Pakistani nation recognised as the most generous people in terms of giving away charities to the poor will observe the International day of Charity, falling on September 05.
The significance of the day will be multiplied as most of people affected from the COVID-19 lockdown after losing their jobs or daily earnings for a long period are in the process of rehabilitation and yet to achieve stability.
The International Day of Charity was established with the objective of sensitizing and mobilizing people, non-governmental organizations and stakeholders all around the world to help others through volunteer and philanthropic activities.
The World Giving Index has ranked Pakistan as 91th most generous country out of 144 nations. While the Stanford Social Innovation Review reported that when it comes to charitable giving, Pakistan is a generous country, and it contributes more than one per cent of its Gross Domestic Product to charity.
Another study conducted by Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy shows that Pakistanis give around Rs 240 billion (more than US $ 2 billion) annually to charity.
The same reflected when the country remained under lockdown to battle a daunting coronavirus spread, local charities played a pivotal role to stem the economic burden on the low-income groups through providing them rations and medical assistance.
To mark the International Charity Day, different organizations in the country including Islamabad have planned to arrange webinars and discussion programs to highlight the importance of the day.
According to the United Nations, the date of September 05 was chosen to commemorate the anniversary of the passing away of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who received Nobel Peace prize in 1979 “for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitute a threat to peace.”