NRS International joins forces with the Global Business Coalition for Education
Our parent company NRS International has partnered with the Global Business Coalition for Education, which works with businesses to accelerate the delivery of education for children and youth globally.
To mark this milestone in our ongoing corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, we interviewed the Managing Director at NRS International, to find out more about his charity work and dedication to helping some of the 250 million children globally who are not in education.
Describe some of your charity work.
Our family has always been committed to support our brothers and sisters in Pakistan; however, when we struggled to find quality healthcare treatment for a sick family member we formalized our charitable work through the creation of Bilqees Sarwar Foundation, or BSF as we call it.
Why did you choose Bilqees Sarwar Foundation for a name?
Bilqees Sarwar is my mother’s name. She remains the heart and home of our family.
Does BSF only work on public health?
After the Peshawar attacks on school children last year, BSF teamed up with Sanjan Nagar Public Trust School and provided scholarships for 40 young students. We wanted tell a different story, a good story about Pakistan and Pakistanis. We are devoted fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers that care about the future generation-and we felt like it was our moral responsibility to do more for our neighbours.
We have also donated some of our solar products to children living in Somalia, Lebanon, and created a Back-to-School campaign for internally displaced persons living in northern Syria. But we want to do more. We can do more.
Can you tell me about the work of NRS International and its connection to BSF?
NRS International is a family company that my father started 40 years ago. We design, manufacture, and deploy core relief products, public health items and solar solutions. We have a diverse clientele, including governments, bilateral donors, NGOs and field aid workers. My passion has been, and remains, our core relief products and temporary shelters. The statistics coming out of international reports on relief and recovery stages of natural disasters and conflict is disturbing. The average refugee stays a refugee for about 17 years. Children become men and women under tremendously difficult circumstances. Our products can provide them some comfort and relief.
While NRS International provides supplies to our clients, BSF can provide services and support directly to beneficiaries. BSF allows us to share our resources and enter substantial conversations around public health and education support to refugees, internally displaced persons, and vulnerable communities.
The new school year is just around the corner. What is your plan for the coming year?
We recently joined the Global Business Coalition for Education and want to scale up our commitment and learn how we can best contribute to educational programming.
How will Global Business Coalition for Education contribute to your work?
We are particularly interested in supporting education during emergencies and leveraging the experience and expertise of NRS International. Once we better understand the landscape, we can begin to mobilize support through BSF. It’s an important year; the new Sustainable Development Goals will provide new targets and goals in September and in 2016 the World Humanitarian Summit will provide new solutions to the evolving and challenging humanitarian work. We believe that Global Business Coalition for Education will provide the necessary platform for action.