Two Pakistani volunteers honoured with Commonwealth award
ISLAMABAD: Britain’s Queen Elizabeth honoured two Pakistani volunteers with a ‘Commonwealth Points of Light Award’ during a phone call hosted by British High Commissioner Christian Turner.
According to a statement, the award to Co-Founder and CEO Rizq Huzaifa Ahmad and Executive Director Rizq, Hassaan Irfan recognize their work in providing food security to local communities, especially during the COVID-19 outbreak.
☎️ The Queen yesterday recognised Commonwealth Points of Light Award winners Syed Hassaan Irfan and Huzaifa Ahmed of @Rizq_Sharefood
The Queen heard how volunteers have distributed over 2.2m meals in Pakistan using food waste during a call with Hassaan and @CTurnerFCO pic.twitter.com/suwLs5guRV
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) June 6, 2020
“The call with Her Majesty Queen also marked National Volunteering Week in the UK, an annual celebration of the power and contribution of volunteering,” read the official statement.
Social enterprise Rizq, which started as a university project in 2015 aimed at ensuring a hunger-free Pakistan by distributing excess food to the most vulnerable.
During the coronavirus pandemic and in the holy month of Ramazan, Huzaifa and Hassaan mobilized a network of over 3,000 volunteers to distribute over 2.2 million meals to across 23 cities.
“Food is a fundamental need. For every human to reach his or her true potential it is important for this basic right to be accessible, affordable and available,” said CEO Rizq, Huzaifa felicitating the queen for recognizing their efforts.
“I would like to dedicate it to our amazing volunteers and Rizq heroes,” he tweeted.
I would like to thank @RoyalFamily @commonwealthsec & @PointsofLight for this important recognition.
It was an absolute honour to speak with her Majesty the Queen along with @CTurnerFCO about our vision to end hunger through compassion @Rizq_Sharefood pic.twitter.com/KniANvYg7L
— Syed Hassaan Irfan (@HassaanIrfan) June 6, 2020
Hassaan said: “We have more food than ever before yet more people than ever go hungry every day. We all have an individual responsibility to eliminate hunger – no one should go without a daily meal.”
“This award is a tribute to the people of Pakistan, the work of volunteers in Pakistan, and our strong tradition of helping each other,’ he added.
The British high commissioner said that it was an honour that Queen Elizabeth recognized Rizq’s remarkable work to tackle food insecurity.
“Moments like this are examples of the profoundly positive relations between the UK, Pakistan and Commonwealth,” he added.
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