“The role of national and international welfare organizations is to work hand-in-hand with governments to achieve their development goals”. This was stated by the founder and chairman of Muslim Hands International, Pir Syed Lakht Hasnain while speaking at the “Meet the Press” programme held at National Press Club (NPC) the other day. He said that Muslim Hands has been working alongside the government since start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, helping the government to spread awareness in this regard as well as set up open kitchens under the initiative of “Koi Bhooka Na Soye’ to provide free food to thousands of people whose livelihoods were affected due to the pandemic. Besides, during the same period, Muslim Hands benefited two million people through its various programs, he said. Talking about climate change, the chairman said that the world is currently suffering from climate change and our country is one of the few countries that are suffering the most. Non Governmental organizations should help the government in this regard. The present government has done an enviable job in the last few years in this sector which has been widely acknowledged at the international level. The United Nations recently appointed the Government of Pakistan to chair the World Conference on the Environment which is an honor for the country. Muslim Hands has contributed to the improvement of the environment through planting trees, sanitation and environmental protection, he said while hoping more organizations will come forward and help each other in moving this work forward. Talking about education, the chairman of Muslim Hands said that the world is now moving towards “Skill Oriented Education”, an education after which students can become self-reliant for employment and be attracted towards entrepreneurship. He pointed out that the need for Skill Oriented Education has been increased during the present situation of the pandemic which has shut down many businesses and left millions unemployed worldwide. “Unemployment and poverty can be significantly reduced if children are taught courses as per market needs”, he said. Syed Lakht Hasnain responding to the questions of the journalists said that we can get rid of various diseases through ensuring availability of clean drinking water. Muslim Hands is managing the water supply at home and community level through various schemes while water filtration plants have also been installed at the city level. To another question on education, he said that Muslim Hands is also working hard with the provincial governments in the field of education. He also termed the creation of a curriculum at the national level by the government as a commendable initiative. This would give an opportunity to the oppressed class to come forward, increase unity and brotherhood in the nation and form a nation without any discrimination or differences. In response to another question, Pir Syed Lakht Hasnain said that his organization had utilized over Rs 1.5 billion in Pakistan in the year 2020 for various programs on education, water, environment, livelihood and corona.