True Warriors...

Found this heaven on my way to Zhob from Loralai

I should have written this long time ago, but as soon as I returned from Balochistan, I was caught in the cage and chains from which everyone tries to escape from. Nevertheless, it is a constant struggle to break the shackles of urban life, to get freed is not as easy as we think because our enemy is within us; the enemy which we feed with our own hands – the materialistic self ego.

To defeat this sonofagun, one has to get rid of the fuel and the vehicle it rides on to command and control every aspect of our life and body. It needs to be starved and maybe that is the reason why we are told to fast. To completely let it go, food intake control is always not enough, we need to switch off the world outside us to realize the world inside us; the world where no one exists i.e. where you find Him and find yourself in seclusion.

During my recent trip to Balochistan, I found such places of seclusion; especially, on the way to Zhob from Loralai through the deserted roads constructed most probably by the British from Mekhter Junction. I desired to stop, sit, think and desired to self realize and find Him to find peace. Though, I believe one has to travel in order to redefine oneself, but I realized it is not about my peace of mind anymore; I believe it’s not about give and take anymore, its just about giving and that is how one can reach salvation.

On my way to Zhob through the deserted plains and mountainous havens, I did not panic once. Well, I did not have another choice and I do well when I do not have much option. It took 6 hours of ‘off roading’ to cover 218 kilometers where life ceased to exist most of the time. But, at times, from nowhere a young shepherd with his flock of sheep used to come, stare at me and shock me for a while and my usual question to my driver Rasheed Lala used to be: “Ye Kahan se aya, Lala?” (From where did he come?)…

Rasheed Lala in his usual chuckling tone, “Pata nai yaar” (Don’t know friend...)

For most of the time, there was no road, after travelling for 3 hours down the tranquil atmosphere, we reached at Murgha Kibzai – surely a ghost town. From Murgha Kibzai, one road turns towards Zhob and the other one towards Musakhail District. We had tea over there and I interviewed the chap, Sakhi Jaan (generous life, yeah I know the translation doesn’t make much sense), who runs a ‘hotel’ (restaurants are usually called hotels in Pakistan). He has been running it for decades and showed me the delicacies he cooks day in day out. Took his photographs and showed him the pictures on my digital camera, surely the technology astonished him and I could see him moving around with his chest lifted a tinge. He was telling his customers that the story of his hotel would be published in Islamabad. I told him, the world will know about it, not just Islamabad.

Throughout the route, I decided to sustain myself to laugh until I see life everywhere once again i.e. until I see Zhob. Lala did not show a sign of irritation when I constantly reminded him of his long lost love, losing the track and that we have certainly lost our way and are in Afghanistan. After going through which many will term as ‘an ordeal’, I reached Zhob, that too in the Cantonment Area, relief!  Zhob was known as Fort Sandeman long back, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto changed its name to Zhob. I stayed at “The Castle” built by Lord Sandeman once again - as it was my second trip - but it did not excite me much this time round. I guess I am used to living like a king whenever I visit Zhob.

My next stop was Sui, which is in Dera Bugti, where I have heard people are against Punjabis, I was born in an Arab country which did not give me nationality, so I am from the Punjab province due to descent, that means I am in trouble. This was a problem and was the biggest one without doubt - I had no idea how to deal with it. The flight from Zhob to Karachi via Quetta was no doubt the worst flight I ever took – I had never witnessed so much turbulence during a flight. A medical team was called to check the condition of the Captain, when the flight stopped at Quetta; that is how bad it was. The flight to Sui was the worst, the Beech 1900 plane is an 18 seater plane, size of a drawing room above the average size, and when it flew through the air pockets in Dera Bugti, the plane used to lose altitude of more than 20 – 30 feet in one go. I asked for forgiveness throughout the flight and begged to be given another chance in life.

As soon as I reached Sui, I was welcomed by a young guy we have recently employed at Taaleem Foundation. We have thrown a Lahori dude to work in Sui and he is certainly not there just for money, the passion to succeed through the hardest channel is surely his desire, in fact I believe he has decided that it is his need to make the two ends meet in this fashion. I call people like him professionals and that’s how one should make a career i.e. by living like a dare devil. Our Sui School is run by an enthralling couple which decided to serve in Dera Bugti as soon as they graduated and got married. The adventure for them is still continuing and from the look of it they are enjoying the experience like anything. Providing education, that too English medium in a co education atmosphere in Balochistan is surely an adventure in every aspect; in which they thoroughly rejoice.

Anyways, I saw security guards, army personnel and FC guards in less than 2 kilometer of travel from the airport to the school. Due to the gas field, Sui is a highly protected area. For those who have forgotten or do not know, Sui is in Dera Bugti District where we get our CNG and cooking gas from and the operation was launched on Nawab Akbar Bugti and his followers by the sense less and the most useless President of Pakistan – General Pervez Musharraf - in its vicinity. 

I thought I would camouflage myself and the beard did help a great deal. But, I wanted to run back to the Airport as soon as I got to know that the last name of my driver in Sui was Bugti. For a second, I did panic, because here I was standing at the core where all the insurgency, hatred and separatist movements began and shook all parts of Balochistan and I was being told that a Bugti was going to take me around! But, I do well when I do not have much option and decided to live this one out.

To my surprise, the young boy was really humble and he did not have any feelings against me or my race, some still say he was hiding it. But, I could see it that this was not the case. Yes, Nawab was his leader, a leader he respected so much that he could have given his life; maybe I think. But, I was a guest and guarding me and providing me hospitality was a matter of honor too.

