Volunteers In Action

In June 2017, when the Queen’s Birthday Honours’ List was announced, Ashak Nathwani received the highest public recognition when he was awarded Member of Order of Australia (AM) for his service to “the Ismaili community in Australia, sustainable design at tertiary level, and engineering.” For Ashak, an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Sydney, it has been a long journey. In the early 1970s, during the Ugandan crisis, Ashak found himself “stateless”. He arrived in Australia as a refugee with only 20 cents in his pocket. The rest, as they say, is history.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, AKDN agencies and our Jamati institutions in Pakistan are playing a crucial role in helping to fight this pandemic. Our healthcare professionals and front-line essential workers are working tirelessly to help the vulnerable in the Jamat and in the wider community.

Yasmin Jumabhai Ransome, a TKN volunteer from the United Kingdom, conducted an in-depth three-week training and certification program, focusing on women’s health rehabilitation, at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Pakistan in November and December 2017.

Over the last ten years, several Jamati institutions have moved to a far more sophisticated, evidence-driven process for long-term planning for the Jamat. This is in no small part due to the tremendous efforts by a business school professor from Florida and a lot of trust placed in her by Jamati leaders. During this time, Dr Seema Pissaris, Clinical Professor of Management at Florida International University’s College of Business, has partnered with Ismaili Councils around the world to use research driven intelligence to improve the quality of life for families.

Over the last decade, Vancouver-based Iqbal Lalany has served on several TKN assignments to provide extensive medical response training in areas that need it most. In 2011, Iqbal received a call from Dr Firoz Verjee, then Coordinator of the AKDN’s Disaster Risk Management Initiative (DRMI). Iqbal was asked if he could deliver First Aid training for six weeks, a challenge he graciously accepted. At the time, although Iqbal was working for Scouts Canada, he was fortunate to take four weeks of vacation time and a two-week leave of absence, (approved by Alamin Pirani, Scouts Canada’s Executive Director) so Iqbal could serve on this TKN assignment.