Journeys to democracy

Nergis Mavalvala: “The key to my success is the education I got as a girl in Pakistan”

Mavalvala to be keynote speaker at fundraiser for high-quality, low-income schools in Pakistan

BOSTON, May 04: Nergis Mavalvala, the Pakistani-American astrophysicist at MIT known for the part she played in the breakthrough on gravitational waves, will be a keynote speaker at the Third Annual The Citizen’s Foundation (TCF) Boston Fundraiser on Saturday, May 7, 2016.

Ateed Riaz, TCF co-founder and chairman of TCF’s Board of Directors, visiting from Karachi, will be the other keynote speaker. Starting with five schools in 1995, TCF now has over 1,75,000 students enrolled in its 1,112 purpose-built schools and 90 adopted Government schools in low-income localities in 109 towns and cities across Pakistan. The award winning non-profit has won global accolades for its high quality education, transparency and exemplary administration.

Accepting the invitation to speak at the event, Mavalvala, a MacArthur Fellow, said that her achievements are based on the education she received as a girl from a middle-class family in Karachi. “My only ticket to success is the education I got in Pakistan,” she said, expressing her support for TCF.

Poster for the TCF Boston fundraiser

TCF also runs the 141schools.org project, building a school for each student killed in a terrorist attack on APS, Army Public School, on December 16, 2014, in Peshawar.

“Our only hope to fight fundamentalism and extremism and give our children an alternative and opportunity, especially those who are at high risk from extremism is education,” believes Boston-based entrepreneur and community leader Mahmud Jafari, whose Dover Rug & Home is sponsoring the event.

141Schools.org – Introduction from 141 SCHOOLS on Vimeo.

“Poor localities and poor schools do not mean poor education,” points out Andover resident and TCF volunteer Masooma Bhaiwalla who has visited several TCF schools in Pakistan. “TCF’s labs and libraries and the children I met all reflected very high education standards. The schools in these localities are like lotuses in dirty ponds.”

This year’s fundraiser will be held at the Best Western Royal Plaza in Marlboro, MA. Tickets are available online (adults: $50; children 6-12 years: $25).

Besides dinner, including pizza for children, the event features a live auction and performance by the talented Shujat Ali Khan, grandson of legendary classical singer Ustad Salamat Ali Khan.

TCF USA is a professionally managed, tax-exempt non-profit organization with a network of chapters across the United States.

TCF Boston supports a school in Karachi and another in Lahore. Additionally, two TCF Boston families are building a school each in Karachi and Lahore.

This year’s fundraiser aims to complete the construction of another school in Khushab, Punjab, that last year’s event helped to start.

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Filed under: Education, Human rights, Terrorism | Tagged: 141 schools, APS attack, Bacha Khan Uni attack, Classical music, Pakistan, Pakistan expatriats, Salamat Ali Khan, Shujat Ali Khan, tcf, TCF USA |