After his two years at Petaro as an N-Cadet (1976-78), Naeem joined Pakistan Navy and got his commission in 1981. As a lieutenant, he chose to take early retirement on medical ground and decided to go into private service. He joined Emba Corporation in Karachi to get into sales and marketing of electrical equipment. Subsequently, he moved on to Makkah in Saudi Arabia where he worked in the same field. During the course of  his stay in Makkah, he had a slip disc which led to a state of immobility. He performed his last Umrah on a wheelchair there before returning to Pakistan. He made a promise to Allah that he would enter into welfare work in Pakistan if the Almighty would bring him back on his feet.

This was the turning point in his life. As he recovered, Naeem kept his promise and joined LRBT (Layton Rehmatullah Benevolent Trust) in 1990 – an important NGO in Pakistan providing free eye treatment to the poor – where he was exposed to charitable work and a greater desire to serve humanity.

He then moved on to join Imran Khan’s SKMT (Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust) as the General Manager for the Karachi region. Among his contributions to SKMT was the acquisition of a 20 acre piece of land to build a hospital in Karachi, and 2,275 sq yds of land from DHA as a donation to build a Diagnostic Centre. During his tenure, he raised over Rs. 2 billion from Karachi its for the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital over a period of 10 years. This was a great learning period for him where hundreds and thousands of people suffering from cancer were treated. Truly the real cure comes from Allah alone. But at the same time, man must also make his own efforts and Allah rewards him for it.

While he worked for SKMT, he continued to support other charitable organizations as well. He worked for the following purely on a volunteer basis:

• Adviser to the Islamic Mission Hospital Trust
• Member Executive Committee of Eye Care Society of Pakistan (JPMC)
• Adviser to Feroza Hashim Foundation
• Adviser to Fundraisers for R.E.A.D. Foundation
• Member, S.O.S. Villages
• Adviser to the Petarian Foundation

Other philanthropists who sought out Naeem’s services included the late legendary film star Mohammed Ali who wanted to establish a kidney transplant centre in Lahore, late Hakim Saeed who shared ideas on establishment of a Women’s college in Madinat-ul-Hikmat. The Governor of Sindh recommended to the Sindh Health Dept to utilize Naeem’s expertise for betterment of conditions of the poor in Sindh.

Naeem was thus blessed by Allah where he devoted himself to the service of mankind. After great thought and an internal desire to do even more, he made his next move. He left a very highly paid job with SKMT to start an NGO that would aim to do a lot more for the poor children. Naeem established and started CHAEF – Children Health and Education Foundation in 2003.

The primary objective of CHAEF is to work in the fields of health and education. In this regard, within this short period of time, CHAEF has done wonders.

• Providing free treatment for common diseases
• Diagnosing deadly diseases at an early stage
• Utilizing state of the art technology for early diagnosis
• Providing medical consultation, medicines and laboratory tests free of charge
• Establishment of vocational training centres for girls
• Imparting free technical education to the under-privileged
• Providing primary and secondary school education free of cost

Many prominent Pakistanis and companies have come forth to recognize his work and have provided monetary and other support to CHAEF.

Syed Naeemul Hassan received a shield of honour awarded by Amnesty International at a meeting held on August 22, 2006 at Rawalpindi in recognition of his enormous contribution in the field of social welfare and society’s development. Ms. Latimer Hodgson, Regional Director, Amnesty International, Mr. Thomas McDermott, Representative UNICEF, Mr. Imran Khan, Chairman, Shaukat Khannum Memorial Trust, Mr. Saeed Ahmed Qureshi, Chairman, Pakistan Red Crescent Society, Mr. Fayyaz ur Rehman, President, Amnesty International-Pakistan were also present. Amnesty International also awarded their membership.

He has also been a very staunch Petarian, and has contributed greatly towards the growth of the Petarian Association and the Petarian Foundation.

Syed Naeemul Hassan, is the Patron in Chief of Shaheen T B Foundation, Lahore, Shaheen T. B. Foundation has been working and rendering Free services for the T. B. patients through their two T. B. Healthcare Centres since last 18 years and so far so diagnosed, treated and medicated thousand of T. B. patients absolutely Free of charges and now the Shaheen T. B. Foundation under the leadership of    Syed Naeemul Hassan establishing full fledge T. B. Hospital at Lahore.

Syed Naeemul Hassan told me that the idea of providing Free Primary Healthcare Services to the poor and needy came to mind in 1989 and a proposal was submitted to Mian Nawaz Sharif then Prime Minister of Pakistan. The proposal was appreciated and was forwarded to the concerned department but was not implemented. He therefore decided to move forward and formed Children Health & Education Foundation (CHAEF) a NPO which started operation in September 2003.

The objective of the Foun0dation was based on the premise that large Specialty Hospitals were being built at exorbitant cost to manage end-stage Diseases whereas at a fraction of a cost these very diseases could have been detected prevented and treated in a Primary care facility. This was based on his over 22 years of experience at the LRBT and Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital where blindness could have been prevented and cancer could have been  treated had it been detected earlier at an extremely low cost at a Primary Care Centre. Convinced with this idea he developed  a vision of establishing these much needed Primary Health Care Centers all over Pakistan so as to  Provide Free Consultation, Diagnoses, Treatment and  Medication for common ailments which if left undetected or untreated at the initial stages can lead to kidney failure, terminal Cancer, Blindness, Heart Disease, the list is endless. A unique model was established to provide (at the same premises) Educational activities in the morning, Vocational Training in the afternoon and Healthcare in the evening.

With the support of well wishers and supporters like you the vision has, now become a reality. Over 8000 diseases of patients daily are being  treated with the help of 142 Heath and Education activities in Balochistan, Sindh, Punjab, &  Khayber Pakhtunkhwa, receiving free Consultations, Diagnostic Test that include Ultrasound Facility Mother & Child Healthcare and quality Medication (to date in a short span of 9 Years a  total  number of over 9.5 million diseases of patients have been  treated with medication) The schools are laying special emphasis on Computer training and English Language skills besides providing basic education to all the residents of these deprived areas mostly Katchi Abadises of Pakistan.

In his ten years hard work and dedicated services and support he has successfully achieved the following medical treatment of the patients in the history of Pakistan in very limited resources.

Performance of CHAEF since September 2003 to March – 2012.

Mother & Child Gynecological Diseases                              955,381

Healthcare (MCH Pregnancy related diseases               1,050,920

Ultrasound                                                                                  476,691

Laboratory Test                                                                          478,691

Patients referred to specialized hospital                               573,229

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Total diseases of Patients treated & medicated                 9,553,818

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It is a real honour to have known Naeem and be associated with him.