HDF DMV Network Gala 2026

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The evening

Program

How the evening of 19 September ran.

6:00 PM
Doors open
Registration, arrival and appetizers. Gaithersburg Marriott, Salons A–G.
7:00 PM
Opening video
7:05 PM
Welcome and HDF's program
Tehmina — an overview of the work, with videos from the villages.
7:15 PM
Keynote — Dr. Azra Raza
8:00 PM
The appeal
Tehmina, Sajid Tarar and Dr. Atiya on what the evening would fund, and how to give from your phone.
8:22 PM
A message from HDF CEO Saman Islam
8:29 PM
Dua — Faraz
8:33 PM
Donor awards, then dinner
Five plaques, followed by dinner.
9:30 PM
Trivia and Iman's speech
Dr. Naghmana and Iman.
9:45 PM
Sherry Raza performs

The network

On the ground with HDF

Members of the DMV Network visiting HDF schools and clinics in Pakistan.

DMV Network members outside an HDF secondary school for girls

Network members visiting an HDF classroom

Watch

Opening video 2026

Three and a half minutes on the villages this network supports and the year behind us.

HDF's integrated village model

Five programs, one model

In each village HDF works through a community-elected village development organization, so the same community that plans the work also runs it. Five strands, one plan.

Education

Primary schools in all three villages — 936 enrolled at the latest count — with 21 scholarships and a secondary school under way in Gurdas.

Health

Mobile medical unit services in all three villages, with maternal health indicators reported across all three.

Water & sanitation

Water filtration plants functional in all three villages; five more hand pumps needed in Gurdas.

Livelihoods

Four microenterprises running — two in Gurdas, two in Walio Kohli.

Community organisation

Three community-elected village development organizations, one per village, that own the plan.

Why it matters

Three villages, one model

HDF works through village organizations that plan and run the work themselves. Gurdas, Khair Muhammad and Walio Kohli are the three this network supports.

1,116

students enrolled, 2025 reporting

936

students enrolled, latest reporting

scholarships awarded, 20 of them in Gurdas

village organizations, water plants and mobile clinics

microenterprises running in Gurdas and Walio Kohli

The 2025 figure (731 Gurdas + 186 Khair Muhammad + 199 Walio Kohli = 1,116) and the latest figure (551 + 186 + 199 = 936) reflect different reporting periods or definitions. They are not a year-over-year decline and should not be read as one.

The villages

Where the money goes

Gurdas

Mardan

551enrolled

100% net primary enrollment. Secondary-school infrastructure and five more hand pumps are the 2026 priorities.

Khair Muhammad

Karachi

186enrolled

100% net primary enrollment. The priority is holding access and carrying students into secondary school.

Walio Kohli

Tando Muhammad Khan

199enrolled

91% net primary enrollment, in a village that has grown by nearly a third in six years.

From the field

See the villages

Filmed in Gurdas, Khair Muhammad and Walio Kohli. Tap to play; sound on.

Mardan

Gurdas

Karachi

Khair Muhammad

Tando Muhammad Khan

Walio Kohli

Gurdas

Secondary school, under construction

Access→Continuity→Opportunity

The challenge is no longer getting children into school. It is helping them stay, progress, and picture a future beyond the village. 2025 built the foundation; 2026 is continuity, infrastructure and opportunity.

Why the need keeps growing

Walio Kohli, 2019 to 2025

Every one of these people needs schooling, water, healthcare and a livelihood.

Households

72→94

+22 · +31%

Female population

185→260

+75 · +41%

Male population

161→195

+34 · +21%

Total population

346→455

+109 · +32%

Growth on this scale raises demand for education, water, health, housing and livelihoods at the same time. 2026 priorities across the three villages: water access (5 hand pumps, Gurdas) · housing & WASH improvements · maintain MMU outreach · expand microenterprise · protect education continuity as children advance.

Three students

What it looks like in one child's year

Zaib-un-Nisa

Khair Muhammad

Entered HDF in Grade 2 with significant Urdu-literacy barriers. Now in Grade 6, ranking first in her class and competing in English speeches, spelling bees, debate and drawing.

Khais Muhammad Riyaz

Gurdas

Supported through HDF's Orphan Support Scholarship. Despite severe family hardship, he has become an engaged learner active in academics and school life.

Meera

Walio Kohli

Completed Grade 5 at HDF and carried on to The Citizens Foundation. She is now studying at matriculation level.

Stories of hope

The people behind the numbers

From across HDF's programs in Pakistan.

Highlight of the year

Aqsa Bano — CSS Top 6 nationwide

One of nine siblings from a village in Rahim Yar Khan. Started at HDF Girls High School, Basti Khandoo; HDF scholarships and mentoring carried her into the Pakistan Administrative Service.

Education

Zara — 3rd among female candidates, BISE Bahawalpur 2026

Lost her father at two. Began at HDF's community school in Basti Habibullah; with fee support and the Dr. Abdus Salam Scholarship she scored 1,088 / 1,200.

Education

Salman — from a village classroom to UET Lahore

Free HDF schooling from Nursery to Grade 5 after losing his father; merit admission to the Danish School; now studying Mechanical Engineering.

Health

Ruqiya Amjad — from seeking help to becoming a helping hand

A widow from Ainu Bhatti supported by HDF's Family Support Program, she trained as a Sehat Saheli and recognised a post-surgical emergency in time to save a neighbour's life.

Water

Naheed — water at our doorstep

Her family of seven walked to the next village for water every day. An HDF hand pump at their door gave Naheed her time back for school.

Livelihood

Abbas — skills into a sustainable livelihood

Chronic illness ended his daily-wage work. An HDF repair toolkit let him open a workshop with his son; they now earn PKR 18,000–27,000 a month.

What we funded

Five projects, three villages

These are the projects the 2026 gala was raising for, and they still need funding. Tap one to attach it to your gift.

Total to fund$233,533

Give to this project

What your giving did

Update from our 2025 events

Last year this community raised the money, and the work followed. Here is where it stands.

raised by the DMV Network community, 2023 to 2025

gross raised in 2025

net to the mission in 2025

students' annual fees sponsored for a year at Ainu Bhatti, from one Iftar gift

raised for Gurdas school land — goal met, construction tendered

2023 – 2025

$516,617 raised across three years of events

Sustained giving from this room, year after year.
Iftar 2025 · Ainu Bhatti

One donor, one full year of fees for 500+ studentsDone

Adam Hingoro sponsored annual fees for the majority of the 803 students at HDF's Ainu Bhatti school.
2025 · Gurdas Pur, Mardan

$100,000 to secure land for a girls' secondary schoolRaised

Shared as a need at last year's event; fully funded by this community. The expansion will serve 300 more students.
January 2026

Construction tender publishedUnder way

HDF issued a formal tender (Ref. HDF/ISB/HO/EDU/JAN/2026) in the Mashriq newspaper for the new school building in Village Gurdas Kallay, District Mardan.
Ongoing · Walio Kohli

School running on $27,000 a year

HDF continues to operate the village school; Gurdas Pur's school runs on $57,600 a year.
19 September 2026

Five projects, $233,533 — $229,939 raised

Continuity, infrastructure, clean water and opportunity for Gurdas, Khair Muhammad and Walio Kohli.

Since 1997

HDF at a glance

Helping people help themselves — across education, health, water and livelihoods in Pakistan.

children enrolled

HDF schools

community health centers

patients treated

handpumps & RO plants installed

dams constructed

technical & vocational trainees

food packages, ration & zakat

Map of HDF's geographical footprint across Pakistan

2026