Name one practical, and realistic thing you can do individually to make Pakistan better. Each individual action may lead to others following the cause, and before you know it slowly but surely good is repelling evil.
*Think of a petri dish. One drop of the right kind of formula can push back bad growth. Once your formula works, others will come in droves to implement it as well. Neighborhoods transform; then towns, then cities, then you have a Pakistan that it was meant to be. (inshaAllah) Don’t worry about politicians; they’re a lost cause and a Fitnah for the sincere folks to survive. They’re meant to distract, discourage, and create hurdles. Pakistanis are meant to be resilient, and overcome those hurdles through integrity, honesty, goodwill, and true sense of responsibility to others who are less fortunate.
*
Me: I can learn to give to the needy without any desire for anything in return. Maybe the Duaa of the sweaty day laborer may benefit me much more than paltry currency can.
Support Civil rights organizations.
Support Secular govt.
Support rights for all, including all faiths, atheists and agnostics
. Pay taxes.
Treat working class with respect.
Take public transport. Support higher fuel taxes for automobiles and subsidies for public transportation.
Work harder. Waste less time.
These are essential pillars for any democracy. Or any nation. Especially in sub continent.
I think the education is the most imp thing that Pakistan needs , So I wish n hope for teaching the needy n poor children.
Other than this A TRUST as Ansar Barniz Trust to help the poor
Given my scope of practice, I would like to one day iA open up a preventative care center of some sort nothing big but a place where general public can come in for free immunizations, screenings, and examinations. I would like to work with women in particular about preventative care strategies anywhere from conception to giving safe birth, breast feeding and hand washing. So many illnesses, diseases and health problems in Pakistan can be prevented just by educating them at the right time and when it’s needed. For example, if I can sit with one family with history of Active Tuberculosis, I can explain to them that it is an airborne illness so the more they expose their germs to each other (sneeze, cough, eat off of each other plates), there is a higher chance of them spreading it to others. I’m not looking to treat or diagnose it per say but atleast guide them in the right direction or refer them to the correct health care center/and or physician. And explain things/issues to them at the level they can understand.
A health care center with a focus on prevention of diseases, especially catering to women. Great! You have my best wishes. :k:
True, education is so instrumental to lifting an entire family out of poverty and yet so many people do not have access to it at all. Not to mention the educational institutions that are there for the under-privileged in Pak sadly often leave a lot to be desired.
Teggy, perhaps you already do, but you (and others) can also help the needy by donating to The Citizens Foundation or DIL. The latter, Developments in Literacy is an initiative of Pakistani-Americans that manages 175+ schools in Pak, employing over 800 teachers and serving about 17,000 students, 66% of whom are females. (Recently, a DIL student was *one of the two students *selected from all over Pakistan to attend a summer program at Vassar College in New York!). The Citizens Foundationhas established over 900 schools in Pak which together have an enrollment of 126,000 students and support about 9000 jobs, including that of 6300 teachers. Some of their students make it to top universities with at least one TCF’s alumna attending Summer Exchange Program at Harvard Business School!
20$ a month, and you can send a child to a good school.
Trick is to have your ear open while talking to people back home.
Not like here here… I have money… who wants to go to school.
But more like… how is sister doing… long talk… how is brother doing long talk.
In those long talks there would be references of maids, their husbands their children. There small difficulties.
Now you know where to put 20$ or 60% or 100% a month.
Don’t go blindly after the models which is successful for developed countries.
Use the model you are families with, but not always visible to you
Are you personally invovled with DIL? Where are they more concentrated? Urban or Rural? Thank you so much for the information. InshaAllah we should all do whatever’s possible to help.
Being courteous to each other. It is in our control and does not cost anything. I felt a lack of it when I went to Pakistan. Not many people show courtesy to each other. I think it’s contagious. If I am driving and someone gives me way, then I end up doing that for another driver.
Great thread by the way. At times the start of these little things can have a huge impact on the quality of life.
Littering is my biggest pet peeve. I remember when I went to Pakistan for the first time. I held on to the wrappers until I would find a garbage bin or get home. My cousins and family kept on asking me to just throw the garbage on the road as everyone does it and a few more wrappers won’t make a difference. And I remember telling them that this is exactly the thought process responsible for bringing Pakistan to it’s current state.
Invest in education (of course honest people running a good school is key) as you can change the generation of a man / woman that got a good education.
– I have to admit that I plagiarized this idea from a friend of ours who actually does send money back home, but as Islam says, you learn from the good deeds of others.
I’m not personally involved with DIL. I think most of their schools are located in rural areas in three of the four provinces of Pak. (The Citizens Foundation though has a more extensive network of schools, including more schools in urban areas and in Balochistan as well).
PS: There was a thread on “Maids” in Lifestyles section here and someone mentioned that her family is sponsoring the education of the children of her aunt’s maid in Pak. I think that’s a great way of helping out too if people have domestic staff or some relatives in Pak who do. With access to relatively good schooling, those children can perhaps become teachers or bankers or something like that rather than having almost no choice but to follow the footsteps of their parents and become maids or drivers like them.
