The Story Of Lala Maqsood
The team includes Mr. Lala Maqsood as the owner and investor of the welfare trust. He considers himself lucky. He feels lucky because he has experienced many perilous and challenging situations in his life, and yet, he always came out unscathed. One of those situations was when he found himself homeless, without a job, and hungry in New York City, just a few weeks after his arrival in the US. As he was walking down the street, asking God (whom he calls his ‘Computer Guy’) to give him work, any kind of work, he was approached by a complete stranger. The stranger, who had seemed to appear out of nowhere, only had to take one look at Lala’s face to state the obvious: “You look like you need a job.” Without hesitation, Lala answered: “Yes.” “Can you work in construction?” “Yes.” “Can you come to 21st Street, 30th Avenue tomorrow morning at 5AM?” “Yes.” The next morning, Lala showed up at 2AM. There was no reason to stay any longer under the bridge that was his habitation at that time. At 5AM on the dot, Lala was taken to the worksite. After four hours of straining labor, he felt faint from hunger and asked for an advance payment to get some food. It was granted. With a $20 bill in hand, Lala went to the closest deli, pointed -due to his limited English- to gyro and bread, and, even before the clerk could return his change, sank his teeth into the sandwich. Involuntarily, tears of gratitude streamed down Lala’s face. He tasted them along with the meal he had so desperately yearned for. This was the first of many incidents that eventually made Lala realize that “There is no need to worry. Everything will always be all right. Because God takes care of all of us. As long as we dream bigger, work harder, and believe.” The unwavering trust in this motto has changed Lala’s life. A life that started in Pakistan and has continued in the US, or, as Lala puts it: “Pakistan is my mother – I was born there. America is my father – I was raised there.” After many years in the US, Lala is now in a position to give back to people in need in his native Pakistan.