By Rimsha Ali Shah
Decorated with smiles, chatter, and giggles, the Pakistan-American Cultural Center was alive and full of pleasant nostalgia on the evening of April 16, 2016. Despite the humidity encapsulating Karachi that evening, alumni from across Sindh and Gwadar decided that “the show must go on!” The Sinder (Sindh – Gwadar) Reunion brought together over 500 alumni from Jamshoro, Karachi, Gwadar and Sukkur.
Faisal Malik, Country President of the Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network (PUAN) applauded his team of volunteer alumni who had tirelessly worked to make the reunion happen. From success stories of alumni who had commendably completed their alumni small grants supported projects, to unearthing the hidden talent through a game of tongue twisters, to a super energetic musical performance by renowned pop musician Salim Javed, Sinder enabled reconnections and new connections to form amongst the alumni present.
U.S. Acting Consul General, Chad Peterson, addressing the alumni at Sinder
U.S. Acting Consul General, Chad Peterson, appreciated the work of the exchange alumni including the various alumni small grant projects, chapter and community service activities. He said, “The work you do is making a real difference in peoples’ lives by building bridges and strengthening ties.”
Hamza Yousaf, an alumnus of the Cultural Immersion Program who successfully completed his alumni small grant project “Cyclone” and Samreen Ghauri, an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) who completed her alumni small grant project on “Rise of Community Journalism” spoke about the process of applying for the grant and project execution in Karachi and Lahore, respectively. All alumni of various U.S. government sponsored exchange programs in Pakistan are eligible to apply for the grant of up to $5,000 USD to enable them to give back to their communities.
Chapter leaders also took this opportunity to share their own chapter success stories and alumni-led activities. The entertainment committee lightened the evening with a tongue-twister competition.
Bakhtawar Khan, an alumna of the English Micro-scholarship Access Program noted, “I found ‘Sinder16’ absolutely amazing! I had a phenomenal time catching up with the old alumni and getting to know the new lot.”
The evening ended with Pakistani pop star, Salim Javed, energizing the crowd with his electrifying performance of pop and folk music.
Deepak Kumar, an alumnus of the Global Undergraduate Semester Exchange Program and the current Youth Group Director of Karachi Chapter said, “From the planning of the event till its execution, my experience of the Sinder reunion was amazing. The memorable parts for me are the brain storming sessions with committee heads which led to different creative ideas, the excellent leadership team especially Faisal Malik, and the concert by Salim Javed which added energy to the evening. I had a great time and want to thank PUAN Karachi Chapter for making it a memorable event!”
To check out photographs from the reunion, click here.