Coming back to Sui, you can fry an egg on the roof top of your car in Sui, that’s how hot it is in Sui; I usually preferred to stay indoors. Qadeer Saab, a senior and experienced teacher at our school and a funny character, did a good job at convincing me to go to Dera Bugti and I would have gone if I had more time. I have to go to Dera Bugti town the next time I come which is just 40 kms from Sui town; for now I convinced him to show me Sui – the Sui which was at the other side of the secured fencing area. We left without guards and he showed all the meaningful places over there. The Bugti fellow was with us too who drove us to the Military College Sui and other historical places such as the Bugti palace which is now under the control of security forces. The Army has recently opened a college and after 6 years the first batch of “Hub-ul-Watan” 30 captains would pass out, which the local populace has appreciated a lot, to my surprise.

We took some cold drinks to get some respite from the killing summer heat in the middle of the bazaar and nothing happened to me and to the other two Punjabis with me. After not being shot at the bazaar, I concluded the gist of the Balochistan situation: people over there do not hate us as we are told by the news we see scrolling day and night on our television sets, actions have to be taken to see that basic amenities are provided and the court has to provide justice they have been waiting to hear for more than a couple of years. I headed off to Karachi from there in the same aircraft, the journey was no better than the previous one, but as I said I do well when I do not have much options.

“I do well when I do not have much option”, I have said that more than a couple of times during this blog. You must be wondering why? Well, I learnt that due to Masood Baluch a.k.a. Munna Bhai. He was one of the first sophisticated Baluchs I met in my life, a (he is going to love this one) young and an energetic fellow who has done MBA and when he starts talking or working, even the whites wonder “Aey kitho aya hai?” (From where did he come?), you rarely find such species in Baluch people or in any race for that matter. But, he has got a problem; this guy gets confused whenever he has to choose a restaurant for dinner. For hours, at times, we used to roam around on the roads of Sharjah in wee hours to decide whether we should eat fast food, arabi, desi, pizza, meat, vegetables, lentils, spicy, Chinese, Italian, Indian, Ghora, Ghadda, Insaan … and the attitude did not change a bit till I was there. Now, he is married and I guess his better half has been successful somehow to tame the fellow. There were so many options and Munna Bhai over there; that I realized I can never do well when options are available because I used to be as confused as he used to be due to the availability of so many options!

I was meeting with him after sometime and it is always a pleasure to meet this Baluch family which I consider mine. Met her sister - who I consider as my phuppo (aunt) - and stayed at their place for two nights. After a long trip in Balochistan covering more than 2000 kilometers on the road it was good to be at home with people who are more close to me than my family at times. Shared my experiences of the war, the wild and the wilderness and heard some old stories from their side.

The one which I will end this blog with is going to shape my life, if it has not already, and of many others. This is from the experience they shared in Karachi round about 1 AM, the perfect time for such talks:


(Get your bowl of popcorn and drinks...)

My Phuppo went to Iraq to become a doctor. Everything was going merry go lucky in Baghdad. Unfortunately, the First Gulf War started round about the same time. I have always known her as an iron lady, but never knew her courage was much more beyond what I had perceived. She decided not to leave Iraq because she did not want to lose a year of education, such dedication is not easily digestible, please bear I can understand your how tough this is to believe. But, this is true.

She decided to stay and she informed her family that her decision is final. She decided to grab the bull by the horns and tame it into a pussy cat, her family lost contact with her for full 6 months which was an ordeal for all parties. She survived bomb attacks, missile attacks and “you-name-it” and she survived it boi! She used to ‘dry’ the food – tomatoes, bread and other vegetables – with her cousins on roof tops and survived on it for months. At times, the bread used to get so hard that it was hard to bite and digest. She came up with a solution, she cooked a stew which was as good as boiled water and all the survivors used to dip the bread in it, make it soft and gulp it down. Well, I can never praise her for that effort. 


When they were out of supplies, they just used to have one glass of milk as their only meal for the day. At times, they had to shift into bunkers during heavy fighting; one such bunker got hit and could not survive the hit. More than 5000 people burned to death not due to the after effects of a missile attack, but due to the hot water system in the bunker which got jolted due to the hit. The dead were not taken out, the smell was too unpleasant.

The sacrifice she made to achieve her dream is what we need from future leaders of Pakistan and what we need to do ourselves. I might be wrong, but I guess her dream was not just to become a doctor, as she has Baluch blood running in her body, she is a fighter by descent and did not want to escape when the tough becomes toughest straightaway, I don’t even know that has she realized this or not up till now, but chances are that she has not because being strong physically and mentally is a natural instinct of a Baluch. She could not disown the land which was not even hers, this was the country which promised to educate her when the rest refused or did not bother.

When she arrived back to her family, at the airport, there was a crowd to welcome the hero back. She told an airport official, pointing at the waiting lounge, from left to right, from one point to the end. “You see over there, that is my family which has come from all parts to welcome and receive me”, the official at the airport was spell bound, I was spell bound; I had tears of joy in my eyes, though I could not let it out because the Baluchs would have harassed me for the rest of my life, as I was living the moment there and then. Phuppo, I feel I was there at the airport, I felt I was there to receive you…

Such people I look up to. Such true warriors I meet everyday in my life. Such people He has decided that I have to take lessons from and I can only testify that we think that we plan and carry out what we do, but in reality He plans and we do what He commands; no doubt He is The Best Planner and we are nothing...

  

Balochistan: the land of diversity

Rasheed Lala

I arrived on 14^th April 2011 to Balochistan for an extensive trip to monitor the schools run by Taaleem Foundation where I work as the General Manager. After going through numerous scans at the Islamabad Airport, oh sorry… Benazir Bhutto International Airport, luckily the flight left on time and reached on time. Apart from a little turbulence during the flight, it was a comfortable ride.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has improved its service though one of the air hostesses to serve us was surely the age of my aunt, I am not telling which one. I am not against old air hostesses, in fact, they are better because of their motherly appearance. Yeah, I know I am joking…

As soon as I reached Quetta, I was received warmly by the person who is going to accompany me through the rough terrains of Balochistan for a month – my driver. He has been the driver for one of our school vehicles in Balochistan for the past 12 years and surely is a veteran in his field. He drives a ’82 Toyota Hilux. You have guessed it right, that is the vehicle which is going to take me around in Balochistan.

