JEDDAH – Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys Association (AMUOBA Jeddah) hosted a reception in honor of visiting senior alumnus, founder of the AMU Network and former President of AMU Alumni Association of North California Dr. Shaheer Khan. Khan did his master's in chemistry at AMU in 1983 and is presently based in San Francisco, California. He is known for founding the AMU Network, which has played a big role in connecting AMU alumni all over the world. He is also a founder member of the Aligarh Education Endowment Forum (AEEF) based in the USA. This forum is involved in the educational activities of community, especially supporting underprivileged children and women. In a gathering of Aligarians, senior alumnus Hasan Arabi presided over the function. President Syed Farzan Rizvi welcomed Khan and Secretary Aqeel Jamil highlighted the alumnus' achievements and services to the community. Hasan Arabi and Imtiaz H. Khan also spoke on the occasion. Sharing his experiences of Aligarh, Khan reminded the gathering that students at AMU got an excellent education for minimal fees. He added: “The alumni should be thankful for whatever achievements they have made in their lives, as it is only because of Aligarh and Sir Syed. “So all of them not only have their own debts to repay to Aligarh in particular but to the whole community in general. “Community work done at individual or organization level can't achieve significant results; only collective efforts can make a big difference. “The aim of founding the AMU Network was to bring the alumni together and combine the efforts in community work. “It has benefitted the community in education, employment and matrimonial etc.” Shaheer Khan highlighted the efforts made by various alumni organizations for the community in the USA. He said around 1,700 children have been supported in the last 17 years by these organizations. He added: “Muslims can't live on charities and collections for a long time, and a solid educational financing system should be developed.” An endowment fund is one of the concepts he suggested. He showed two documentaries on how the AEEF is supporting three schools for poor communities in Aligarh. They showed how some AMU students initially started a school in a mosque and attracted students by engaging with parents in low-income areas. – SG
