On April 19, Akhuwat Foundation organised a community iftar for over 200 children of the SOS Children’s Village in Lahore with the support of the PepsiCo Foundation. The PepsiCo Foundation is dedicated to making a meaningful impact for the people and communities it serves by providing access to essential resources they need to grow, prosper, and thrive.

In the spirit of giving back to communities during Ramadan, Furqan Ahmed Syed, CEO PepsiCo Pakistan and Mohammad Khosa, Senior Director Commercial and Corporate Affairs, attended the event with PepsiCo employees to share meals with the SOS community and spend time with them. Dr. Amjad Saqib, Founder and Executive Director of Akhuwat, and Dr. Saba Faisal, National Director at SOS Children’s Villages Pakistan, were also present at the occasion.

This event was organised under PepsiCo’s Ramadan ‘Filling Hearts, Outside the Box’ community uplift initiative, with support from the PepsiCo Foundation. Through this initiative, the company has disbursed food ration boxes across Pakistan, with on-ground support from Akhuwat. The ‘Filling Hearts, Outside the Box’ initiative is being implemented concurrently in the PepsiCo Africa, Middle East, and South Asia (AMESA) sector, with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Lebanon joining in, apart from Pakistan. Respective PepsiCo teams in each country are supporting their communities through their community-centric activities and food distributions.

As part of the initiative, PepsiCo employees also organised a Toy and Book Donation Drive, donating toys and books that were gifted to the children residing in SOS Children’s Village during the community iftar to brighten up their Eid. The colorful and vibrant event was filled with exciting child-friendly activities such as face painting, storytelling, henna application, puppet and magic shows, and an art corner for budding artists.

Mohammad Khosa said, “Children are the leaders of tomorrow. It is my belief that we must support them, nurture their curiosity, and add to their joy any chance we get. So, in the spirit of giving back to our communities during Ramadan, I am humbled to be sharing a meal and spending time with the stars of SOS Children’s Village. Our ‘Filling Hearts, Outside the Box’ initiative is all about uniting for hope and happiness, and it is wonderful to see everyone come together with the SOS Children’s Village and Akhuwat family.”

Dr. Saba Faisal, National Director at SOS Children’s Village, added, “It has been a pleasure to open the fast with PepsiCo and Akhuwat teams. The Filling Hearts initiative has brought smiles to our children’s faces and uplifted their spirits. The sharing of meals, gifts, and love have added to the blessings of the Holy Month and re-energised all of us for Eid. As they say, it takes a village to raise a child. We have many children here, and we are happy that PepsiCo and Akhuwat have joined our Village today.”

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