Dawood Foundation believes that collective change is possible only through empowering individuals. The foundation has been establishing several institutions as well as setting up spaces for learning to serve everyone. The foundation has moved from formal education to informal, which causes a lot of excitement and gives numerous projects the fluidity they need as well as the dynamism, interactivity, and space to try various ways to engage with different people.
One of the institutions affiliated with the Dawood Foundation is the Suleman Dawood School Of Business (SDSB) which was founded in 1986. The school was initially funded by Bashir Dawood & Mariyam Dawood, and the school was named after Bashir’s father. The school’s vision is to provide practical and real-world knowledge to the youth of Pakistan through a relevant school curriculum, replacing the traditional educational approaches.
This innovative approach to education has gained a lot of financial support from the international community. Leading academic institutions such as Harvard University and the University of Western Ontario have already provided their support early in the project. SDSB is also being visited by academics and school administrators from all over the world. Such representatives come from highly esteemed global academic institutions such as Stanford, Cambridge, Asian Institute of Management, and McGill.
Bashir Dawood & Mariyam Dawood have been supporting relief efforts in Pakistan through the Dawood Foundation. This is integral to the country since the 2000s has been turbulent in Pakistan and around the world. The threat of terrorism is always lingering and natural disasters abound. Millions of citizens are left homeless or displaced due to extreme conditions. For decades, the Dawood Foundation has been instrumental in giving relief-aid to people who are in most need of it.
Volunteers backed by the Dawood’s have worked hard to provide relief. Some of the tasks include collecting funds, acquiring food, shelter, and supplies along with other additional amenities. Thousands of families affected by various disasters have received support from the foundation.
The foundation has also provided extensive support in the health sector, including the Al Shifa Trust Eye Hospital and for the expansion of the Memon Medical Institute Hospital (MMIH). Substantial financial support has been given to medical institutions such as Aga Khan University Hospital and Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre. The foundation has also supported several blood donation drives and vaccine drives apart from providing financial support to several health-related institutions.
The foundation also set up Nature Series which documents the diverse ecosystems and flora and fauna of Pakistan and showcases these on multiple platforms. It aims to create awareness about the conservation of Pakistan’s natural treasures. High-quality documentaries are free for the public to view and they are shown all around Pakistan. Other highly valuable documentaries include The Frozen Giants of Karakoram and Mangroves Custodians of The Coast.
