Kyrie Irving Provides Funds For Much-Needed Solar Water Plant In Pakistan

Source: Steven Ryan / Getty

Kyrie Irving is often vilified for his behavior off the court, but one thing he deserves much praise for is always stepping up and helping those in need. Irving’s name has been the talk of social media mainly because he called out Nike and labeled his upcoming signature trash, claiming he had no input on the design or just recently parting ways with Roc Nation management, per Jordan Schultz. But that’s not what this story is focusing on. It’s about the craft guard’s philanthropic ways.

Wednesday (Jul.28) news hit Twitter timelines that Irving, through his KAI Family Foundation provided funds to help build a solar water plant in Pakistan. Irving’s much-needed donation was delivered to Tharparkar, a district in Pakistan’s Sindh province that is described as “one of the poorest parts of one of the world’s poorest countries in the world.” The district has suffered from drought for 17 straight years, and an estimated 87 percent of its 1.6 million people live below Pakistan’s poverty line. Nets Daily reports that Irving and his foundation teamed up with the Paani Project, a Michigan-based NGO with Pakistani roots, to help get the water plant to Rohal, one of the district’s poorest villages. According to the website, the water plant will serve 1000 villagers and supply electricity for lighting and fans at local schools and the mosque. It will also bless local children with hand lights to help them move around the village and avoid dangers like rattlesnakes and a small farm to help with food sustainability. The project was announced opened on Monday to commemorate the Muslim holy day EID. According to the Paani Project, Irving wanted no publicity for the move, but it went viral on social media just by luck.

“Kyrie has always been one of my favorite players. One day I was just scrolling online and came across his surreal track record of philanthropy. I was surprised to see how much work he’s done in Africa, the work he’s done for low-income communities, and work towards women’s empowerment,” Sonny Khan, a Pakistani-American who’s the founder and director of Paani Project, revealed.

“I reached out to his foundation directly and told them about Paani. How we have $0 in overhead costs. How we give all of our money to the people. How we record everything from start to finish. How we’ve raised over $1 million as volunteers without any money for marketing,” Khan continued.

“I think our story of being kids’ who just wanted to help resonated,” said Khan, a 22-year-old recent graduate of the University of Michigan.

Following the news going viral on social media, the official Twitter account for the Paani Project shared a video.

Twitter has been showering the Nets All-Star with plenty of praise for his recent act of kindness.

You can peep more reactions in the gallery below. — Photo: Steven Ryan / Getty