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By Pervaiz
Lodhie, Torrance, CA
As
a Pakistani American professional engineer, an entrepreneur
and a technology businessman who only believes in ‘teaching
how to catch fish’, my efforts in all these areas
had not only begun 5 years ago in Pakistan but have proved
very successful both for Pakistan and America. As one of
the twenty-four Founding Directors and Trustees of President
Musharraf’s Pakistan
Human Development Fund, the implementation of Pakistan’s
Human Development project initiated by Dr Nasim Ashraf
and supported by President
Musharraf last year has begun. I was present on the
site on July 21, 2002 in Mardan, NWFP on the opening of
the first Human Development Center. Pakistan’s revolutionary
human development program is also based on the concept
of ‘teach how to catch fish’. It’s a totally
transparent private effort of Pakistani Americans, and
well-known Pakistan philanthropists like Abdul
Sattar Edhi.
In the area of poverty alleviation, I started transferring my US based
company’s labor intensive assembly work by starting a ‘contract
manufacturing’ company in the Export
Processing Zone Karachi, five years ago. It was a success beyond
expectations. We have about 110 employees who with very minimal training,
no communication problems, and very short learning time are able
to give me 110% quality, 150% productivity at 1/5-1/10th the cost
of doing this assembly task in my Torrance plant.
This partnership with Pakistan not only helped save my company in USA
but also enabled me to be profitable and globally competitive. The
facility, Shaan Technologies (www.Shaantech.com),
has 60% women. The biggest benefit of creating jobs in Pakistan is
that many people are affected by one job. By creating 110 jobs, basic
minimal needs of 1100 immediate family members are met. In addition,
these 1100 people create a further economic ripple effect in their
area and impact the lives of 11,000 people. This is how very little
investment gives the highest return.
Lastly, working with one of Pakistan’s best-known NGO National Rural
Support Program (www.nrsp.org.pk),
I have started and sown the seeds of a revolutionary program for the
poorest rural areas of Pakistan. This program includes three-Bulb Solar
Powered LED Bulb kits for each hut. These will last forever, require
no electricity, and give sustainable light. There will be 1 bulb for
the cooking area, 1 for education and 1 for the family get-together area.
I will be subsidizing some cost, part will be borne by world donors and
the remaining by the user. Another project in testing stage is the solar
powered submersible pump for sustainable drinking water and maybe small
farm irrigation.. Thar in Sindh is the poorest area where 95% homes do
not have light. Thardeep Rural Development Project (TRDP) aims to place
10,000 of the Solar Powered LED lamp kits in this district.
This is only a beginning to make Pakistan one of the most progressive
countries in the world during this decade. The task can be accomplished
by the individual and collective action of professional Pakistani
Americans. They should attempt the task and accept it as an unwritten
responsibility.
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