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Dr. Roy Oyangen, DMD - Dentist Roy Oyangen - Roy Oyangen, DMD oyangendmd.com | Shehzad Jinnah, M.D. - Oak Street Medical oakstreetmedical.com | Buffalo Medical Group :: Shehzad S. Merchant, MD buffalomedicalgroup.com | Roy Balantac hcdb.k12.hi.us |
Shehzad Roy (Urdu: شہزاد رائے) is pop singer and humanitarian from Karachi, Pakistan. Since his first album debuted in 1995, with a revolutionary approach to fusing his lyrics with music of different genres, he has been a successful and popular singer in Pakistan. He says that, “the authenticity of the message in a song produces meaningful music.” With five hit albums under his belt, including the 2008 Qismat Apney Haath Mein (Fate Lies in One’s Own Hands), he is also the President and founder of Zindagi Trust, a non-profit charitable organization, that seeks to educate the underprivileged children of Pakistan. In June 2004, Roy was honored as one of the youngest ever recipient of the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, which is one of the highest Civil Honors awarded in Pakistan for excellence in serving humanity. For his organization’s earthquake rehabilitation in Kashmir, he was awarded the Sitara-e-Eisaar. He was also selected to be a torch bearer for the 2008 Olympic Torch relay as the pride of Pakistan.
[edit] BiographyRoy was born on February 16, 1977 in Karachi, Pakistan. He made his debut in music in 1995 with his first album Zindagi. At the time, he was only in grade 11. Even though he went on to get a Bachelors in Commerce, it was clear to him that music was going to be his career. From a young age, he was struck by the huge class divide in Pakistan's society. When his cousins would visit from overseas, they would ask him why the street children were not in school studying. Roy of course did not have an answer. It pained him to see these young children who had no future and who were never going to break free of poverty. Determined to help these children, he established a non- government organization, Zindagi Trust, in 2002. The organization's objective was to provide quality education to the underprivileged children of Pakistan. Roy uses the proceeds from his own concerts to fund Zindagi Trust. [edit] Zindagi TrustRoy has dedicated his life to the establishment of Zindagi Trust, the non-for-profit charity helping the underprivileged children of Pakistan. He uses the proceeds from his concerts to fund the trust's operations. Zindagi Trust was founded in 2002. Its first program was called I-am-paid-to-learn. In this program, the team would identify a locality that contained a number of working children who were not going to school. The trust would then set up a small school in the same area so that it was in walking distance from the children’s' homes. They were then paid Rs. 20 to come to school daily. This stipend was to compensate for the wages they would have earned during those same school hours. A number of checks were placed on the students- if they did not do their homework, they would not get paid; if they misbehaved in class, they would not get paid; and other such restrictions. In this way, it was ensured that the same parents that previously did not send their children to school, were now forcing them to do homework and behave in class. Even though the program was touted as successful, Roy soon realized that he won't be able to bring all the street children into “I am paid to learn schools” and this initiative, even at its best, would be a mere drop in the ocean. He wanted to do something that would educate the masses instead of just a few thousands. In Pakistan, there is a very pronounced disparity within the quality of education. There are those posh, private schools, which cater to the privileged few in the population, and then there are public schools which for less privileged masses. They cannot afford to send their children to posh, private schools. Hence their only option is free, public schooling. Unfortunately, the public schooling system in Pakistan has completely collapsed. The school culture, from kindergarten to grade 10, has become one of rote learning, cheating, bribery and many other vices. So even after students spend 10 years in a public school, they have no critical thinking skills and often can not even write a letter in Urdu, their own mother tongue. Despite large sums of money having been spent by the government and international organizations, education in Pakistan has not changed for the past 61 years. This is because all previous educational initiatives have tended to focus on more schools rather than better schools, and on the recruitment of more teachers or better teachers rather than on improving teaching content and teaching methods. As a result, there has been very little visible improvement in the management practices, in the quality of textbooks, quality of teaching and credibility of public examination. In 2006, Zindagi Trust and Bookgroup (our partner organization that provides Urdu Textbooks) adopted SMB Fatima Jinnah girls government school in Karachi, Pakistan. Adoption is a legal process whereby the government temporarily transfers the management of a public school to a NGO. The objective was to turn