LONDON, UK – 25th March, 2019 – Javed Fiyaz has seen it all. The London-based billionaire was born in Belgium to parents of Pakistani descent, and made his first millions in the international shipping sector before turning to global oil, gas, and mining concerns. His travels allowed Mr. Fiyaz to do well, and inspired him to do good: his philanthropic foundation, the Javed Fiyaz Charitable Trust (JFCT), is proudly celebrating the ten-year anniversary of its partnership with Save the Children.
Mr. Fiyaz established JFCT in January 2007, in response to the 2005 earthquake that devastated parts of Kashmir. Quickly forging productive relationships with Pakistan’s Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority and with military divisions tasked with responding to the crisis, the JFCT focused its efforts on rebuilding the region’s infrastructure.
Its immediate work saw the rebuilding of more than 3,000 homes and dozens of schools throughout Kashmir. To replace the Baagh region’s main hospital, which had been completely destroyed in the earthquake, JFCT partnered with a Kuwaiti NGO, leveraging Mr. Fiyaz’s connections and resources to create a state-of-the-art facility. And in just nine months, JFCT oversaw the construction of a university in the Muzaffarabad that now educates 3,000 students.
This initial success proved to Mr. Fiyaz that his business acumen was needed beyond the corporate world: that his resources and talents were needed wherever people faced the crisis.
“I spent years growing my business,” he remembers. “And during that time, business was the sole focus of my energies. Anyone who works as hard as I do develops a certain tunnel vision. So the JFCT’s earthquake-relief initiatives were a revelation. I’m proud of the business investments I’ve made, and how they’ve contributed to the global economy. And I’ve certainly benefited from those investments. But I’m prouder of sharing those benefits through the JFCT.
“My business enterprises are built on the idea that leveraging large amounts of capital can allow profitable work to be done on otherwise unthinkable scales,” he adds. “Considering the ways we’ve changed peoples’ lives, the JFCT has accomplished more per pound than any business investment I’ve ever made.”
Its success in Kashmir inspired Mr. Fiyaz to partner with Save the Children to tackle the even more pernicious problem of child mortality in rural Pakistan. Over three years, the JFCT delivered antenatal care, vaccinations, and ongoing medical attention to more than 18,500 children and more than 60,000 women—far more than its original target of 19,048. In the process, it established a new baseline for antenatal and post-delivery care in some of Pakistan’s most underserved communities.
The JFCT later turned its attention to Mr. Fiyaz’s own city, again joining Save the Children to deliver a comprehensive suite of household and educational support to disadvantaged children in the neighborhood of Southwark. The initiative, called Born to Learn, took a holistic approach to improving education outcomes, reaching more than 1,500 children with early-childhood services, supplementary schooling, and support at home designed to relieve some of the domestic pressures that contribute to poor school performance.
JFCT continues to support initiatives in the regions it has helped, even after its initial programmes have concluded. To learn more about how Mr. Fiyaz and JFCT are making a difference across the globe, or to make a charitable contribution yourself, please contact Javed Siddiqui at +918275050786 or jfct@javed.in. Or visit Mr. Fiyaz’s website at http://www.javed.fiyaz.com/.
Established in January 2007, the Javed Fiyaz Charitable Trust supports healthcare and education initiatives throughout the world. It is a registered charity in England and Wales (213890) and Scotland (SC039570).
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