بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم

In the Name of God, The Most Gracious, The Ever Merciful

About Lahaute

Lahaute is a social justice initiative, serving some of the most disenfranchised communities in rural Pakistan.

Lahaute Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization incorporated under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code and all donations are fully tax deductible.

Our IRS Tax Identification Number is 26-4246821.

Our Mission

To do our part towards social justice, by serving the most disenfranchised of communities. To eradicate barriers to education for the rural children so they can uplift themselves morally, intellectually and socio-economically, in order to break away from various forms of inequities.

In advocating and acting for social justice, we will honor the Divine trust bestowed upon us all as one humanity, as being the custodians of this earth. 

Our Values

  • Act with compassion, generosity, and mercy.
  • Acknowledge foremost, the centrality of intentionality. Heart is the spiritual core. The true value of any human act is in its qualitative dimension.
  • Honor every being in its unique existence.
  • Hence every act, no matter how small, that stems from the intention to bring ease, is worth pursuing. 
  • Even if the effort exerted benefits a single being, it is no lesser in value than one that benefits an entire generation.

PONDER

Prophetic Wisdom

Prophet Mohammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“God will continue to support His servant,
till His servant continues to support His servants.”

Our philosophy

About the Name

The word ‘Lahaute’  (pronounced Lā-hūt | La-hoot)  is taken from an inspirational couplet of the 19th C poet-philosopher of the Sub-Continent, Allama Muhammad Iqbal. Although no translation can do justice to the beauty of any great poets, as with these words in Urdu (a language composite of Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit), we attempt to share its very basic sense.
The poet forewarns the high flying bird, the human soul, one who aspires for the highest spiritual station/state. Death is better, than any sustenance, that hinders it’s flight.
 We may highlight that the term rizq translated as ‘sustenance’ entails a vast semantic field with all the diverse ways a human being is sustained and revived from a most subtle feeling, thought to the most material needs like food.

Ibn al’Arabi in his text Fusus Al Hikam speaks of lahaute in terms of the Divine attributes in human beings, as opposed to nasut which are its animal attributes.  Iqbal appears to use the term lahaute in the same sense.  The high flying birds, are the people of moral beauty who are beings of the highest spiritual realm (or aspirant of it) and take their sustenance from the Divine Love.
In this sense, the aspiration of a human being ultimately is to elevate the self by beautifying the soul with Divine attributes such as compassion, generosity, and mercy.  The name ‘Lahaute’ is a reminder of this potentially magnificent transformational journey that transcends this life.

Our team constitutes of many friends. Sharing a few in the team so you may know some when you want to connect.

Lubna grayscale(1) copy

Lubna Saira

Founder

Lubna founded Lahaute more than a decade ago. It is both a personal, and a professional journey that eventually took the form of a non-profit organization.  
As a social entrepreneur, who transitioned from being a designer in Los Angeles, her direct experiences from designing, marketing, and manufacturing for US designer brands, gave her insights into the lives of the disenfranchised, especially women in Pakistan.   Transitioning into the role of a social entrepreneur, she also gained insight into the ethical dilemmas and human rights issues that mar the apparel industry. This includes both international designer brands and local manufacturers who perpetuate inequities and violate human rights. This necessitated that a different path be forged that has humanity at its center.

These ethical dilemmas led her to Prof. Abou El Fadl, a prolific human rights lawyer and the chair of Islamic Studies at UCLA.  Her pursuit of graduate degrees in Islamic studies and in Philosophy has furthered her understanding of the why and how of the mechanisms of social injustices, that are perpetuated in our times with roots in human history. The moral domain remains Lubna’s research interest, and the practical application of her lived experiences and knowledge find fulfillment through foundation’s initiatives towards social justice.

M. Ibrahim. K

Social Media Lead

Ibrahim is a wise young man, attending university, who has been an important part of the foundation’s journey since its inception. From a very young age, he has participated in a number of endeavors to further our cause.  He has been a face of Lahaute at various events, actively promoting causes, answering people’s questions with great confidence and zeal.  We are hopeful that his academic pursuit will further his activism. 

Omar Mian

Director

Omar is the kind of person who keeps it all together and ensures our welfare programs continue.  Always level headed, wise and patient, there is no situation that will bring him to a state of despair.  Always with a positive outlook, he acts as the anchor of our organization.
Senior software engineer for Oracle by profession, Omar has a successful approximately 30 year career with some of the major software companies in the US.
Omar believes that the IT industry has a major role to play in Pakistan’s development and the prosperity of its people. Hence, a program is in the works to contribute toward leveraging IT in the non-profit sector.

Omar continues to dedicate his time to the management of the foundation and takes pleasure in every step towards the fulfillment of it’s objectives, and delights in seeing the fruits of our collective efforts  such as the joy of children of village in rural Sindh upon receiving books, bags and colored pencils, for the first time in their lives. 

Foundation work is not work but life itself.


Aurangzeb Farrukh

Country Head

Aurangzeb is the country head for Pakistan.  He is the founder of an IT company that has designed a management connectivity platform that has the potential, not only to bridge the gaps of Pakistan’s largest telecommunication companies but has the agility to be used for various different industries including the non-profit sector in the country. His people’s skills and sincerity give him the edge.  His ability to connect with people from all walks and foster long-term relationships with our local partners makes him an asset. Aurangzeb has visited several remote areas to further foundation’s initiatives.

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