This company is providing Bahawalpur’s homeless with beds

Billbeds: A silver lining for Bahawalpur’s homeless people

BAHAWALPUR: When an international advertising agency was coming up with ideas for a new campaign for a leading mattress brand Molty Foam, it saw an opportunity to do some good. They devised a solution and developed the world’s first billboard-cum-bed for the homeless. The project gained immense popularity and its social impact was immense.

According to statistics, there are about half a million homeless people sleeping on the streets in major cities in Pakistan. Most of them come to the cities to work as labourers on meager wages. A large percentage of the earnings is sent to the workers’ families, leaving them penniless and with no place to call home.

These labourers cannot afford the luxury of a soft bed at night and are compelled to sleep on a cold pavement or some other uninviting hard surface.

Utilising it’s creativity skills, the agency set out to create simple billboards that could advertise Molty Foam during the day and turn into beds at night. The result is the BillBed – a billboard held up by two poles secured in the ground, featuring a Molty Foam advertisement on one side and a sealed mattress on the other side. Using the bed is as simple as flipping over the sign and lying down.

In Bahawalpur, the Parks and Horticulture Authority took the initiative and installed 50 billbeds for the homeless persons at various locations of the city.



The company claims it has used two-inch foam on the surface to keep the billbeds soft and cozy. Not only this, the foam used in the billbeds is of the same quality which is being supplied to Pakistan Railway for making berths.

The project was implemented as a solution to the problems of homeless people without compromising on the beauty of the city. It was decided that instead of stopping such persons from sleeping on the roadsides, , green belts and parks, an aesthetically acceptable solution should be introduced. The billbeds have now been fixed at Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Civil Hospital, Dring stadium, general bus stand and other public places. In addition, deployment of PHA staff is also underway so that a particular schedule of converting billbeds into beds at night and back to billboards at sunrise could be followed.

The residents of Bahawalpur have appreciated the idea but at the same time are skeptical if the management would keep on following the initiative with the same vigour. Others believed that the problem of homeless persons was chronic and deep-rooted and needed to be tackled through an effective policy by the provincial and federal governments.

Hamza Sharif, a resident of Azizabad Colony, told The Express Tribune, “It is a positive step and it will help the poor who do not have homes.This will prevent them from getting bit by snakes and other insects as they will not be sleeping on the ground anymore.”

Similarly, Naveed Anwar, who resides in Muhammadia Colony, said, “These beds are also an addition to the city’s beauty as they look good and pleasing to the eyes.” He added, “These billbeds also facilitate the people who are travelling from other cities and have to wait on the bus stand. They can at least have a comfortable time waiting for their bus.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 18^th, 2017.