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Ambassador Mahmud Ali Durrani's Visit to Buffalo , New YorkOctober 28-29, 2006
Ambassador Mahmud Ali Durrani visited Buffalo, New York to attend a fund raiser organized by Western New York, South Asia Earthquake Relief Effort on October 28th 2006. The event had been organized by the Buffalo community to raise funds for a primary school for girls in the areas affected by the October 8, 2005 earthquake that hit Pakistan last year. 2. The South Asian Earthquake Relief Efforts was set up earlier this year at the initiative of a Pakistani-American Dr. Zaki Masud, Director Cardiac Cath Lab, Kaleida Health in Buffalo, who had visited the earthquake affected areas in Pakistan late last year and assessed the damage by himself. He was successful in mobilizing the Buffalo community, the majority of which was Americans with no affiliation with Pakistan . 3. Together the Buffalo community has succeeded in raising $ 300,000 – the bulk of which was raised at their fund raiser gala held on 28th October. The gala was attended by over 450 guests from the Western New York area. During the event, three separate auctions were held to raise funds: Chinese, silent and live auctions. The auctioned items had been donated by several individuals and corporations. These also included three items personally donated by President Musharraf and the First Lady. 4. A message from President Musharraf was read on the occasion, wherein he thanked the Buffalo community for their efforts in raising funds for the girl's school in earthquake affected areas. He assured them of Government's support in identifying an appropriate location for the girls' school, which the organizers plan to establish with the help of UNDP or UNICEF. In his remarks, the Ambassador thanked the Buffalo community and said that he was particularly impressed that the entire Buffalo community had mobilized itself to raise funds for the girls' school in Pakistan . October 29, 2006 |
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