Telenor Contributes to Earthquake-relief

Telenor Pakistan arranged a dinner for all the 380 plus children at SOS Children's Village and other SOS facilities in Rawalpindi. At the dinner, President and CEO of Telenor, Jon Fredrik Baksaas, handed over a check of Rs 3.2 million to SOS President Mrs. Souriya Anwar.

Contributing a day's salary

Part of the funds will go to the construction of an SOS family home in NWFP, providing shelter to children who were orphaned during last year's devastating earthquake. The contributions were from Telenor Pakistan and its staff and from Telenor offices overseas where staff contributed a day's salary.

Taking care of orphaned and abandoned children

In his speech, Baksaas praised the work of the SOS Villages of Pakistan in taking care of orphaned and abandoned children. Baksaas said that Telenor took it as a serious responsibility to help local communities, especially children in need.

"Telenor is proud to be able to help children who have limited opportunities. It is good to know that our employees are contributing to these efforts, and I hope they continue to take part in SOS activities," he said.

Relief and reconstruction efforts needed to be renewed

President SOS Villages of Pakistan Mrs. Anwar also spoke at the occasion. Mrs. Anwar said that the devastation of last year's earthquake is enormous and conditions will take 10-20 years to normalize. She said that the interest of people and companies in relief and reconstruction efforts needed to be renewed.

"We are thankful to Telenor Pakistan who has come forward to support and has taken practical steps in this regard. We are also thankful to Telenor employees for their efforts in collection of funds for SOS children. This check from Telenor employees is in addition to the earlier contribution from Telenor Pakistan of Rs. 3 million and their ongoing efforts to raise funds for SOS," she said.

Broad fund-raising campaign by Telenor

Telenor is also running a broad media campaign during the blessed month of Ramadan to raise funds for SOS, which includes a telethon, promotions, and a documentary on the lives of the SOS children. Internally, the company is conducting a formal fund-collection campaign with its 1200 plus employees nationwide to provide more funds for SOS's efforts to give shelter to needy children.

"We are arranging these activities to emphasize that we can play our part in returning smiles to the faces of these kids. I am hopeful of the success of these initiatives, as sharing with the less fortunate is indeed the spirit of Ramadan," said Syed Hasnat Masood, Director of Communications, Telenor Pakistan.

Free connection services for earthquake victims

Telenor Pakistan launched its flagship community-support initiative DUA in collaboration with SOS Children's Villages of Pakistan in June 2006. DUA aims at providing support to 100 earthquake orphans, offering communication services for children to talk to their distant relatives, equipping SOS emergency staff with free connections, and working with SOS to raise funds for the victims of last year's devastating earthquake. Telenor Pakistan employees have committed to volunteering their services to support other ongoing activities at SOS as well. Right after the earthquake last year, Telenor provided 6.5 crore rupees to the President's Earthquake Relief Fund and International Red Cross for their relief efforts. Since then Telenor has been committed to the cause through its work with SOS.