A glimpse into the Life of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III — Page 6
The very first international scheme he launched at Rab- wah was the Fazl-i-Umar Foundation which was charged with several types of activities. One of its more ambitious pro- grammes was the institution of scholarships and research awards bestowed annually for outstanding research. Starting with a small fund, this Foundation has now become a pro- minent feature of our Community, but considerations of space forbid me from going into the details of the present programme undertaken by the Foundation, which includes the building of a commodious guest house at Rabwah now completed. Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad is the first Khalifa who has travelled widely outside the sub-continent of India. This travel- ling has bridged the gap and has knit the community together into one unit under a strong Centre. He has made five trips to Europe~in 1967, 1970, 1973, 1975 and 1976. During his West African tour in 1970, at Gambia, Almighty God instilled into his mind another grand scheme. The people of Africa had for centuries suffered persecution under the yoke of colonialism and it was time to liberate them by illumining the Dark Continent through the divine lighi: of Islam. The Scheme, known as the Nusrat J ehan Fund, was launched through an announcement made in the Mahmud Hall, London and has been directed towards the establishment of schools, hos- pitals, clinics and broadcasting stations in Africa. I still dis- tinctly remember when Hazrat asked me personally to ensure, that before he left the United Kingdom, a week later, a sum of £10,000. 00 should be deposited in a separate bank account. Knowing fully the financial ability and position of the U. K. " mmunity', I frankly admitted the hopelessness of the mam- moth task and said that I felt, that the target could not be achieved. Huzur told me that this was a divine mission and that God would ensure its success. Anyway, I made my modest efforts and lo and behold those poor people of whose financial sacrifices. I had some apprehension began to pay in their contributions. By the end of the week, and before Huzur departed, I reported to Hurnr that the sum of £10,000 had been deposited in the bank. This three-year scheme went on to an 6