GUJRAT: Al-Khidmat Foundation Pakistan is going to establish “the first ever” volunteers academy in Lahore to formally introduce training mechanism for volunteers to effectively work during disastrous situations like recent floods.

Moreover, 70,000 volunteers have so far been registered with the foundation in across the country for which the master trainers are being trained by the trainers from Turkiye.

This was stated by Central president of Al-Khidmat Foundation Pakistan Dr Hafeezur Rehman while talking to Dawn here on Sunday.

Earlier, he was the chief guest at a ceremony where 1,400 families affected by recent urban flooding in Gujrat city were given winter packages containing quilts, pillows, bed sheets and food hampers by the Gujrat chapter of the Al-Khidmat Foundation.

Dr Rehman said that the volunteers training academy would be built on a piece of land measuring four kanals near the central office of the foundation in Lahore and its architecture design was in process of approval.

Currently, he said, the foundation had a network of volunteers in at least 150 cities of Pakistan with 1,900 officials working without any salary whereas it had at least 7,000 salaried staff across the country.

Adding, he said the foundation also had good liaision with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Rescue 1122.

He said the foundation had been registered in at least seven countries including United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany, Norway and Turkiye.

Later he also attended “Salute the Volunteers” ceremony where 300 volunteers were given appreciation certificates and gifts for volunteer efforts during the flooding in rural as well as the city areas of Gujrat.

Punjab JI emir Dr Tariq Saleem, central deputy secretary general Azhar Iqbal Hassaan, Gujrat JI emir Ansar Dhool advocate and Raja Sajid Sharif , foundation’s president also spoke in these ceremonies.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2025