The lamp lighting ceremony of the School of Nursing at the Aga Khan University Karachi was held here where over a 100 young nursing students lit lamps to uphold the tradition set by the pioneer of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale.
Andrea Baumann, Associate Vice-President, Faculty of Health Sciences and Co- Director, Nursing Services Research Unit, McMaster University School of Nursing, Ontario, Canada, was the Chief guest on the occasion. The ceremony was attended largely by faculty members of the School of Nursing (AKU), nursing professionals from other institution, nursing students, and their families.
The occasion, 26th in line, marks the induction of nurses for the BSc.N programme of nursing education. The lamp lighting was initiated by the Dean of the School of Nursing, Dr. Yasmeen Amarsi who held out her lamp for the students to light theirs with.
Addressing the audience later, Jacqueline Dias, Director, Diploma Programme of Nursing, said that in Islam, the tradition of nursing was as old as the religion itself. She narrated the contribution of the first Muslim nurse, Rufaid Al-Aslamiya to the profession and pointed out under what difficult circumstances she carried out her work. “She existed even before Florence Nightingale and was a remarkably strong person. She not only devoted her life to minimise the suffering of her people and heal them but also motivated others to join this progressive force. She was a wonderful leader and organiser,” she said.
The chief guest, in her address, congratulated the students and emphasised that the ceremony marked not only the end of junior years for them but also exposed them to the challenge of the practical field.
Two students were given special acknowledgement and an award for outstanding performances. Komal Kiran and Afroz Sajwani were rewarded for obtaining second position in the SBEN and highest GP in the 2006 batch respectively.
One of the students, while expressing her feeling at the occasion said that a nurse’s job could be challenging but it never was boring. We learn to respect the differences of religion, individuals, and uphold their confidentiality and endurance at the same time. The 31 students of BScN and 69 of the diploma programme of nursing took their oath following the ceremony.
The lamp lighting ritual is carried out by the students at the start of their second year of education here.
Ismailimail 
This article is emblematic of the assertion that knowledge, wherever it is acquired, belongs to everybody and should be shared by everybody. The following excerpts by Mowlana Hazar Imam reflect this idea very well:
“It (Surah of Light from the Quran) tells us that the oil of the blessed olive tree lights the lamp of understanding, a light that belongs neither to the East nor West. We are to give this light to all. In that spirit, all that we learn will belong to the world and that too is part of the vision I share with you.” (Speech 25 Sept. 1979)
“The truth, as the famous Islamic scholars repeatedly told their students, is that the spirit of disciplined, objective enquiry is the property of no single culture, but of all humanity. To quote the great physician and philosopher, Ibn Sina: “My profession is to forever journeying, to travel about the universe so that I may know all its conditions.” [Speech 16 March 1983]
Taken from:
http://easynash.blogspot.com/2007/02/129quotes-of-aga-khan-4-consolidated.html
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