Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has recognised Hamza Farrukh, representing Pakistan, as the 129th Commonwealth Points of Light in honour of his exceptional voluntary service providing clean water to local communities in Pakistan.
Farrukh, currently living in the UK, runs a charitable project ‘Bondh-E-Shams’ (droplets of sunshine) which is serving over 45,000 people across 13 remote Pakistani villages.
Hamza began Bondh-E-Shams’ as a college project in March 2014, focusing on one particular Pakistani village. He was then awarded further funding to set up the charity, which has now provided over 10 million cups of water to people in remote communities in Pakistan through an environmentally friendly, solar-powered water extraction and filtration system.
Hamza Farrukh said: “At Bondh E Shams, we have promised to take on the global water crisis: lack of access to safe water in large swaths of developing nations is symptomatic of the numerous structural disadvantages faced by the global south. My team and I realise the responsibility we have towards the 1.2 billion people who go to bed thirsty each night, and are dedicated to this lifelong fight. “Bondh E Shams has leveraged the power of smart-tech and I-o-T in our flagship solution called the “Oasis Box:” a transportable, solar-powered water filtration unit that removes 99.99% of water contamination and can be installed in under a record 7 minutes, anywhere in the world. I dedicate this award to my exceptional team, our partner non-profits and my family who have supported me unconditionally. I find this award as motivation to continue our work and reach thousands more in water-stressed communities – thank you again for this honour.” The British High Commissioner, Dr Christian Turner, CMG, welcomed the news of Hamza Farrukh’s award. He said: “Hamza Farrukh has shown exceptional leadership and ingenuity in helping to provide safe drinking water to tens of thousands of Pakistanis. I look forward to congratulating him in person at the British High Commission, on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen, in Islamabad when he is next in Pakistan.”
