The Dawood Foundation

The Dawood Foundation

داؤد فاؤنڈیشن‎
Abbreviation	TDF
Formation	1960 (1960)
Founder	Ahmed Dawood
Type	Non-Profit Organisation
Legal status	Registered Society
Purpose	Education, Health
Headquarters	Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Area served	Pakistan
Key people	Hussain Dawood (Chairman) Kulsum Dawood (Co-Chairperson) Sabrina Dawood (Vice-Chairperson) Syed Fasihuddin Biyabani (CEO)
Employees	73 (2021)
Website	dawoodfoundation.org

The Dawood Foundation (TDF) is a nonprofit family foundation based in Karachi, Pakistan. TDF has been working in Pakistan since the 1960s and has been heavily involved in establishing various formal and informal education institutions across the country.^[1]

TDF is a civil society organisation for promoting social development certified by the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP).^[2]

History

The Dawood Foundation (TDF) was founded in 1960 by Ahmed Dawood. It was envisioned to serve as an educational foundation whose main focus was to support and promote educational initiatives in the fields of science, technology, and research.^[3]

Board of trustees and leadership

The Foundation is governed by a board of trustees, namely Hussain Dawood (chair), Kulsum Dawood (Co-chairperson), Sabrina Dawood (Vice-chairperson),^[4] Samad Dawood (Trustee), Christine Dawood (Trustee), Shafiq Ahmed (Trustee), and Ghias Khan. TDF operates on a daily basis under the leadership of Syed Fasihuddin Biyabani.^[5] Previously, Shahzada Dawood served as a trustee on the board until his death during a dive to the wreck of the RMS Titanic on June 18, 2023.^[6]

Education focus

TDF's focus and contributions have predominantly been in the area of formal education.^[7] These informal learning projects have been designed to cater to people from all segments of the society, including those with learning or physical disabilities.^[8]

Formal education projects

Dawood College of Engineering & Technology (DCET)
TDF established Dawood College of Engineering & Technology (DCET) in Karachi in 1964 to cater to Pakistan's growing demand for engineers and technology experts. This was the first major educational project undertaken by the Foundation. DCET was nationalised in 1971. In light of its commendable educational standards and accomplished alumni, DCET was granted the status of a university in 2013 and was renamed as the Dawood University of Engineering & Technology (DUET).^[9]

Karachi School of Business and Leadership (KSBL)
The Karachi School of Business and Leadership (KSBL) is an independent graduate business school located in Karachi, Pakistan. The school was established in 2009 through a strategic collaboration between Karachi Education Initiative (KEI) and the Cambridge Judge Business School.^[10]

Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts at BNU, Lahore

Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design
In 2004, TDF donated funds for the establishment of the Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design (MDSVAD), at Beaconhouse National University (BNU) in Lahore. The school offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a variety of visual arts and design disciplines, including painting, sculpture, graphic design, textile design, and architecture. The school has a distinguished faculty of artists and designers, many of whom have international reputations in their fields.^[11]

F. G. Dawood Public School
Federal Government Dawood Public School in Muzaffarabad was one of the schools which was destroyed during the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and was reconstructed by TDF. Inaugurated in 2008, the school was renamed as ‘F.G. Dawood Public School’. It caters to approximately 800 to 1000 students up to Matric level.^[12]

Dawood Public School (DPS)

Founded in 1983 by Mr. Ahmed Dawood, Dawood Public School (DPS) is a trust owned educational institution located in Bahadurabad area of Karachi. Dawood Public School is affiliated with Cambridge University which accommodates young girls from 2 years to 19 years, ranging from Pre-Primary education to A-Levels.^[13]

Ahmed Dawood Government High School, Darsano
Ahmed Dawood School was one of the earlier initiatives of the Dawood Trust, later changed to The Dawood Foundation, built in 1959 in Darsano Village which is now a part of Malir in Karachi. The school was handed over to the Government and is still operating today. It has around 400 students in the primary and secondary sections.^[14]

