Engro Foundation, the social investment arm of Engro Corporation, has announced the two recipients of its flagship initiative, I Am The Change (IATC) Impact Awards 2021, in recognition of these organizations’ tireless efforts to support the fight against COVID-19 across Pakistan. The IATC Impact Awards 2021 attracted more than 70 applications in the two categories of social enterprises and social development organizations. Following an extensive review of the applications by a jury and the IATC team at Engro Foundation, WonderTree (social enterprise category) and Charity Right Pakistan (social development) were selected as the recipients of IATC Impact Awards 2021. Each of these recipients will be given a cash prize of PKR 2 million in recognition of their efforts and support to scale up their initiatives.
Charity Right Pakistan believes in a fair and equal world by overcoming hunger in hard-to-reach areas. Amidst COVID-19, the organization distributed ration packs to around 13,000 families and launched Right Choice stores to offer discounts on staples, along with a Right Pay Card to enable the beneficiaries to receive necessities from these stores. WonderTree, the second recipient, was recognized for using augmented reality to gamify physiotherapy and educational exercises for children with special needs. The team has helped more than 16,000 children with disabilities by providing physiotherapy and interactive sessions. WonderTree went on to adapt their programs to enable them to be used at home so that children with disabilities could continue their physiotherapy and educational regime, even in COVID-lockdowns.
Runners-up of the IATC Impact Awards 2021 include Orange Tree Foundation, Karachi Down Syndrome Program, Science Fuse and Umang Pakistan.
According to Ghias Khan – President & CEO of Engro Corporation and Chairman Board of Trustees of Engro Foundation, “We are humbled by the overwhelming response to the I Am The Change Impact Awards 2021. A wide variety of organizations shared their inspiring work – ranging from education to mental health, food distribution and caring for persons with disabilities. It is heartening to learn how each one of us embraced our individual responsibilities and stepped up our efforts to help Pakistan in its current recovery. Every year, these contributions motivate us to further expand IATC’s outreach to recognize change-makers for good in Pakistan.”
Favad Soomro, Head of Engro Foundation, added that, “All IATC award applicants, especially the recipients, have gone above and beyond in this time of crisis. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude and respect to everyone who has helped Pakistan fight against COVID-19.” At the IATC Impact Awards 2020, Engro Foundation recognized the achievements of eight frontline heroes for their service to the community in the fight against COVID-19. Back in 2020, at the onset of COVID-19, Mr. Hussain Dawood – Chairman of Engro Corporation and Dawood Hercules Corporation, had announced a PKR 1 billion pledge to support COVID-19 relief efforts on multiple fronts as well.