LAHORE: Ufone has decided to promote a worthy cause of Rizq, a social entrepreneur project working to fight hunger and reduce food wastage, through an awareness campaign on electronic and digital media throughout the fasting month of Ramazan.
Rizq is a group of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) sophomores, including Huzaifa Ahmad Musa Amir and Qasim Javed working to build a bridge between surplus food at food at restaurants, weddings and households and families living in slums areas of Lahore.
In this connection, Ufone held a media interaction meeting with Rizq members here on Wednesday. Punjab University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Zaffar Mueen Nasar participated in the meeting as the chief guest. Ufone Public Relations and Digital Media Head Amir Pasha, bloggers and people from different walks of life also participated in the event.
Rizq is aimed at decreasing food wastage that is rampant in the society and feeding under-nourished people, particularly children.
The Rizq team identifies areas within the city – usually slums and villages and map the communities. The area is advertised on Rizq’s official Facebook page, which raked in 5,000 likes overnight.
The surplus food is collected from partner restaurants, bakeries, caterers and households. The food is then taken to a store for quality check where it is packed in small packages for easy distribution. Later, the packed food is distributed in mapped communities.
Currently, Rizq members are serving 200-250 meals everyday and the team aims to bring this up to 2,000 meals per day. Meanwhile, the Rizq members are arranging two or three Iftar dastarkhwans for deserving people on a daily basis in Ramazan.
It was shared in the meeting that Rizq needs Rs 1.5 million to buy a cold storage van and a cold storage facility to manage larger quantities of food. The team has been managing with fridges as of now, which restricts it to distribute food immediately.
During the meeting, Rizq members said that for the first time a food bank had been established in Pakistan, which could preserve up to 120kg of meal. They said that the project had the potential to reduce poverty and transform people’s lives.
Talking to Daily Times, Huzaifa Ahmad said that 9-10 partners, including bakeries and restaurants, were assisting them in the cause. “We have also devised a plan to expand the project in other cities of Pakistan for which we have started a pilot project in Islamabad and within five to six months we will introduce the project in Karachi. We are targeting to take on board buffet restaurants, bakeries and households for the purpose.”
Ufone Public Relations and Digital Media Head Amir Pasha said, “We would help Rizq secure more support for their endeavours by spreading their message across Pakistan. Ufone hopes to create greater awareness about the remarkable work being done by Rizq, which will kindle a spirit of sharing and generosity in others.” Last year, he said, Ufone promoted three different social welfare projects, including Khana Ghar, Dewar-e-Mehrbani and Operation Eid Child.
“This is a commendable job from our youngsters for which Ufone is also playing a vital role,” said PU VC Dr Zaffar Mueen Nasar while talking to Daily Times. He appealed to the citizens to support Rizq in their noble cause.
