By Rafiq Vayani
KARACHI: Catwalk Cares is all set for another fundraiser organised by Frieha Altaf in partnership with Calpak Education Services, this weekend in Los Angeles. Calpak is an alliance of Californian Americans and Pakistanis to promote education in the under served communities in Pakistan. Calpak was founded by Anila Ali, an American teacher, author, renowned philanthropist and public representative. Anila is also the CEO and founder of the American Muslim Women’s Empowerment Council.
The Clapak-Catwalk Cares Fashion Soirée will take place on the 11th of February, and will host a runway and exhibit for four local fashion designers. Ali Xeeshan, Sania Maskatiya, Zainab Chottani, Sadia Mirza and Amir and Huma Adnan: Ali is already known for his stand against underage marriage, which he has previously showcased on the runway and through campaigns, while Huma along with Frieha is also a member of the Calpak Board. This team will be joined by Ahsan Khan, who will walk the runway and say a few words on how important education is in the fight against child abuse.Why this event is so important. Mother-daughter duo, Saba and Samiya Ansari will be taking care of hair, make-up and styling, while Frieha’s son Turhan James is the official DJ and music producer for the event.
Following this, Huma, Frieha, Ali and Ahsan will give talks on education, women’s empowerment, child abuse and other such social injustices, at University of California, Irvine and Fullerton on the 12th. The audience will be made up of philanthropists, activists and notable celebrities such as Farhan Tahir and Iqbal Theba who are known for their roles in Iron Man and Glee respectively. The attendees of the event will also be taken on a tour of LA by the Los Angeles Police Department – who have partnered on this to use the power of education to fight extremism.
The Fashion Soirée this weekend will be directed and choreographed by Frieha, who is also a board member of Calpak. Keeping this in light, Catwalk Cares hopes to do many more Fundraisers, of different types in partnership with Calpak. Frieha wants to use this partnership to push the vision and educate more and more people globally about the issues our educational system faces in Pakistan, especially women. Catwalk Cares wants to take this further by improving the quality of events and hosting conferences, art exhbitions, and concerts etc. to use the power of all mediums to create awareness.
Calpak has already hosted a fashion show in LA once before, this will be the first Catwalk Cares event with them. The Pakistan board also consists of Amir Adnan, Fariha Khan, Tauseef Lateef, Samina Qasim, Qudsia Khan, Iqba Qasim, Zuleikha Zar and Malka Ifthikar. The US board is formed of six members, who are all renowned philanthropists, notably Saima Qureshi and Dr Johannah Solomon and Susan Seely who both have experience in international experiential education projects. For more information please visit the Calpak Education Services website: http://www.calpak-edu.org/.
