Peshawar – May 13, 2012,

AlKhidmat Foundation Pakistan has established an exclusive department to titled ‘Disaster Management Unit’ in order to provide quick, timely, and coordinated relief to affected people anywhere in the country in case of natural disasters or other emergencies. In the long run, AlKhidmat plans to organize a network of such disaster management units at the district level all over the country in order to be able to reach and provide relief as swiftly and efficiently as possible to people in need. The first such Disaster Management Unit has become operational in Peshawar.

AlKhidmat has begun professional training of highly motivated volunteers for this department through a string of workshops, seminars, and training sessions, so that they will be well equipped to manage and provide effective relief in all types of emergencies and disasters. A ceremony was held in Peshawar at the conclusion of training of AlKhidmat’s first batch of volunteers for the unit.

Chief guest at the occasion, Director, Peshawar University’s Center for Disaster Preparedness and Management (CDPM), Prof. Dr. Ameer Nawaz Khan, informed the audience that the university offers both, long, and short term, diploma courses in disaster management, and is willing to extend full cooperation for providing training to AlKhidmat volunteers.

Various training sessions of the first batch of volunteers for AlKhidmat’s Disaster Management Unit Peshawar were addressed by AlKhidmat President, Dr Hafeez-ur-Rahman, AlKhidmat Vice President, Dr Iqbal Khalil, AlKhidmat Executive Director, Shahid Iqbal, ex-Provincial Health Minister and currently AlKhidmat President Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Inayatullah Khan, Program Officer Qatar Charity, Asif Ali Shirazi, Program Officer Helping Hand Pakistan, Amjad Mahmood, Professor, Department of Geography, University of Peshawar, Dr Ata-ur-Rahman, and Tanveer Shahab, in charge of AlKhidmat’s Disaster Management Unit program.