The journey has already begun and I have already visited one of the most peaceful districts in Balochistan, if not Pakistan – District Pishin – which is just 50 kilometers away from Quetta.

This is my third visit to Balochistan in the past 9 months. I went to attend a wedding in Gadani, one of the biggest ship-breaking ports of Pakistan. I saw the Baloch culture and thoroughly enjoyed the wedding. Though, the sentiments against the people outside the province were quite dominant, but the hospitality and warmth I received over there actually proves it so wrong. From what I have understood, they are just against the trouble makers and then there are some troublemakers within their communities who try to capitalize on the situation to spread a wild fear into the minds of the travellers to achieve their goals which only time will tell are right or wrong.

The second visit was an extensive one too, more because I travelled more than 1000 kilometers; I have lost count, where 50 % of the time there was no road, so it was not an easy trip physically. But for the eyes, it was a treat to see the culture, the rough and serene mountains and of course for the stomach it was an excellent treat – I am in love with the Balochi food. 

When I say “Baloch” or “Balochi”, it also includes the 40 % Pakthun population residing in the area. For me, or I should say to make it easy, the people in Balochistan are Balochi. It does not matter the two cultures are diverse, but they belong to the same land even though the amalgamation between Balochistan and British Balochistan was done under the supervision of the British.

Coming back to Islamabad, my family, relatives and friends always ask this question when I leave for Balochistan - “Are you sure you want to go?” – The answer has always been positive. I believe no one should be afraid to travel to Balochistan if they have a 24 hour security guard with them. Haha…not funny! No matter what, the people outside the province should not stop coming to Balochistan. It needs travellers and tourists to bring a boom to its ailing markets – though the road underneath the office I am sitting right now is hustling and bustling with buyers and consumers. In addition, there is a huge need of developmental work to be carried out by nonprofit organizations to bring economic growth on par with the other provinces in order to eliminate the feelings of being deprived developing in the people.

Anyways, as always, whenever I start to write I easily cross 500 words before coming to the point or to the climax, I know it is a drag but bear with me please because there is so much to say and express that I can write all day and night long. Khair…. I reached Pishin through Kuchlak within 1 hour from Quetta with one of the warmest personalities I have come across in my life – Rasheed Lala, my driver who received me at the airport.

Heard the typical life story of a driver on my way to Pishin; yes, he used to drive a ten wheeler but love and marriage bend him and made his heart soft, that is why he drives a robust four wheeler which is 28 years old to spend quality time with family. What an irony! But, Pathans are so tough that it is not actually. He drives 35 kms from home to work, even when it is – 15 degree Celsius.

I had already sketched a picture of Pishin which proved to be so wrong when I reached over there. It is just like any other city in Punjab, it looks like the cities which come on the way to Lahore from the GT Road, something like Dina. Dominated by twin storeys, the area and the people did not look like aliens; neither did the atmosphere felt like I was in Mars.

Once again, I was warmly welcomed by the people over there and in fact they were waiting for their alien to arrive. But, I guess both the parties surprised each other, the hosts with their hospitality and I did due to my knowledge about the Pakhtun culture and environment. Thanks to my friend Zain Sadullah Khan who gave me a book to read, which I read during my flight – The Pathans by Ghani Khan – I was able to add more into my knowledge about the Pathans and certainly one point that a Pathan can be a warrior, a lover and a poet at the same time. In short, we all absorbed very well into the new environment created by my arrival.

I read out several stories from the hadith mentioned in the Translated Quran I was given by a person several years back at a dhaba where I used to smoke, drink tea and have fun with friends all night long. It surely transformed me and I always take it along to my trips so that I am able to help someone from it, I am sure it has to transform anyone in the world… yes even George Bush and Pamela Anderson if they give a thought!

The students at Pishin shocked me, they are intelligent and they try harder than other kids only if you gain their trust. So, all I had to do was to crack some jokes in the beginning of the session and it was all good since then. The English in the translated Quran is sometimes not even easy for adults to understand but the students did a good job in understanding the story and learning the moral of the stories i.e. not to lie, work hard, be focused and believe that there is only one God whose name is Allah.

The kids were fascinated by the alien they saw who was wearing Junaid Jamshed Kurtas and fashionable dress pants to work. Off and on they came to say ‘hi’ and ‘Salam’. It was different for them and they liked seeing the alien traveller in their school.

Moving on to the local food now; the most important part of my trip for sure. I tried some local delicacies such as the “Roash” that is how they say roast, no “T” in the Pashto people speak in Balochistan. I also tried the so called Chinese cuisine which is surely better than what the Chinese eat and cook in China. The next day which was yesterday and a Sunday, I was invited for a lunch, a big lunch which filled my belly so much up that I chose to have a sandwich at lunch today. That was not it. I always thought the tea they sell at the dhaba I used to sit in at the night religiously everyday had the best tea in the world; I was so wrong, Pishin has the best tea and it costs 20 rupees unlike the 10 rupee cup of tea we get in our cities, they surely deserve to charge extra for it.

Climax:

There were two incidents which shook me and threw me into the wilderness of my mind. Rasheed Lala was astonished when I explained him about Bluetooth technology and google maps. He felt a bit scared when I told him that I always know that where my employees are through the google maps technology. To throw him off the guard completely, I showed him the roof of the CMH hospital in Loralai, he knew that nobody can escape from this young and cunning “Afsar”.

I guess he thought that the days are not far when I am going to clip a gadget on him to keep a track on him. I could see his eyes popping out and there was a deep silence in the room. Rasheed Lala lost in amazement and I was trying to control my laughter and tears. For sure it was sad to see one generation of Balochistan so far of the latest happenings of the world and the progress it has made. But, I kept myself happy in thinking that this is what makes Rasheed Lala live his life like a child even at the age of 47.