Government Boys B.T.M. High School
To serve the community in the vicinity of the Burewala Textile Mills, one of the former companies of the Dawood family-owned businesses in Southern Punjab, TDF established the Government Boys B.T.M. High School in 1955. The school was nationalised in 1972 and it is still functioning under government administration. The ownership of the school and its playgrounds remain with TDF. The school is currently providing education to over 750 students.^[15]

Dawood Science Block in Government Degree College Burewala
The Government Intermediate College in Burewala was established in 1961 for teaching solely Arts subjects. For the benefit of Burewala students wishing to pursue studies in Science, TDF undertook the construction of Dawood Science Block in which science education is being imparted up to the degree level. The Foundation had also awarded scholarships to talented students at the college.^[14]

Ahmed Dawood Chair, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
The Ahmed Dawood Chair was established in 2003 by TDF for the SBA School of Science and Engineering Dean to maintain high standards of faculty and educational leadership at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).^[16]

Informal education projects

TDF's Nature Series presented in a class room.

TDF's informal learning initiatives include popularising science^[17] through its umbrella of TDF MagnifiScience, raising awareness about the environment through TDF Nature Series, and promoting informal learning spaces as well as heritage conservation through TDF Ghar.^[18][19][20]

TDF MagnifiScience
Since 2016, TDF has been working to promote scientific literacy and thinking as well as increasing STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) skills. The Foundation has organised Pakistan's largest science exhibitions, established the first children's science studio in the country, TDF MagnifiScience Children's Studio.^[21] The studio was closed in September 2021 due to the establishment of a much bigger space, the country's first contemporary and interactive Science Centre, the MagnifiScience Centre in Karachi.^[22]

TDF Nature Series
The Foundation launched the TDF Nature Series in 2015 with the aim to raise public awareness about Pakistan's degrading natural habitat.^[23][24] The series is a collection of documentaries which capture the broad variety of the natural habitats of Pakistan.^[23] These documentaries include Margalla Hills—Urban Wilderness, Cliff-walkers of Chitral Gol, Mangroves — Custodians of the Coast, Frozen Giants of the Karakoram, and Desert Dwellers of Tharparkar.^[25] These documentaries are free for public viewing and are screened at schools, public spaces, and film festivals across the country.^[26]

TDF Ghar, a 1930s town house in Karachi, is open to public as an informal learning space which has been converted into a museum.

TDF Ghar
The Foundation's informal learning initiatives include TDF Ghar (Urdu for home). This is an old building from the 1930s which was restored in 2017 as a ‘living museum’ of the past and an informal learning space. TDF Ghar showcases the myriad influences of cultures and ethnicities that belong or have previously belonged to Karachi.^[27] Each piece of furniture depicts the confluence of Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Parsi, and Jewish traditions in a home.^[28] TDF Ghar preserves and presents these heritage features to remind people of Karachi as a place of heterogeneity and harmony.^[29] At TDF Ghar, exhibitions are also curated about the history of Karachi and different events are hosted that promote art, music, and culture.

Health and disaster relief

As a philanthropic organisation, TDF has also been involved in relief work during natural disasters such as the cyclones in East Pakistan in the 1960s, the Kashmir and Balochistan earthquakes in 2005 and 2008 respectively, the floods of Sindh and Punjab in 2010, and the Thar drought of 2012.^[30] It has also provided financial support to various hospitals and medical projects including the construction of the Al Shifa Eye Trust Hospital and buildings in Aga Khan University Hospital.

