Collaborative charity gala raises money for water pumps

Authentic dancing, inspirational guest speakers and excellent food filled The Queens Hotel during a recent charity gala inspired by the cookbook ‘The Road from Karachi.’

The exceptional event, which took place on Friday 23 February at The Queens Hotel in Southsea, aimed to raise funds to install a further ten water pumps in underprivileged areas of the Middle East, Asia and Africa via UK-based relief charity One Nation.

A range of students from a variety of departments including Dance and Hair & Beauty alongside professional dancers, musicians and inspiring guest speakers joined over 85 attendees to celebrate food and culture whilst raising funds and awareness for such an important cause.

The event, which was hosted by HSDC lecturer Nadia Arab and founder of Mindset Maintenance Bianca Braithwaite, provided guests with the opportunity to delve deeper into the history of The Road from Karachi whilst also enjoying delicious curries made from recipes within the cookbook.

Nadia, who re-published her parent’s cookbook, The Road from Karachi 30 years after it was first published in 1987, has been the driving force behind raising money to install water pumps in deprived areas of the world and is one step closer to reaching her target of 100 water pumps.

Alongside learning about the history, partnerships and the wonderful work One Nation does, attendees also met Linda Moore who attended a cookery school set up by Nadia’s parents in the 1980s.

Linda’s daughter Fiona Moore, who was also in attendance said:

“I first met Nadia at Portsmouth Health Club and after chatting about The Road from Karachi, it was then made apparent that my mum had attended the cookery school in the 80s. Nadia had been on the lookout for those who had attended so to find out Mum was involved was great.

We are so happy to support this event – it has been such a lovely evening.”

Nadia, who also teaches Information and Technology at HSDC’s South Downs Campus added:

“The event was a beautiful collaboration between The Queens Hotel and the Road from Karachi with HSDC bringing wholesome talks, meaningful conversations and cultures infused with colours and food.”

The event was a huge success and raised enough money to fund twelve water pumps which are £150 each, exceeding the original goal of the evening and bringing the total number of water pumps funded by The Road from Karachi to 72. What an incredible achievement.

To find out more and to purchase the recipe book, visit here.