The second shocker I got when on the second day I was served Briyani. Briyani in Balochistan? I know Briyani originated from the Iranis at the same time it was discovered in India but Indian Briyani in Balochistan? Something was fishy and I was sure an Indian agent was around and I found her. Khala, works for our school and originally belongs from Bangalore and moved to Pakistan with her Pakhtun husband when she was 17, but she did not lost her touch at cooking Indian food. It was easy for me to guess the food had an Indian touch because I was born in UAE which is flooded with Indian and Pakistanis.

What brought me to tears and shook me vehemently was when I asked about her parents, she said:

“Mein taaees chobis saal se nai gai maa baap ke paas…. Maa udhar roti hai aur mein idhar…”

(I have not gone to India for the past 23-24 years… My mother cries over there and I cry over here…)

When I asked her why did not she go, she said:

“Paisa”

(Money – a devil for those who have more wants than they earn…)

And I asked myself “why did I ask her?”….

Anti-Climax:

When Silence is overcome by love, it turns into a song,

When a song becomes obstinate, it turns into a noise,

When a thought is sure of itself it turns into a word,

When a word feels like dancing, it turns into music,

And when music goes dreaming it turns into silence,

Silence is the beginning, Silence the end….

(Lewanae Falsafi – a young poet who has published nothing though he has written much – From “The Pathans” by Ghani Khan)

Zain, Thank you for the book once again....

More about diversity and religious tolerance in the next blog...

NGO Cooperation: Need of the hour...

First Published in Focal Point, Issue 1: http://www.enterfocalpoint.com/focalpoint/?p=169

For the past five years especially, Pakistan has gone through frequent man-made and natural disasters. From the earthquake of 2005 to the recent floods, and from the early operations in Bajaur to the recent ones of Waziristan, the growth of the country has taken a serious jolt which has hampered its economic, social and technological growth. Moreover, constant political instability has increased corruption, mishandling of important institutions and is pushing more and more people towards poverty. All the aforesaid created the validation for international and local organizations to come forward and assist this country which is going through crisis every other day.

Throughout the history of Pakistan, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) existed but were better known as voluntary organizations in the early days. After 1970, an upsurge was recorded when the Marital Law Government expounded its policy of social work and welfare. But the real upsurge was witnessed in the last decade where numerous organizations have started their operations in Pakistan and disaster after disaster has prolonged their stay. In a publication of UNDP in 2001, number of non government organizations was suggested to be from 8,000 to 16,000. If non-registered NGOs are added to registered ones, number of Pakistani NGOs could be anywhere from 25,000 to 35,000.

Considering the number of organizations working in Pakistan, the growth of the economy and the society has not been as positive as one might expect. The inflation rate has gone up from 3.90 % in 2003 to 13.60 in 2009-10. Moreover, the debt has also increased from US $ 33 billion in 2004 to more than US $ 50 billion and is still on the rise. The unemployment rate also shows a grim state of affairs. The unemployment rate has increased from 7.8% in 2003 to 14 % now. All these indicators usually raise some eye brows because a positive impact of NGOs is hard to find.It is necessary to keep in mind, that if NGOs would not have intervened regularly from 1947 till date, indicators could have been worse.  But, as there are a lot of macroeconomic reasons associated with the downfall in the economy of the country, it is time that NGOs regroup themselves and do a SWOT analysis on the industry they are associated with instead of doing it on the country’s various economic and social sectors and institutions. The number of NGOs in Pakistan certainly should have uplifted the economy of the 25th largest economy of the world – in terms of purchasing power – towards prosperity earlier.

Mr. Saleem Ranjha, Director of Akhuwat Microfinance Network  one of the largest interest-free microfinance network in Pakistan  expressed his thoughts on the issue of limited success by NGOs. He told us, “Lack of mutual cooperation between organizations and other institutions is the main reason for Pakistan not being able to change its condition. Mutual cooperation would open doors which will welcome exchange of technical skills and funding and believe me, sky is the limit if we change the current practices of working in isolation and without coordination”.

He also added, “The first step has to be that organizations should work with a pure intention to help the most deprived through the most cost-effective way and keeping a check on the quality of service delivery. Most importantly, mutual cooperation between organizations and government is the need of the hour and is the key towards success and I strongly believe that Muslim charities especially, should learn from the actions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and implement it in order to get blessings from Allah (SWT) and to make life easier for the deprived instead of concentrating on covering their overheads”.

Hence, the major reason for NGOs not being able to achieve what they could have, other than the failures of the government in terms of political, economic, social and technological factors, is primarily due to limited mutual cooperation between NGOs with each other and with the government. Some critics accuse that due to specialization in the industry, the greater impact was not achieved i.e.  NGOs have got divided into the following four sectors:

• - Advocacy and lobbying
• - Policy issues and debates
• - Emergency relief and rehabilitation
• - Implementation of development programs

But those critics fail to understand that specialization and disintegration has played a vital role in getting more output and skilled workers in this field just like it has done in any other field. The real problem as mentioned before is that there is a need for every organization to come forward and cooperate with each other. The first point to realize is that the work of one NGO does not make it alien or superior to another NGO working in a different field. In simpler terms, the nature between NGOs is as complementary in nature as the relationship between petrol and a car – one can be the driving force while the another one can be the one who capitalizes and complements the driving force in order to achieve the greater good, mutually.

For example, usually advocacy and lobbying, and emergency relief and rehabilitation are two industries within the NGOs sub sectors which are thought to be poles apart. But, some recent amalgamation between the two has brought rewarding results. For instance, advocacy and lobbying created the path for relief and rehabilitation agencies to help out the flood survivors more easily. This was done by pressurizing and persuading the government to lift the rule of acquiring a no-objection certificate prior to relief work and relaxation in the visa rules where international humanitarian workers were given visas on arrival. Numerous partnerships like these are taking place regularly now and an increase in the frequency of it will surely generate greater positive results for which the people are waiting for a long time.

