Al Khidmat Foundation pays tributes to flood volunteers

LAHORE : A grand event was organised by Al Khidmat Foundation here at Aiwan-e-Iqbal on Saturday to acknowledge and celebrate its volunteers who reached out to the people trapped in floods, rescued them and provided them with alms and shelter in extraordinary situations. Milkar.com that provides a platform to many NGOs had a pivotal role in connecting the many volunteers.

The big hall was packed largely with students and activists. It was the 7th such event that Al Khidmat had organised. One of the speakers the youth listened to most intently and cheered a lot was Shehroz Kashif who became the youngest climber in the world to reach Mount Everest and K-2. He said he started mountaineering when he was 11 years old and gave the credit for this to his father who recognised his child’s passion and helped him realise his potential by encouraging him to follow his heart. Shehroz Kashif has summitted 10 of the 14 highest peaks in the world by now.

The 20-year-old narrated a bone chilling experience of how he lost his way while returning from Nanga Parbat. “I was still 7500 ft away from the ground. I and another mountaineer, Fazal Ali, were together. We ran out of food and water. We did not have food for 72 hours and water for 48 hours. I experienced hallucination, edema and feared the lungs were not working right. We dug snow, put our face in it and slept there. Next morning, we started moving, not knowing where that would lead to but we kept moving for 12 hours until we saw a camp and knew we were saved. The only thing that kept us going was our faith in Allah. You give up, you die. One can get over lack of facilities. The important thing is not to give up,” he concluded.

The volunteers also risked their lives to save thousands of lives trapped in the dangerous floods. Farmanullah and his team mate Murad Swati transported people on a charpoy used for funeral—running it on a pulley they made from ropes. They saved many lives that way and were much appreciated.

Dr Gohar Shah gave medicines and food to people of flood-affected areas in Sindh. He made teams of volunteers and assigned them different groups. One was of pregnant women because they needed medicines and food according to their needs. Another team was looking after children and yet another was taking care of special children.

Kashaf Shah of Milkar.com that connects people, skills and good causes, said, “The adage ‘never underestimate the power of a small group’ is true. Al Khidmat Foundation has proved that. It is one organisation that understands how to help in disaster. That which cannot be done alone, is possible together. Everyone has a mobile phone. Please give Zakat of your time,” he pleaded.

Syeda Urooj Fatima would cook and reach out to the families displaced by floods. People would contact her for food. Only the hungry asks for food. If each household could feed just one mouth the family have their meal, hunger may be tackled, she said.

Syed Waqas Jafri said the difference between the developed and backward countries is because of education, culture and attitude. “Those who have prospered have assured human dignity,” he said.

Al Khidmat runs orphanages as well. The organisation raised a boy, Abdul Museeb in the Child Protection Centre in Peshawar who did excellent in studies, went to Edwardes College in Peshawar, is a gold medalist and has recently got a job in Nadra. In his speech he requested people to help children realise their talent. “I found such people and succeeded. I got support and am grateful. Kindly support such children,” he said.

Liaquat Baloch, Naib Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami, was the chief guest. He gave a motivational speech to the youth and talked about his sacrifices for the party. He became a GD Pilot but left it to carry on party’s work as the party said it wanted to field him as a candidate in the elections in 1979. The elections weren’t held. He said he did his masters from Boston and was going for a PhD when the party again called him back.

Among others who spoke on the occasion were Umer Saif and Al Khidmat Foundation’s seniors such as Hafeez-ur-Rehman who was president Al Khidmat Foundation from 2011-2014. He said they started orphanages for the trash pickers in Peshawar then. Now there are 52 centres of Al Khidmat Foundation.

The government has assessed it will take a decade to rehabilitate the population affected by floods in 2022. The world has rallied to their defence by pledging nine billion dollars for the flood-affectees which Pakistan will receive in a period of three years and use it in ten years. There is a lot of work for the volunteers to do. The participants also took out a rally to highlight climate change and the need for climate justice.