KARACHI: NBA star Kyrie Irving’s charity has combined with an NGO Paani Project to build a solar water centre in Thar, an area which has been facing water shortage issues due to drought for the past 17 years. Out of Thar’s nearly 1.6 million people, approximately 87 per cent are living under the poverty line in Pakistan and water shortage is one of the biggest problems the area in Sindh province faces. “This center is providing OVER 1000 villagers access to clean healthy water, facilitating farming for families, and providing light to women and children. If you’re looking for a new team to cheer for — we HIGHLY recommend Mr. Irving and the Brooklyn Nets,” said a tweet by the Paani Project. Apart from helping nearly 1,000 villagers in Rohal with a water plant, Irving’s charity is also helping people there with solar-powered necessities like electrical power for lighting and fans at local schools and mosque. They are also providing handlights for local children to move around the village as well as a small farm to help with food sustainability. Irving’s organisation was approached by a 22-year-old Sonny Khan, who recently graduated from the University of Michigan and is the founder and the director of the Paani Project. “Kyrie has always been one of my favorite players. One day I was just scrolling online and came across his surreal track record of philanthropy. I was surprised to see how much work he’s done in Africa, the work he’s done for low-income communities, and work towards women’s empowerment,” Sonny Khan, a Pakistani-American, was quoted as saying. “I reached out to his foundation directly and told them about Paani. How we have $0 in overhead costs. How we give all of our money to the people. How we record everything from start to finish. How we’ve raised over $1 million as volunteers without any money for marketing. “I think our story of being kids’ who just wanted to help resonated.”