Organizations working in the sector of policy making and debates can prove essential in imparting knowledge to NGOs related to other sub sectors. Likewise, if organizations from different sub sectors intend to work together, the policy sector can help immensely in drafting safe practices; the advocacy sector can pressurize stakeholders in implementing it and the development sector can carry out its program with more ease and efficiency. If the chemistry works out well between the different sub-sectors, the end product would always be successful and sustainable.

Usually, organizations repudiate to collaborate with each other on the basis of having a difference between their vision and those of other organizations. The only thing organizations need to comprehend is that the greater idea of all organizations is to help the humanity and boost their standards from meager to optimum (at least) without discriminating each other in terms of color, race, religion, ethnicity and creed. If all the organizations start believing in this supreme dogma; it will be the universal similarity which can bring all the stakeholders together.

The incorporation between different sub sectors and the NGO industry with the government will open new doors and bring infinite advantages:

Firstly, funding in to this industry will increase immensely. Donors will feel more confident to rally around the industry which helps the community to become sustainable because better cooperation between the members of the NGO industry would show better and improved results.

Secondly, it would encourage the corporate sector to fund the industry as well. All profit making companies produce goods or services in order to generate increased profits. Sustainability in their progress can only be insured if the society grows on par with the growth of the corporate sector. Therefore, they would be compelled to carry out their corporate social responsibility through the NGO sector.

Thirdly, if organizations start sitting together with stakeholders from all walks of life it will help to fix a lot of economic and social indicators. Usually, the priority is health or education as it should be because we lag behind in these fields compared to other developing countries. But, usually through their activities, NGOs at times forget to insure that the investment they are doing in the lives of the beneficiaries should be a productive investment instead of being consumptive. For instance, an NGO may provide soft loans to the needy people, but due to the lack of checks and balances, these loans are used to purchase dowry instead of becoming a beacon to increase the livelihood of a household.

Fourthly, the collaboration between NGOs would be able to eliminate the concept of duplication. Throughout the history of charitable organizations working in Pakistan, the biggest impasse for all of them has been to identify those beneficiaries who have not received relief or aid from any other organization. The reason to eliminate replication is significant because in a time of crisis aid is limited and the effort should reach all. Therefore, to reach the maximum number of people and those most deprived, many organizations prefer to help those who have not received aid at all.

Almost all organizations spend a lot of resources and effort to cross the logistical and social barriers to reach the affected sites; in the end they habitually find that the type of relief they are offering is also being offered by several others in the same region. At times, due to the pressure from the donors and the competition between the organizations, organizations succumb to the pressure and launch their activities in a hub which is already populated with a lot of social/welfare organizations. This attitude neglects other people in need and other divisions organizations need to focus on.

We do not need to go far to search for examples. For a long period of time during the recent floods, the focus was on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), especially at Nowshera and Charsadda when the destruction in Southern Punjab and Sindh was creating havoc. Moreover, the focus was also on providing relief through food. The type of instant and effective intervention by aid agencies in the KPK province is hard to find in other provinces.

There are several reasons for it: one being that the province is near the capital of Pakistan and the NGO industry. But, it does not give organizations the leverage to over hoard relief items into this region only because it is accessible to them. There have been several reports where food was over supplied and I have personally been told by the flood survivors as early in the month of September, that they were more interested to receive aid in terms of medical facilities and reconstruction. Similar cases were also reported throughout the country where flood survivors had food supplies for more than two-three months with them in stock.

The healthy signal is that NGOs have realized that without any mutual cooperation, they would not be able to realize the ultimate goal which is to fortify the community and economic conditions of the people in a dignified method.

Organizations have started to combine forces with each other; in order to get accredited by different code of conducts which demand the signatory to believe in coordination with other stakeholders rather than functioning in seclusion.

Memberships of such code of conducts help organizations to accumulate funds easily as donors fancy ‘members’ with their ideal. Recent examples of forums and clusters making positive changes have been observed in Pakistan and are the following: UN OCHA, Muslim Charities Forum UK & the OIC Forum.

Hence, the need for mutual cooperation between organizations and government for all intents and purposes is required to lift the society and prevent it from other man-made and natural disasters. There is a saturation point to everything which exists; thus the need to converge into one focal point is the need of the hour or else there is a huge probability that the recurrence of disasters might ram the country and its people towards extreme poverty and unvarying failure.

The Business of Non Profit

First printed in Focal Point Magazine, Issue 2: http://www.enterfocalpoint.com/focalpoint/?p=288

For years, humanitarian organizations have played their role in improving the living standards for the poor around the world, especially in the third world countries. Some did a lot, some did less; some provided housing, emergency relief, health services, educational facilities and some provided all. These organizations which are commonly known as charities or non government organizations, less familiarly known as non-profit companies,  sweat day and night to perform sustainable activities to improve the living conditions of the deprived community.

Unfortunately, very few laymen and beneficiaries know about the efforts these organizations have to do before and during the implementation of a project or a program: starting from a needs assessment, proposal building, reporting, fund raising, monitoring and evaluation, implementation and disaster preparedness. All of this to make is to make it a success; a success which consumes a lot of resources of the organization. The question is: How do they survive?

Well, they survive on what they accumulate from the public which supports and trusts their cause, passionately. An organizations which has devoted itself in the cause to assist people in need unconditionally gets hold of human resources who are passionate to bring a change and work in the development industry. The combination of such positive factors facilitates the organization to expand the service it provides to the humanity. Those who think that passion is the only driving force for such work are badly mistaken; there is a cost for everything.

Discussions on non-developmental expenditure scares off donors and people who are running such organizations also start feeling insecure; yet like every public relations department, they deny and discard it as a non-issue. For years the issue of non-developmental expenditure has been considered as the opening of a Pandora’s Box; in reality it is not and those who fail to understand the concept and misjudge it to be unjust need to re-examine their theory towards survival of anything and everything.

