LAHORE, Oct 6: In an unprecedented development, around 45 national and international welfare organisations got together on Saturday and expressed their resolve to coordinate with each other in the pursuit of their common goal --- serving the mankind.

The occasion was the formal launch of a joint platform for various welfare organisation -- TABA-- at Sayeed Saigol Auditorium, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). TABA stands for the Qura’anic verse “Ta’awanu Alal Birr Wattaqwa” meaning “Help each other in good deeds and righteousness.”

Explaining the concept, Khalid Mehmood Butt, Lead Member of Disaster Management Committee, TABA Foundation, said such a platform was necessary keeping in view the experiences of the past.

He highlighted the fact that in the time of emergencies there was no coordinated and organised efforts to handle the situations and most of the welfare organisations worked in isolation and did not benefit from the strengths and experiences of each other.

If collective resources and expertise were harnessed, the results could be phenomenal, he said adding: “We’ll try our best to ensure there is no duplication and no areas and communities remain under-served or over-served (in emergency situations). This platform will ensure the best people reach the disaster-stricken places with appropriate help in time.”

He added there would be sharing of core activities and expertise only at the TABA level and no sharing of funds by the member organisations. All the members have submitted their databases for sharing their statistics and resources with each other.

National Disaster Management Authority Chairman Zafar Iqbal Qadir, who was chief guest at the ceremony, said the state could not reach each and every place and was always in need of support from communities, NGOs, trusts and welfare organisations. He appreciated the TABA Foundation model and hoped the member organisations would make it a success and help out the state in disaster management as well.

The launching ceremony was followed by training sessions conducted by LUMS faculty members. They had been designed for development sector professionals and the topics were; capacity-building concept and application in Pakistan scenario for non-profit sector and getting recognition as national NGO and tax benefits.

The organisations which participated in the event included Naimun Naseer Trust, Bunyad Foundation, Custom Health & Care Society, Depilex Smile Again Foundation, Kawish Trust, Taleem Foundation, Waseela Foundation, Akhuwat, AL ILM Trust, Blood Stream, CARE Foundation, Fountain House, Ghazali Education Trust, Muslim Aid, Muslim Hands UK, Karwan-i-Ilm Foundation, Khun-i-Jegar Foundation, Sanjog, and Zarar Shaheed Trust.