CHAEF

By Kazi Zulkader Siddiqui, 671/Latif house Cadet College Peatro Sindh Pakistan

Syed Naeemul Hassan, kit no. N-51/Liaquat House joined Cadet College Petaro in 1976 in 11th Class and left the college in 1978 after completing his Intermediate.

He was born on 9 February 1960 and got married to Mrs. Afshan Qamar on 18 February 1987. They have 3 children – Mohammed Ali, Farrukh Hassan, and Gul-e-Syeda.

Naeem belongs to an educated Syed family from UP. His grandfather was a Pesh Imam (a highly respected position in British India), while his profession was hikmat (traditional medicine).

His father migrated to Pakistan on 14 August 1947 under very difficult conditions along with his wife and Naeem’s elder brother who was only 14 days old (this child became an Air Commodore in Pakistan Air Force). Naeem has a total of 5 brothers and two sisters. His father settled down in Old Sukkur and worked for Pakistan Railways.

After his two years at Petaro as an N-Cadet (1976-78), Naeem joined Pakistan Navy and got his commission in 1981. As a lieutenant, he chose to take early retirement and decided to go into private service. He joined Emba Corporation in Karachi to get into sales and marketing of electrical equipment. Subsequently, he moved on to Makkah in Saudi Arabia where he worked in the same field. During the course of his stay in Makkah, he had a slip disc which led to a state of immobility. He performed his last umrah on a wheelchair there before returning to Pakistan. He made a promise to Allah that he would enter into welfare work in Pakistan if the Almighty would bring him back on his feet.

This was the turning point in his life. As he recovered, Naeem kept his promise and joined LRBT (Layton Rehmatullah Benevolent Trust) in 1990 – an important NGO in Pakistan providing free eye treatment to the poor – where he was exposed to charitable work and a greater desire to serve humanity.

He then moved on to join Imran Khan’s SKMT (Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust) as the General Manager for the Karachi region. Among his contributions to SKMT was the acquisition of a 20 acre piece of land to build a hospital in Karachi, and 2,275 sqyds of land from DHA as a donation to build a Diagnostic Centre. During his tenure, he raised over Rs. 2 billion from Karachiites for the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital over a period of 10 years. This was a great learning period for him where hundreds and thousands of people suffering from cancer were treated. Truly the real cure comes from Allah alone. But at the same time, man must also make his own efforts and Allah rewards him for it.

While he worked for SKMT, he continued to support other charitable organizations as well. He worked for the following purely on a volunteer basis:

* Adviser to the Islamic Mission Hospital Trust
* Member Executive Committee of Eye Care Society of Pakistan (JPMC)
* Adviser to Feroza Hashim Foundation
* Adviser to Fundraisers for R.E.A.D. Foundation
* Member, S.O.S. Villages
* Adviser to the Petarian Foundation

Other philanthropists who sought out Naeem’s services included the late legendary film star Mohammed Ali who wanted to establish a kidney transplant centre in Lahore, late Hakim Saeed who shared ideas on establishment of a Women’s college in Madinat-ul-Hikmat. The Governor of Sindh recommended to the Sindh Health Dept to utilize Naeem’s expertise for betterment of conditions of the poor in Sindh.

Naeem was thus blessed by Allah where he devoted himself to the service of mankind. After great thought and an internal desire to do even more, he made his next move. He left a very high paid job with SKMT to start an NGO that would aim to do a lot more for the poor children. Naeem established and started CHAEF – Children Health and Education Foundation in 2003.

The primary objective of CHAEF is to work in the fields of health and education. In this regard, within this short period of time, CHAEF has done wonders.

* Providing free treatment for common diseases
* Diagnosing deadly diseases at an early stage
* Utilizing state of the art technology for early diagnosis
* Providing medical consultation, medicines and laboratory tests free of charge
* Establishment of vocational training centres for girls
* Imparting free technical education to the under-privileged
* Providing primary and secondary school education free of cost

Many prominent Pakistanis and companies have come forth to recognize his work and have provided monetary and other support to CHAEF.

Syed Naeemul Hassan received a shield of honour awarded by Amnesty International at a meeting held on August 22, 2006 at Rawalpindi in recognition of his enormous contribution in the filed of social welfare and society’s development. Ms. Latimer Hodgson, Regional Director, Amnesty International, Mr. Thomas Mcdernott, Representative UNICEF, Mr. Imran Khan, Chairman, Shaukat Khannum Memorial Trust, Mr. Saeed Ahmed Qureshi, Chairman, Pakistan Red Crescent Society, Mr. Fayyaz ur Rehman, President, Amnesty International-Pakistan were also present. Amnesty International also awarded their membership.

He has also been a very staunch Petarian, and has contributed greatly towards the growth of the Petarian Association and the Petarian Foundation.

It is a real honour to have known Naeem and be associated with him.