced by students on campus and the remedial measures while the second speaker Dr. Mohammed Noorulla, Senior Unani Consultant at the District Wenlock Hospital, Mangaluru, explained on the occasion the history and benefits of AYUSH, the Indian Alternative Medicine system, and the services available at the Ayush Hospital in the city.
Syed Siraj Ahmed, Secretary of SWT, welcomed the gathering on behalf of the President, Afroze Assadi Saheb. The program was ably compered by Zaiba Khatib.
The Qirat was read by Fariha Fathima and Ayesha Shahnaz.
The event was conducted by the Ladies’ Youth Wing of the SWT under the leadership of Amreen Khatib, who was ably assisted by Aliya Imtiaz and Rifaa Sheikh, with the support extended by Ayaan Sheikh and Luqman Tonse.
Umme Kulsum proposed the Vote of Thanks.
Senior Sahebaan Community members and SWT trustees Althaf Khatib, Rafik Assadi and Imtiaz Khatib were present on the occasion.
source: http://www.english.varthabharati.in / Vartha Bharati / Home> Karavali / by Vartha Bharati / January 26th, 2024
Amtul Suhail, Executive Director at 2nd Generation at Allerton in South San Francisco, CA, is one of one hundred Indian Muslim women across the globe to receive a nomination from Rising Beyond the Ceiling for her contributions and accomplishments in the field of early childhood education.
Rising Beyond the Ceiling is a non-profit organization focused on supporting and promoting Indian Muslim women and their leadership and contributions in their respective fields. Each year they spotlight one hundred Indian Muslim women who have made their mark in countries across the world. All the women have done their initial studies in India, but later moved to other countries where they received accolades and success in their professions.
“I am elated. This is a pure and pleasant surprise,” said Amtul. “I have been working for decades to make a difference in the community by helping one child, one family, one group and mission at a time. I never expected anything in return.”
Working the field of education since 1985, she migrated to the United States in 1990, leaving behind her family on a quest to pursue her dream of caring for and teaching children. Amtul joined Bright Horizons in 2013 and is currently the Executive Director at Bright Horizons Allerton where she oversees the center operations and its programs.
“My passion is children. Every single thing I do, I think “how would this impact a child?’’ This passion that drives me is because of my mother who always taught me what I call the ’golden rule‘ – when things go wrong, you do not go wrong,” said Amtul. “I lead with honesty, transparency, accountability and joy. My mom encouraged me to choose a career to work with children so I can make the difference for children and adults in the community where I work and live.”
Amtul has a Masters in Mass Communication from Aligarh Muslim University. She also volunteers her time and talent for her University Alumni Association of Northern California. She is a guiding force behind the alumni association’s mission and has been involved as a coach and student trainer.
Amtul adds: “My vision is to foster love and compassion for early childhood educators. When they decide to join the education field and under my supervision, they feel empowered, autonomous and committed. I truly believe that consistency and continuity of care is extremely important.”
To learn more about Rising Beyond the Ceiling, visit here.
Author Nuzhat Khan weaves a story of love and loss against the backdrop of Uttarakhand’s forest fire catastrophe in her latest novel.
Author Nuzhat Khan | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Author Nuzhat Khan is among the growing tribe of writers confronting the world’s most pressing issue — climate emergency and the unfolding weather catastrophe — through a genre of fiction set in natural ecosystems. In her latest novel Whistling Woods (Petals Publishers), she highlights the impact of forest fire on people’s livelihood in Uttarakhand along with the story of two strangers — Akshay and Kaveri — who embark on a journey of self-discovery to the hills.
Nuzhat says the book is her way of doing her bit for Nature and the environment. “Growing up in Almora hill station amidst the snow-capped Himalayan ranges of Uttarakhand, I was blown away by the stunning landscape. This is the case with anyone who belongs to the hills. It pained me to watch forest fires ravage the serene hills.” She decided to act by writing a light-hearted story around the issue to reach out to more people. “I thought presenting plain facts and figures would be drab on topics like, what’s fuelling forest fires that continue to scorch hectares of green cover? I have tried to propose a solution, although it may not be the perfect one,” she says.
Her style of storytelling, both evocative and driven by research, helps readers get a grip of the issue while enjoying the budding romance between the lead characters. “I have attempted to capture a mix of human emotions, complexity of relationships, and the innocence of love. The setting helped me run parallels between urban and rural lives. For people in villages, even access to clean drinking water can be challenging ” explains Nuzhat adding that the book has been in the making for five years which also involved several trips to institutes like Avani Bio-Energy plant in Pithoragarh, the Naula Foundation, an NGO that creates awareness on the problems of dying aquifiers (naulas) in the hills of Uttarakhand.
“My interactions with the locals and forest department officials was an eye-opener. They are constantly working to mitigate the problem. Organisations like the Himalayan Institute For Environment, Ecology & Development have developed fire reporting apps that can alert people on forest fires across various locations.”
She points out that the ashram described in the book that works towards empowering girl children was inspired by the Lakshmi Ashram run by a couple in Uttarakhand. “Some of the characters are not entirely fictional,” she hints.
The book also touches upon excessive tourism in the hills. “Several unplanned constructions in the form of resorts have come up usurping the forest cover and triggering landslides. The region is also prone to earthquakes.” She wants people to sit up and take note of Uttarakhand. “Everyone wants to live in the hills. I want to tell them it is beautiful, but everyday life can be challenging.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Books / by K Jeshi / December 26th, 2023