Only the fittest would survive in this industry over the long run, and they can only survive if they are able to perform the projects and the operations of their organization through a sustainable approach such as business ethics and techniques which have to be employed in order to generate positive and most importantly productive results.

I for one will always reject that these expenses are not non-developmental because these expenditures enables the organization to gather human and capital resources in order to do their tasks in an organized way that produces positive results at all times. In return of this qualitative work, the organization is able to acquire more funds to execute more work for the deprived humanity to come towards prosperity.

Although this money may not be used directly for the beneficiaries, at the end of the day, this money helps the beneficiaries to get a continued support because the organizations tend to survive longer through these expenditures which are regrettably categorized as ‘non developmental expenditure’. The key point needed to be understood is that donors and beneficiaries should allow flexibility to organizations when it comes to this issue because the growth of the organization is directly related to the growth of the society. If both become strong, the result is the rule of peace and prosperity in this world.

In the table below, we would focus on the way the UK non profit organizations use their finances in order to help people in the third world countries immediately. Most importantly, the non profit organizations in UK and USA have usually been the first ones to reach at the point of any disaster. At times, they have reached these places before the local organizations could, and at many instances, facilitated local organizations in the rescue, relief and rehabilitation work. Therefore, to learn how to achieve success in running your organization, one has to observe at how the larger ones are operating; most of the organizations in the list below are more than two decades old and one is surviving since the Second World War!

Organizations registering themselves or which are in the growing phase surely need to learn and adopt the way finances are managed by other successful organizations. The resources can be multiplied through reserving funds, investment management and by adopting income generation drives. As I mentioned earlier, these organizations excelled because they chose to bring business development techniques into this sector. Collecting all and distributing all will only provide short term assistance to the beneficiaries and would do more harm than benefit for the organization. Chances are there that your organization might get popular as it spends 100% on the beneficiaries; but no one remembers short lived successes. The extreme charity model is a failure in the long run.

From now on, the term I am going to use to describe charities and non government organizations are ‘non profit companies’ because that is what the real successful ones are. They have all the departments present in a business: from administration to human resources, public relations to marketing, to ‘you-name-it’ and they have got it. To survive and carve a name for yourself and your organization, the weak ones and the young ones need to do this at the earliest:

Proper Budgeting: allocating reserve funds and for non-developmental expenditure and charitable activities

Up to date book keeping: to keep the financial statements updated in order to get funds from donor agencies and to show the accounts of the organization are transparent

Investment management: if your registration allows you to develop assets and do investment with the finances the company holds for the purpose of using the money for welfare activities, then do not wait and get hold of a person who can guide or manage it for you

Concentrate on public funding: fundraising, registering volunteers, creating liaison with universities/multinationals etc. is now the biggest in the trade get a boost

Tapping institutional funding: In Pakistan, a lot of donor agencies are present which are ready to provide non profit companies funds for the purpose of implementing welfare activities. From embassies to UN agencies to foreign donor agencies  all are present in the country.

Up to date records with the Federal Board of Revenue and linkages with the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy would help you to get a tax exemption status from the authorities. This will release more funds to be used for development of the society and the organization.

Most importantly, please register your organization with The Act which suits the needs of your organization.

Moreover, as a general practice, foreign non-profit companies do not raise a lot of funds from the public, some do not need it while some avoid to use it in order to evade controversy. The point to be realized is that to make itself, its work and its advocacy accepted in the country, foreign organizations have to create linkages with the local donors, communities and authorities because it will facilitate them to gain the same popularity they have gained in their parent countries. Foreign companies usually target institutional funding as accountability usually has to be shown to one party instead of the general public, though, year end financial statements have to be made public every year in Pakistan.

In contrast, the local non-profit companies are doing pretty well in gathering funds from the public, but more professionalism and effective use of resources is required to be deployed by them in order to succeed to excel in getting hold of institutional funding. There are a few exceptions in the local sector who are tapping both type of donors; the rest are usually struggling in gaining success from the two potential investors of this industry  the general public and the donor agencies.

Consequently, the time has arrived for companies and the publics associated with it to realize the fact that this industry can only blossom and achieve self sustainability if the stakeholders allow a little bit flexibility when it comes to those factors  deemed controversial at times  which will strengthen the company. It is a win-win situation for all stakeholders because a stronger company would be able to carry out programs and projects to enhance the living standards of the destitute more effectively and up to the standards the donors ask for. It’s time to provide room to all so that they can improve. The strength of this industry will help to curb unemployment and curtail the socio economic deficiencies in a rapid pace.

Hope for the Determined

Isakhel, Mianwali: HRF Isakhel Hospital in collaboration with Esakhel Foundation.

The devastating floods hit Pakistan in the end of July to leave more than 20 million people homeless and over 2000 citizens of this country dead. Several were injured and were left stranded with no access to basic amenities which are required by a human being to survive. The destruction flowed from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Thatta in Sindh, destroying Punjab and Balochistan on the way; the natural disaster did not reprieve any one on its course. Several organizations arrived on the scene to provide relief to the destitute flood survivors.

One of the first ones to rush to the scene was Human Relief Foundation UK (HRF). HRF was established in 1991 by a group of dedicated and committed professionals. They wanted to alleviate the suffering of the ordinary people of Iraq who were affected by the Gulf War of 1991 and the UN sanctions imposed on the country. This relief work has since expanded to other countries and areas. These include Somalia, Ethiopia, Chechnya, Bosnia, Kosovo, Kashmir, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Palestine and many other areas. HRF established itself in Pakistan in the year 2005 after the life destroying earthquake which shook parts of Kashmir and Balakot; since then HRF has established a permanent office in Pakistan to change life of those hit by natural and man made disasters.

