Bilehdhoo constituency MP Ahmed Mubeen said that it was only Gasim Ibrahim, the founder of Villa Foundation and the leader of the Jumhooree Party who really understood the importance of educating the youth.
Speaking to Miadhu Daily, Mubeen said that before Gasim Ibrahim’s philanthropic help and assistance to educate the youth the state budget did not spend anything to provide scholarships to the youth.
Mubeen said that even during that time there were placards in the streets stating that the youth are the future of the nation. However it was Gasim who really understood what this meant and provided education for the youth to build the nation.
Gasim donates much on education and he funded hundreds of Maldivians for higher education. Many Maldivians got education funds from Gasim and earned Degrees, Master Degrees and PhD’s from Malaysia, Srilanka, Singapore, Australia, Newzeland UK and various other European countries. . Most of the graduates were serving in the civil service and private sector.
In order to manage the donation, in March 2003, Gasim Ibrahim established philanthropy organization named Villa Foundation, the first and the major philanthropy organization of Maldives.
Consisting of three faculties; Faculty of computing and information technology, Faculty of marine science and water sports and Faculty of tourism and hotel management, on October 2007 Gasim Ibrahim established Villa College, the first private college of Maldives giving providing many Maldivians to do their higher studies in Maldives.