'Change' is not a rocket science !

Pkaistan is a land rich of natural resources, talent, and beauty. However, it has its own set of issues too. While we cherish its strengths, we do not as fairly contribute towards helping the country overcome her issues. Ever since my return from the Global UGRAD scholarship program in US, which further enhanced my leadership skills, I have been even more sensitive about and working actively to resolve the social issues of Pakistan. The quest was to seek a solution to our problems and with this objective in mind, I thrust forward without caring about the risks. I just knew one thing that I have to play my part in helping my country overcome her issues , no matter how small or big a scale that would be on. So instead of fretting about our issues and the politicians, and instead of being a part of the blame game , I took a few initiatives and hoped that if other youngsters too contribute at whatever little level they can, change will definitely come. As the Leader of Community Service at Pak-US Alumni Network/US Consulate Lahore, I actively ran a few social work projects voluntarily that trailed a positive impact on the subjects. If other youngsters and alumni too join hands or take similar initiatives in their respective areas then for sure we can be optimistic about Pakistan’s future. Following are the brief details and photos of some of the social work activities I have carried out and hope to see others conducting them too in their own areas as per their convenience:

1) Taught underprivileged, kids in slums and street kids, basic education , grooming , and communication skills

2) Directed , co rodinated, and conducted a mime with middle school kids of a well reputed school, aimed at promoting peace and countering intolerance in Pakistan

3) Counseling session with a focus on grief recovery for the Gulshan Iqbal blast victims.

4) Voluntarily taught street kids and kids in an underprivileged slum neighbourhood ;  taught them concepts like tolerance, patience, peace and taught them basic English,maths and science.

5)  Voluntarily conducted social awareness session at a Government school

6) Conducted social awareness sessions in LGS 

7) Counselled married working women in the neighbourhood / stress management skills 

8) Counselled  teachers in LGS / taught them effective communication skills 

9) Taught stress healing through yoga and exercise to teachers

10) Channelised and motivated a global ugrad alum to conduct a counselling session for girls in an underdeveloped rural area to motivate them to pursue education 

11) Conducted a Program on ' Promoting Peace and Countering Intolerance' at a re known school 

12)Proposed the idea of , assisted , and coordinated a counselling session with a focus on grief recovery , with Dr Sadaqat and Pak US Alumni Network Lahore ,for Gulshan Iqbal blast victims.

13) Conducted a break out session for the US State Department alumni ,motivating them to actively participate in community service and other projects with Pak US Alumni Network.

Peace, not war . Love , not hate .

A peek inside the artistic world of the youth who expressed their concern about peace aesthetically through their paintings. The participants were students at one of the prestigious universities in Lahore. Lets stand united in countering intolerance and reinstating peace , every way and in every capacity we can !   

The fate of Anarkali

The Eden and its roses imagined a hue, a hue that was to color the souls it would capture… soon. Nobody knew … but the ants…and the ants crawled empty walls leaving a trail of ash grey mysticism everywhere they went…pain was felt, pain was felt not. Joy was felt, Joy was felt not. It was not for her, nor was it for him; it was just what it was and precisely just that. Fate had some other plans though, souls be parted it pronounced. Destiny, however, had its own way; he had to taste freedom while she had to embrace death and yet it seemed… quite too often… that she had never existed ,at all !

Revisiting the fate of Anarkali however, and imploring his faith in love, he saw the truth. 

Anakrali and the prince loved each other but a society that claimed to believe in peace was ironically intolerant towards love, so much so that it preferred materialism over love and Anarkali paid the price. Love cost her death while the prince got weighed against the gold in his palace where his father became the god who wanted to decide the fate of Anarkali and his son himself. Such a society that fails to appreciate the true feelings of love and humanity is bound to collapse. The walls might remain and so might the sound and the wind that carry secrets secretly, but love and humanity once lost from a heart will never take its toll again. 

Rise Pakistan !

Intolerance seems to be Pakistan's biggest challenge today. Pakistan is plagued with the menace of Intolerance which seems to be the root cause of most of its social issues ranging from terrorism, violence, gender exploitation, human rights violation, sectarian conflicts, negative stereotypes and hatred against different nationalities, castes, and religion. A country like Pakistan which is full of natural resources, populous youth, and socio cultural diversity, will progress and socially develop only if it gets rid of an intolerant mindset, rigid negative perceptions and bigotry. In order to fight against intolerance, it is necessary to channelize the energies of the youth in the right direction which will set forth personal intellectual development as well as eventually social development in a positive direction at a macro level. Although this would be a long term objective but a spark of volunteerism, awareness and education among the youth could motivate them to become active citizens of Pakistan. The youth makes up about 70 % of the total population of Pakistan, it is therefore necessary to educate them so that their collective efforts could impact the Pakistani society in more positive ways.

IREX and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs USA actively engages Fulbright and Global Ugrad scholarship alumni from Pakistan and across the globe in social work projects that are aimed at bringing positive social changes in the community or society. While co coordinating one such project in Lahore , Project Smile, an effort was made to counter intolerance in the region. Although the project originally started solely as a project smile activity but after reflecting upon the gravity of the issue of intolerance in Pakistan , the activity has been expanded to continue countering this menace through various educational programs and social awareness activities. The participants were first educated and counseled and were then engaged in policy making dialogue and debate which was followed by an activity that required them to express their feelings and opinions through various artistic means such as through story writing, photography, painting, documentary, singing, poetry or simply by writing a word or a sentence that expressed their concern. People from a diverse range of socio cultural backgrounds participated in this project; students, parents, teachers and professionals from various age groups and backgrounds participated actively.  Here is a glance at some of the participant’s work