woman work
Fayeeza Naqvi, co-founder and chairman of Aman Foundation, is a passionate humanitarian and philanthropist. For the last two decades she has dedicated herself to supporting socio-economic development in the fields of health, education and women’s empowerment in Pakistan.
Fayeeza has been recognized globally for her humanitarian work. In 2015, she received the BNP Paribas Grand Prix award for Individual Philanthropy. In 2016, she received the Global Humanitarian Award for Woman’s & Children’s Health, presented by the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population & Reproductive Health at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for this work. In 2016, she also received the Power of Purpose award from Devex, an annual award presented in partnership with McKinsey & Company, honoring the top women leaders in global development. In addition, in 2017, she received the Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Fayeeza is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science. In an exclusive interview with You! she talks about her foundation and its goals...
You! When did you launch the Aman Foundation?
Fayeeza Naqvi: Aman Foundation is a not-for-profit social enterprise founded in 2008 by my husband Arif Naqvi and myself.
You! What was the driving force behind establishing this Foundation?
F.N: Our vision at Aman Foundation is to be a catalyst for social change. When we first conceived of establishing the Foundation, we were keenly conscious of a central paradox that exists in Pakistan. It is a society brimming with potential; hope written on the faces of youth, entrepreneurs taking root, and a middle class restless for recognition. On the other hand, many millions of Pakistanis are consumed by poverty, diseases and despair.
You! From where did you get your drive?
F.N: My drive comes from the desire to transform the lives of those who are underserved. Aman was created as an organization that seeks to change the face of civil society in Pakistan, to make it a better place for the next generation, where prosperity is synonymous with life, safety is a right and not a luxury; and to make this nation a source of pride for all of us. At Aman, we believe that health and education are the foundation for human development. It is difficult to hold a job or care for your family if one is sick, or doesn’t have the relevant skills. We believe in empowering the youth of our nation to take matters into their own hands and have viable employment alternatives. We also believe in empowering families, especially women, to take control of their destinies and that of their families. Because, after all, healthy and empowered women lead to productive societies.
You! What are your aims and objectives?
F.N: Our model is to incubate and support the foundational development of these social services and forging partnerships to achieve scale - we are continuously partnering with the Government, industry, philanthropies, international organizations, and development organizations on the ground to achieve this end. We aim to create impact via scalable and systemic change in the social sectors; all the while, focusing on human capital development, augmenting the capacity of communities, and partnerships as our primary drivers of change.
You! What has been your success rate?
F.N: Looking back, there is a strong measure of satisfaction on the positive transformations we have been able to make. Our success is also based on the way we uniquely operate: based on business principles and an entrepreneurial approach. We are increasingly aware of what works and what doesn’t and what needs to change to increase efficiency and therefore the amount of impact we are able to make.
You! Tell us about some of your most defining projects?
F.N: Our Aman Ambulances have provided best-in-class emergency medical services throughout Karachi and have conducted more than 840,000 lifesaving interventions. Our vocational training institute, Aman Tech, has graduated over 6,700 students and our enrollment is growing at a rapid pace. The most important thing is to align the skill sets of our students with the labor requirements and place our students in jobs, both locally & overseas. Our TeleHealth services, respond to 600 calls each day, providing medical advice and reshaping the nature of such services in Pakistan. Sukh is providing much-needed family planning services to a population of 1 million of Karachi’s most marginalized families.
You! What is your philosophy of life?
F.N: Our underlying philosophy is not to just give out funds, but to take the long-term view, and work to advance societal resilience, by building and supporting services that are needed in underserved communities, and scaling them to create catalytic, systemic social impact
You! What is your plan of action for future?
F.N: Our ambitions are much bigger and grander. We hope to reach out and touch all of Pakistan and beyond. We want people to see a different face of Pakistan. One that is defined by professionalism, integrity and positive energy. But all of this will take time. And our main job, as I see it, is to strengthen our main resource - our people. Our main goal is to keep developing programs which engage youth, empower families and place sustainability in the broader framework of equity and social justice. And we can only do this by collaborating with people who have the same vision of Pakistan, because nothing worthwhile or sustainable can be accomplished if we stand alone.
You! What advice would you like to give to our readers?
F.N: Empathetic action is the stepping stone towards social justice. Success or prosperity cannot remain an island of tranquillity in an ocean of poverty and turmoil. Those of us born in good circumstances have a responsibility, in fact a duty to work to reduce poverty. If we do not help those who are disadvantaged, who will?”