Despite the hardship of village life in Pakistan, where there is often a lack of motivation to study and people cannot afford to be too ambitious due to poverty, he was inspired by a teacher to pursue his education as far as he could and he managed to graduate from the Alamo Equable Medical College in Lahore. He completed his FRCS in Ireland and then trained as a Urological Surgeon in England.

Dr. Awan always felt that something should be given back to the area where he studied and grew up. In his village of Pindi Hashim, Kharian, there is a high percentage of people living in poverty and consequently ill health. He returned to his village with a dream to build a welfare hospital. His family donated land and with support from his friends he commenced a project to make the hospital a reality on the 9th April 1999.

The hospital opened in June 2003 and is currently not an in- patient hospital but treats patients in clinics and day surgery. Mr Awan's elderly parents and nine younger brothers and sisters and their families still live in the poverty-stricken area.

Determined to bring basic healthcare to the people at home he formed the Hashim Welfare Hospital Appeal to realise his dream. Many people and organisations have supported this work. The hospital now serves 100 villages surrounding Pindi Hashim, Kharian.

The Hashim Welfare Hospital Appeal is now a UK registered charity and you can help support the development and ongoing activities of the hospital by making a donation via this site .

The Hashim Welfare Association has been set up, locally in Pakistan, to manage the affairs of the hospital.