The Lahore YMCA like elsewhere across 120 countries of the world celebrated the 180th year Foundation Day of YMCA, which started as a movement on June 06, in 1844 in London, UK.
The Foundation Day function brought together leaders from different fields of life. The YMCA also held an award ceremony to honour these icons. Chief guest on the occasion was Punjab Minister for Human Rights and Minority Affairs Ramesh Singh Arora. President YMCA Asghar Suleman and General Secretary Emanuel Sarfraz welcomed and briefed the guests about the working of YMCA. Porgram Secretary Irum Nelson introduced the award winners and highlighted their lifetime achievements.
The award recipients included journalist Shabbir Azam, MPA and head of Minority Wing PML-N Rahila Khadam Hussain, MPA Baba Failbus, Rashid Masih (Late), Griffin James, Riffat Alam, Haji Naeem, Victoria Patrick, Kanwal Feroze, Ashraf Janjua, Rao Dilshad, Amjid Javed, Zulfiqar Awan, Tanveer Afridi, Jamil Bhatti and Sumera Nazli.
“The Lahore YMCA was established in 1876 and since then it has been serving the communities of the region. We have a number of programs under which we give training to youth so that they can support their families and communities. We work for empowerment of women and equip youth with skills to excel in life,” Emanuel Sarfraz said.
He said the YMCA intends to launch the latest computer skills to youth regarding usage of artificial intelligence. Welcoming the steps of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for Christian community he hoped they would prove to be trust gaining and cement ties among people of diverse faiths.
It may be mentioned here that YMCA is the world’s oldest and largest youth movement reaching 65 million people across the world.