This is a direct family fund for Malala and her family run by four groups with deep personal and public ties to Malala and her family.
The international community has responded to this tragedy with wonderful and significant donations to non-profit organizations that support education in Pakistan.
But as Malala's family is currently overhwhelmed with her medical condition, we are gravely worried about the family, and their long-term rehabilitation and education costs— whether Malala survives or not.
MISSION STATEMENT: Malala and/or her father, Ziauddin, will receive the entirety of this fund for future healthcare and education costs for the family, and/or for them to allocate any portion of the fund to other non-profit organizations of their choice that support the cause Malala risked her life for: girls education in Pakistan. They could also deposit the funds in any initiative that they launch in the future in her name.
PURPOSE: We've known Malala for years, and we adore her. But we fear that the world's attention to her story may fade over time. So the purpose of this fund is to leverage support for the family during this urgent time while the world is captivated by her story. We fear that if her story fades over time, the family could be left, years or decades later, with a strained future.
WHO WE ARE- AND WHY YOU CAN TRUST US
1.) Shiza Shahid, a Pakistani woman who became close friends with Malala and her family after she saw The New York Times film about Malala in 2009, and responded by founding a summer camp for Malala and her classmates in Islamabad, as reported by CNN. She remains in close contact with the family.
2.) 20 Mid-Career students (from 15 different countries) currently studying at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. This group is co-chaired by two Harvard Kennedy School students. Rizwan Tufail, an Edward S. Mason Fellow originally from Pakistan who led Microsoft's education work in the Middle East and Africa Region (including Pakistan), and Thomas Blathwayt, a British international aid worker and student at the Kennedy School. They became motivated by Malala's story through their colleague, NYT journalist Adam B. Ellick, who first brought Malala to the outside world and he remains close friends with the family. This group has been following their colleague, currently at Harvard on academic leave from NYT, during his media appearances this week on CNN, BBC, NPR, etc...talking about his friendship with the family.
3.) Mariam Chughtai, a doctoral student from Pakistan at the Harvard Graduate School of Education studying religion in education in Pakistan. She is also the founding president of the Harvard Pakistan Student Group.
4.) A deeply concerned Pakistani-American couple: Hiraa Khan, a Masters of Public Policy candidate at UC Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy who has worked for Google Inc. and UNICEF, and Shoaib Makani, a venture capitalist at Khosla Ventures in San Francisco.
We encourage and welcome even the smallest donations.
Please contact us if you have any questions.
Additional Reading on Malala:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/09/my-small-video-star-fights-for-her-life/
http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/a-familys-journey-and-a-girls-dream/
http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/30/hotel-diplomacy-scenes-from-2009/
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2012/10/11/girls-education-pakistan
http://nyti.ms/Q2QyEu
