LAHORE:Netherlands Ambassador in Pakistan Henny da Vries attended a ceremony, held here for signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the SBP Khawaja Junaid Hockey Academy and the Almarah Foundation for imparting hockey training to orphan children during the next 10 years.
Hockey Olympian Khawaja Junaid, Chairperson Almarah Foundation Sophiya Warraich, and DIG Police Mehboob Aslam Lillah, were also present at the ceremony, according to a press release, issued on Sunday. Former IGP Punjab Tahir Raza, Olympians Shahbaz Senior, Khalid Bashir, philanthropists and a large number of hockey players and enthusiasts attended the event.
Henny da Vries said sports was a binding force among societies, and it was admirable that young children would be groomed under the eye of great hockey players.
The Netherlands ambassador also cut a cake to mark 75 years of diplomatic relations of her country with Pakistan at a ceremony, held at the National Hockey Stadium. She said Netherlands and Pakistan enjoyed strong diplomatic relations and she would work to further strengthen bilateral trade and relations. She said: “I am immensely pleased to visit historic city of Lahore and very happy to find myself among little children, who promise a bright future for the country.”
The Dutch ambassador also lauded the philanthropic work of Almarah Foundation, which had been taking care of more than 100 orphan children and working to ensure a bright future for them.
Almarah Foundation is an orphanage, where more than 100 children in the age group of 3 to 9 years are living, being provided all education, health and recreational facilities.
DIG Mehboob Aslam Lillah shed light on the journey of Almarah Foundation over the past 27 years. Chairperson Almarah Foundation thanked the ambassador for her presence at the MoU signing ceremony.