Debates of the Senate (Hansard)

2nd Session, 37th Parliament,
Volume 140, Issue 65

Tuesday, June 10, 2003
The Honourable Dan Hays, Speaker

Aga Khan Foundation Canada

World Partnership Walk

Hon. Mobina S. B. Jaffer: Honourable senators, on Sunday, May 25, 2003, over 26,000 people across the country participated in the Aga Khan Foundation Canada’s World Partnership Walk to raise money for humanitarian projects in the developing world.

This year, the walk raised more than $3 million across Canada. The Canadian International Development Agency, CIDA, will match every cent raised. CIDA has done so every year since the walk’s inception.

For the past 19 years, the Aga Khan Foundation, with the steadfast support of CIDA, has organized the walk so that Canadians realize what people in other parts of the world are going through and to create an awareness of being part of the global family in which every member is as valuable as any other.

The Aga Khan Foundation has now become one of the leading philanthropic organizations in the world. AKFC directs all of the money raised through Partnership Walk sponsorship to projects focused on health, education, culture and economic development, primarily in Africa and Asia. The World Bank and CIDA evaluate these projects and have concluded that the “Aga Khan Foundation Canada’s stewardship and utilization of donor funds is impeccable.” The Aga Khan Foundation is one of the agencies under the aegis of the Aga Khan Development Network, which includes Aga Khan Education Services, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Aga Khan University and the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development.

The Shia Ismaili Muslim community around the world takes enormous pride in the work of their leader, His Highness Shah Karim Aga Khan, and the AKDN, which he directs.

We, in Canada, derive much comfort and satisfaction in being able to contribute and play a small part in the global thrust to improve the lives of those most in need. It is through the hard work and dedication of the Aga Khan Foundation, its volunteers, and the unwavering support of CIDA, both monetarily and symbolically, and the generosity of the Canadian public and industry that this event has been successful and continues to grow in scope and profile every year. This is truly the Canadian way.

I hope honourable senators will join me in congratulating the Aga Khan Foundation Canada for another tremendous World Partnership Walk and for its outstanding efforts in humanitarian work around the world.