It is primarily the Dawood Foundation along with the Engro Foundation which disburses the funds of the Hussain Dawood Pledge, one of the biggest private donations and initiatives to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan.^[31][32]

References

1. "The Dawood Foundation (TDF)". Devex. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
2. "Annual Report 2020-21". Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
3. Shoaib, M. (20 April 1961). "Minister of Finance's contribution" (PDF). Brochure in Commemoration of the Inauguration of the Dawood Foundation. 1: 5. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
4. "Sabrina Dawood, Vice-Chairperson: The Dawood Foundation". Women of Pakistan. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
5. Zehra, Syeda Qandeel (23 June 2022). "U.S. Consulate General, Karachi and the MagnifiScience Centre gather stakeholder to improve Air Quality". Hamariweb.com News. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
6. Naddaf, Miryam; Masood, Ehsan (23 June 2023). "Two Titan submersible passengers were prominent science philanthropists in Pakistan". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-023-02100-y.
7. Kazim, Syeda Shehrbano (30 October 2015). "Living Colours: 'Pakistan's ecosystem is extremely fragile'". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
8. "The Dawood Foundation". i-Care Foundation. Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
9. Zardari, Shehnila (28 March 2021). "Celebrations and Questions: 100 Years of Engineering Education in Sindh". Dawn. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
10. "Karachi business school launches MBA with Cambridge's help". The Express Tribune. 28 September 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
11. Mirza, Quddus (12 February 2023). "From intention to intervention". The News (International). Retrieved 17 February 2023.
12. "FG Dawood Public School Muzaffarabad". SchoolAndCollegeListings. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
13. "DPS | Dawood Public School | Karachi, Pakistan - Knowledge to Empower". dps.edu.pk. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
14. Dawood, Siddique (20 April 1961). "Foundation" (PDF). Brochure in Commemoration of the Inauguration of the Dawood Foundation. 1: 13. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
15. "Govt High School (GHS) Btm Burewala, Vehari". UrduPoint. UrduPoint Network. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
16. "Dean Lums School of Science and Engineering". ILM. ILM. 11 September 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
17. Naddaf, Miryam; Masood, Ehsan (23 June 2023). "Two Titan submersible passengers were prominent science philanthropists in Pakistan". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-023-02100-y. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
18. "First science studio for children opens in Karachi". The Express Tribune. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
19. Shirazi, Maria (2018). "TDF Ghar: an informal learning space". Instep (Magazine). The News (International). Retrieved 15 July 2021.
20. "TDF's new documentary raises awareness on conservation of Mangroves". Behtareen. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
21. "Karachi gets its first-ever MagnifiScience Children's Studio". 1 October 2018. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
22. Hasan, Shazia (4 October 2021). "A much-needed addition to city's lacklustre science landscape". Dawn. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
23. "The Dawood Foundation and WWF Pakistan host a webinar on the effects of climate crisis". Daily Times. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
24. "The other side: Dawood Group's arm to promote natural habitat". The Express Tribune. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
25. "Documentary to stress need for mangroves protection launched". The News (International). 31 August 2019. Archived from the original on 1 September 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
26. "TDF Nature Series aims to conserve Pakistan's spectacular natural heritage". Mediaspring PK. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
27. Soomro, Tania Ali (July 2019). "Heritage at Stake: Discourse Concerning the Causes of Damages Occurred to the Historic Hostel Structures Built in British Era in Karachi" (PDF). Mehran University Research Journal of Engineering and Technology. 38 (3): 833. Bibcode:2019MURJE..38..819S. doi:10.22581/muet1982.1903.23. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
28. "TDF Ghar will transport you to a Karachi that once was". Geo TV. 26 August 2017. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
29. Rafi, Haneen (22 August 2017). "TDF Ghar — a fresh public space near Quaid's mausoleum". Dawn. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
30. "World Food Programme, Dawood Foundation launch nutrition awareness campaign in Tharparkar" (PDF). Crisis Response Bulletin. 2 (46): 5. 11 November 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
31. Hamid, Raja (24 July 2020). "The Dawood Foundation And Aga Khan University Partner To Boost Quality Of Care For Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients". Technology Times. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
32. "Engro pledges Rs20m to expand Covid testing at Shaukat Khanum Hospital". Dawn. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2021.

External links

• The Dawood Foundation
• Magnificence Centre