this public school into a centre of excellence and then push the government to replicate this model in all public schools of Pakistan. Zindagi Trust started with civil works. Even though this public school was termed as one of the city's "best", it was in an appalling condition. The school grounds were being rented out in the evenings for private parties and other functions. The food remains would, in turn, attract dogs and rodents. In fact when the trust went for it's initial inspection, they found a decaying dog body in the kindergarten room. The school water lines were mixed up with the sewage line. There were heaps and heaps of garbage and some walls were on the verge of collapse. Usually when NGOs adopt a public school or even open a private school, they only go as far as bringing about physical changes, that is, they only change the hardware. It is about time that we realize that even though hardware is a problem in public schools, it is small compared to the problem of software. Currently, all public schools have to use government textbooks that are several decades old. There has not been any research and development in the content of these books for many, many years. As a result, the same material that was being taught to our fathers is now being taught to us. The books are dull, with unattractive layouts, and encourage memorization. For the first time in the history of Pakistan, Zindagi Trust replaced these out-dated textbooks with thought- provoking and imaginative textbooks. Our partner organization, Bookgroup, has authored the Urdu textbooks that we use at the school. The trust has introduced a UK- based math program called New Heinenmann Maths. English is now being taught through phonics which uses both sights and sounds to help a child read. These are just a few of the measures that have been taken to reform the school's academics. Our teachers have drastically improved their performance. The same teachers who came late everyday are now well prepared for class everyday and are taking an interest in their student’s performance. Significant turnaround has been seen in students’ test results and their critical thinking skills. The point is that once you set a standard, everyone has to step up their game. What Zindagi Trust has done in government schools has never been done before in public schools. And it has set the standard for what a public school should look like. The success of this school has put a lot of pressure on the Sindh Government to replicate this model on a larger scale. [edit] Music CareerAs Roys’s humanitarian reach grew, so did the tone of his songs. He went from mainly singing romantic songs to songs that reflected social issues. In 2007, Shehzad Roy came out with a musical collaboration between him and queen of Sufi soul, Abida Parveen. Previously , she has never collaborated with any other musician on any project and this is also her first proper music video to date. In 2008 Roy came out with a bang with the release of his socio-political defiant album, Qismat Apnay Haat Mein, (Fate Lies in One’s Own Hands) that he launched at the Karachi Juvenile Prison at Central Jail, in July 2008. He underscored the need to rehabilitate Pakistan’s justice system that ignores the pitiable conditions of many prisoners, most of whom have spent many years in jail just waiting on their court hearing. In order to promote cross-border cultural exchange with India, he sang a hit duet with Indian singer Sukhbir in 2005. To promote cultural awareness through music, Shehzad Roy brought Bryan Adams to Pakistan for a charity concert to aid the victims of the tragic October 2005 earthquake. Bryan Adams commended Shehzad Roy for his efforts in education. Adams also pointed out that one need not look for inspiration elsewhere when it came to material for music, as there was so much to write and sing about right here in Pakistan. [edit] Qismet Apnay Haath Mein in 2008While too many musicians in Pakistan seem content to skirt over issues of socio-political importance, treading the same dregs of human emotion again and again. However, after the boisterous Saali, Shehzad Roy has decided to pen an album of tracks that has more than its fair share of swipes at the current elites in charge of the nation. Qismet Apnay Haath Mein has generated a substantial amount of hype and fanfare for the seemingly controversial material embedded within the album. Of the songs on the album, Laga Reh, is a stark commentary on the way our nation is run, with the usual Shehzad Roy manner of song; lots of jovial guitar riffs running around coupled with bhangra-esque percussion. Shehzad Roy’s method of tackling issues of political and social importance in his music differs however from those of, say, Rage Against the Machine. Surprisingly, his commentary is deft and full of sarcastic quips, rather than an outright attack on the institutions in our country. This is evidenced in the other significant politically-charged track on the album, the title track, Qismet Apnay Haath Mein. Throughout the album Roy is lyrically in fine form, chucking interesting turns of phrase left, right and centre with aplomb..[1] [edit] Albums
[edit] Awards & Recognitions
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