AA Labels helps families in Pakistan to access clean water

British label converter AA Labels has made a major donation as part of its charity activities by installing a water treatment plant outside the free health clinic the company runs in Lahore, Pakistan.

British label converter AA Labels has made a major donation as part of its charity activities by installing a water treatment plant outside the free health clinic the company runs in Lahore, Pakistan.

The project involved drilling 500 feet through bedrock to the water table, installing a filtration system and 10,000-liter dispensing tank, which supplies water to four collection points at the front of the property. Demand is already exceeding expectation, with 140,000 liters of water per week and rising, currently being dispensed and collected by local residents.

The project has been completed and fully funded by by Medicaid Action, a charity established in the UK by AA Labels’ owner, Sohail Sethi, who was born in the UK, but spent part of his childhood living with his family in Lahore. The charity primarily funds the Sakina Al-Shifa Clinic, set up by AA Labels in 2009 to provide free medical care to local people in Lahore who cannot afford private health care.

‘While visiting the AA Labels offices in Lahore earlier this year, I became aware of an issue regarding the supply of water to homes in the locality,’ said Sohail Sethi, owner of AA Labels. ‘Water is not always piped to properties, requiring people to walk considerable distances to collect it from government installed standpipes. These are only drilled to 300 feet and often provide water that is unclean and a direct cause of many of the patient ailments being seen by doctors and nurses at the clinic.

‘Providing improved access to clean water became a priority to help ease patient loads at the clinic. The installation has been completed at the right time, as access to clean water will also make hand washing easier and help to reduce the spread of coronavirus in the local area.’

Imran Bashir, practice manager at Sakina Al-Shifa clinic, added: ‘I have been with this charity for seven years and I have seen it grow from serving less than 300 patients a month to 10,000 patients a month. This latest project, the drilling, construction and provision of clean drinking water to the local communities is an incredible development and will benefit the health of residents enormously and reduce the treatment of minor ailments from water borne diseases.’

AA Labels now plans to provide additional funds for a generator, second water-storage and dispensing tank to maintain a clean water supply in-line with demand.

Read more our AA Labels as well as its charity activities in Issue 6, 2019.