On a priority, HRF provided basic amenities to the flood survivors in order to equip them to battle out the crisis. HRF distributed food ration, clean drinking water, non food items, clothing, and provided urgent medical help in order to secure lives. The distribution of relief goods was implemented all over the country; notably in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Punjab. Relief work from the organization spread into the unreachable districts of SWAT, Nowshera and Charssada – in KPK – and Attock, Mianwali and several areas in Southern Punjab were also covered by the organization. More than 30,000 beneficiaries alone have benefited from the effort where HRF workers on the field toiled day and night in order to save and change lives.

As soon as the winter season arrived, the need for a shelter and warm clothing increased. In order to help them to fight the harsh winter season, HRF provided clothing, bedding, blankets and quilts to the deserving families, till date families are benefiting through this effort launched by HRF which rescued them at the right time. Moreover, HRF launched a pilot project during the emergency phase to provide sources of livelihood immediately to those flood affected families which lost their source of income due to the flood. HRF distributed livestock to over 100 families in the month of November 2010 in order to take the lives of those affected by floods towards self sufficiency and economic prosperity. The daring project took special care of the vulnerable segment of the society i.e. female headed houses were mostly selected for this sort of reprieve.

HRF strongly believes that in order to restore sanity after a crisis, medical facilities in a crisis hit region should be upgraded in order to stop communicable diseases and control non communicable diseases. HRF played a key role to curtail spreadable diseases like malaria, cholera, etc. in the District of Mianwali. As the government hospital was flooded and occupied by several organizations who wanted to reconstruct it, HRF did not wait and opened up a parallel facility instead to accommodate the grievances and medical problems in the area. The Sub District of Isakhel has a population of over 600,000 out of which 62 % of the population was severely hit according to the surveys conducted by the foundation, Pakistan Government and UN agencies operating in the region.

Therefore, HRF launched a hospital which is known as the HRF Isakhel Hospital. Today, it is providing the best medical facilities in relation to mother and child care, skin, eye, chronic, communicable and non communicable disease in order to recover them from the physical trauma they had to face due to the crisis. The hospital is equipped with the latest medical facilities and has a state of the art operation theatre for eye and other essential surgeries. HRF Isakhel Hospital has provided free cataract operation to over 150 patients before the end of 2010; a true Sadaqah-i-Jarriah. Moreover, the facility is capable to provide rehabilitation to over 150,000 people living in the surrounding areas; according to UK standards that is unacceptable, but there was only one hospital to serve a population of 600,000 flood affected people before HRF established a hospital in the region.

A major concern in the area, even before the floods, was the lack of mother and child care facilities. HRF took a notice of the situation and equipped itself with the required resources to end misery for pregnant ladies in the region, who used to usually lose the battle with their lives on the way to the hospitals in Mianwali city which is more than 90 kilometers away from the region. The infant mortality rate , i.e. deaths of those under the age of five, is as high as 40 % in the area of Isakhel in District Mianwali. The first delivery which arrived at the HRF Isakhel Hospital was a critical case where the organization was bestowed by Allah (SWT) to save the life of the mother; the child did not make it alive into this world.

It was one of the most heartbreaking moments for the field staff and for me personally. It was a terrible sight for the medical staff to witness a new born breathless, but to see the mother alive triggered the passion in the staff to work even hard to protect lives of the vulnerable people living in the region.

Allah (SWT) entered joy and happiness in leaps and bounds into the lives of the people living in the region and the field staff serving day and night to protect lives in a dignified way. Maryam was born; the first child to be born at HRF Isakhel Hospital. There were celebrations, laughter, smiles and tears all over the hospital, For me, it was a world cup moment, holding Maryam in my arms was nothing less than holding a trophy...

Since then, HRF Isakhel Hospital has continued to serve unconditionally the deprived yet determined people of Isakhel. Most importantly, Human Relief Foundation has transformed HRF Isakhel Hospital into an institution striving to provide all sorts of relief to the people living in the region. A full time field office has been established in the region which is providing assistance in relation to distribution of food items, non-food items, shelters and economic empowerment opportunities to push the lives of the flood survivors towards the optimum level of sanity and normality.

Human Relief Foundation is an organization led by humans overpowered with pure intentions to bring a positive change in third world countries suffering from hardships and economic disparity. There is one thing common between the people who are running this organization, hospital and the community and i.e. for them “Crisis means and creates motivation” – no doubt Allah (SWT) helps those who ask for His Mercy at all times.

The Cell Phone Story!

Missiles are known for destruction, but 5 missiles hit the telecommunications of Pakistan to transform it into supremacy which has spread smiles over the face of 85.4 million citizens with no strings attached.

Foreign companies starting operations in a country scares the home industry and its people because we still have the memories of the British India Company in our mind. But, the invasion of telecom industry by foreign investments in Pakistan has brought fruitful results – Government has a new source of income, the telecommunications giants in Pakistan are generating profits as fast as a minting factory generates money and this industry has given ‘bread and butter’ to millions.

The Telecommunications sector is divided into two parts as it is in most of the countries– Basic Home Phone Line Providers and Cell Phone Facility Providers. First to mention is the Land line sector which is currently dominated by the Government but due to evolution it has now integrated with Etisalat, a UAE based Telecom Company, to facilitate existing consumers in order to produce more customers through the introduction of new strategies, plans and packages. The landline sector is still a monopoly shared by the Government of Pakistan and Etisalat which has the management rights. Due to the partnership between the two, experience and new ideas have made a perfect combination which has made the basic home phone line experience cheaper in Pakistan.

CDMA, a new mode of communication introduced in Pakistan, is creating waves in the telecom sector through Wateen, Dialog and GoCDMA. While on the other hand, the Cell Phone Industry has turned from a seed into a huge tree just like Jack and his Beanstalk. Pakistan, like other countries, went through the period where having a cell phone was considered a luxury. But that is not the scene anymore for sure (I call my maid on her cell phone when she’s late!) The SIM cards are now as low as 100 rupees, which at times carry credit of the same amount, and if you are lucky you might also get it for absolutely free during promotions. The thrones for development in this sector go to the 5 players in the cell phone industry of Pakistan – Mobilink, Telenor, Warid Telecom, Zong & Ufone.

