LAHORE – US Lahore Consul General Carmella Conroy on Tuesday inaugurated the “Help the Helpless” exhibition at the Government College University (GCU). GCU Vice Chancellor (VC) Dr Khalid Aftab was also present on the occasion. GCU students used art as a toll to sensitise society about importance of helping poor students in completing their education. The one-day exhibition, which housed scores of paintings and posters on topics including ‘Nobody can do everything but everybody can do something’, ‘Rupee or a Smile’, ‘Things can Change’, ‘Educate Pakistan’s Future’, ‘Together we can’, ‘Remove the Barriers’, ‘Say no to discrimination’ and ‘Education is my right too’, was part of a three-week fund raising and awareness campaign launched by the GCU Welfare Society in collaboration with the GCU Endowment Fund Trust.
Addressing students, Conroy said that cultural activities and art exhibitions could play a vital role in uplifting the image of Pakistan, which was hit by terrorism. She said that cultural activities had once reduced to a minimum level in Pakistan but now she is very happy to see that such activities are again flourishing and reflecting the true image of the country. The US diplomat assured students that Washington would continue its support for raising standards of education in Pakistan. Conroy appreciated the GCU Endowment Fund Trust’s initiative of starting 24 perpetual scholarships for deserving students every year on merit.
She advised students to pay back the scholarships to associations and educational institutions after entering into their practical lives, so that other students could also benefit from them. Speaking on the occasion, Aftab appreciated students’ awareness and fund-raising drive saying that universities are not only meant for making students scholars, scientists and engineers, but also for making them good human beings who care for others. He said that people should realise that helping a student means changing the life of a whole family.
The VC said that GCU has always encouraged questioning, difference of opinion and argument, besides teaching tolerance to students, tolerance towards beliefs, faith, race, religion and ideas of other people. Afterwards, Conroy and Aftab gave away prizes to creators of best three paintings and posters displayed at the exhibition. Ameer Hamza was declared first while Arslan Raza secured the second position. Adeel Akmal was declared third but he gained attention when he contributed his success to the GCU Endowment Fund Trust, which the US diplomat highly-appreciated.