These major players have changed the mood and has awaken the consumers from a deep slumber in the market by churning out new strategies at the speed of light to make cell phones a necessity for the common man rather than a luxury. All the major players have brought benefits to the market with their expertise which has positively affected the rate of growth in this sector and has now touched unprecedented heights.

Firstly, Mobilink is Pakistan’s biggest cellular company with 31.9 million subscribers nationwide. Therefore, there are no qualms about who deserves to be called the BIGESST in Pakistan. At times people criticize Mobilink for its comparatively higher rates but it is still gulping down major chunk of subscribers due to the fact business class people are hesitant to switch their network due to line quality, brand loyalty and in order to avoid the inconvenience of informing associates of a number change. A finer aspect is that Mobilink is known for exclusivity. The proof of this is the finest group of brand ambassadors from the entertainment industry vis-à-vis Shan, Vaneeza, Iman, Strings, Wasim Akram, Zenab Qayyum etc

Secondly, Ufone is a matter of honor for the countrymen as it is a subsidiary of PTCL which was established to provide cellular services across Pakistan and has more than 17 million customers according to the data above. Ufone is currently providing quality services by providing various calling options than any provider in the country. The night package of Ufone persuades one to be awake all night. It has from time to time used humor in advertisements campaigns to attract customers. The antics of Adeel Hashmi and Faisal Qureshi on TV makes one to jump off the couch and run to the nearest Ufone.

Thirdly, Telenor has proved with innovation one can invent success. In a short period, Telenor has accumulated a mammoth figure of subscribers – 17.8 million subscribers. The introduction of the ‘easy load facility’ has made calling affordable throughout Pakistan because one can re-charge account from 10 to 1000 rupees. Telenor can surely emerge as the biggest cellular company in Pakistan. Telenor has used glamour and music as the part of their promotion as it’s surely what Pakistanis get attracted too. Ali Zafar’s ‘TELENOR TALKSHAWK’ jingles with Aamina Haq’s million dollar smile is wooing customers towards Telenor.

Fourthly, Warid operated by Abu Dhabi Group led by Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan has already grabbed 15.1 million customers in a period shorter than an average rule of a dictator in this country! Warid captured customers by giving them relief where it pains the most – the pocket. With reduced charges, Warid lured customers towards it because it knew that to be a household name in Pakistan one has to be the provider with the best rates for products and services. Reema’s touch to their adverts adds glitter to the already shining armor of warid and EP’s former Ahmed Ali Butt in ‘ZEM at MCDONALDS’ ad puts humor and water in everyone’s mouth!

Fifthly, Zong is the Pakistan venture of the biggest cellular company in the world – China Mobile. It acquired Paktel and has vowed to make things pleasant for this bad luck stricken company which had around 2 million subscribers. But with the influx of Chinese ideas, Zong has attracted another 1.6 million customers in less than a year to take their grand total to 3.6 million customers according to the table above – which is a huge achievement as they have done this in presence of four well set competitors in the market. The rings in the ZONG logo depicts fresh, zest and freedom which make its subscribers say it all for less.

 As Pay as you Go is the way of today’s generation. It’s very important here to analyze the prepaid tariffs of the major players. An important factor to mention is that that due to advent of Prepaid packages the telecommunications industry experienced a boom because it requires less documentation and is for all i.e. eliminating discrimination.

Although, these companies provide several packages but for illustrative purposes and to keep data ABC (Accurate, Brief and Clear) we have mentioned the basic three packages which all the providers are serving their customers currently.

The Simple Plan (1 minute plan) is best for those who regularly have longer conversations. In this plan, Ufone is the best provider in regards to rates as it provides rates of 1 and1.60 rupees/minute (On-Net & Off-Net respectively) with no call setup charges. Telenor becomes the best choice for Off-Net calls if one calls other networks because it has rates of 1.4 rupees/minute with a call setup charge of 0.40 rupees for the first minute. In SMS, Ufone & Warid provide similar rates of 0.50 and 1 ((On-Net & Off-Net respectively).

The One Second Plan goes perfectly well for those who communicate for a shorter period, talk less and want to spend less. Zong is the pioneer of this amazing strategy. Warid provides the cheapest On-Net rate for just 3 paisa/second while Zong & Telenor provide rates of 4 paisa for On-Net. But, ZONG wins in the race for the title of the ‘cheapest provider for Off-Net services’ with 4 paisa for calls to all other networks and landline. In SMS, WARID provides the cheapest rate for On-Net SMS of 50 paisa/sms while Off-Net sms charges for the trio is Rs. 1/sms.

THE 30 SECONDS PLAN is made for the confused lot who are unable to identify themselves as frequent callers or seldom ones. Warid, Zong & Telenor share the throne for On-Net call charges with similar rates of 75 paisa per 30 seconds. But ZONG stands 1st on the podium with its uniform charge to Off-Net numbers at 75 paisa per minute.

Surprisingly, it’s important to mention that Mobilink did not get a mentioning in the competition of rates. But, it compensates it by providing an array of Value Added Services and coverage. Moreover, the rates of MOBILINK have come down considerably from previous years and are near to the rates of their competitors which are as far as the distance between two strands of hair.

All the above factors conclude and converge to one point i.e. a revolution has evolved in the Telecommunications sector in Pakistan which has made this type of business a billion-dollar profit generating machine providing huge facilities to its consumers at the cost of peanuts. To make a billion out of a rupee and by keeping loved ones connected, one would only think that Guru Kant Desai of Guru Movie could only do it. But coming back to Pakistan, we have got not one but five of these gurus for whom not even sky is the limit!!

Special thanks to Usman Ahmad Khan and Wajid Iqbal.