Muslims from all over the world make a concerted effort to carry out various acts of kindness and engage in different forms of prayer in Ramzan as its is considered a blessed month. Charity and donations rise during this month of giving. In Pakistan, people opt to give charity in Ramzan in larger numbers compared to the rest of the year. Studies have shown that Pakistanis donate 72% of their annual total income to charity during the holy month, with Karachi being the nation’s most charitable metropolis.

However, this year most of the non-profit charity and philanthropist organisations are quoting very low numbers of donations. With Pakistan on the verge of an economic collapse, drastic changes have been observed by those who head charity organizations. The number of people asking for help has increased whereas the number of hands that feed them has lessened.

Donations dwindling

Zafar Abbas runs the Jafriya Disaster Management Cell Welfare Organisation, commonly known as JDC Foundation. The non-governmental organisation (NGO) regularly sets up an eating area in a huge ground. They provide free food but they also want to offer dignity to the needy. So they place tables and chairs, put up fans and even chandeliers in order to create a pleasant atmosphere for those who come. The menu includes saalan, roti and biryani. Previously, Abbas says, they even catered extravagant dishes made with ostrich and camel meat. This Ramzan, the JDC suhoor and iftar meals have also been simple unlike what they would serve in the past.

For those families who are unable to get to the JDC because of conveyance issues, volunteers deliver food to their homes. Around 20 to 25 volunteers take around 400-500 boxes of food to the doorsteps of the families who have signed up for delivery.

According to the recent statistics of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on March 1, 2023, inflation soared to 31.5 percent— the highest since 1974. The average person, earning Rs50,000 a month could usually donate almost half of that amount in Ramzan. However, since the buying power of the common man has decreased, the average person is now unable to bear even their basic household expenses, let alone set money aside for charity.

With the changing financial paradigm over the past year, the donation numbers have gone down drastically. Faisal Edhi, who now leads the world-renowned charity in his father’s name, says, “Donation has gone down but it is tricky. It hasn’t gone down in terms of money but [since our] purchasing power has halved, inflation has made things difficult. Anything that was costing us 5,000 rupees is now costing double.” He adds that the Edhi Foundation has savings for such times and things are under control, and the needy are being provided for even in these hard times.

Increase in prices for everything from electricity to flour to fruits and add to it woes of unavailability of gas have all had impact. If you go by numbers alone, Abbas says, the amount of donations is not even 50 percent of what JDC have received in the first half of the month in the past. “Since [JDC] started working,” Abbas says, “we have not seen what we see today in terms of charity and donations because people who used to donate 50,000 to 60,000 rupees in Ramzan are unable to spare even 20,000 rupees now.”

Remittances feel the pinch

The NGOs and many other philanthropist organisations do not depend on local donors alone but also receive international funding, particularly from Pakistanis living abroad and Muslims across the globe. However, that too has gone down due to conversion rates and the drastic inflation of prices of essential food items. “The simple example is that an international donor who used to send us 100,000 rupees will send us the same but the buying power of that amount of money has changed,” Abbas explains. He adds, “With a 10kg flour packet costing between 1,400-1,700 rupees, how can we cater more than 15,000 people who come to us for food.” He started a campaign to elevate the system and help white-collar middle-class people who are the most affected by the current inflation.

According to Maulana Bashir Farooq Qadri of Saylani Welfare, it is not just donations in the holy month that have declined but, in fact, the whole scenario of charity giving has changed. “People who used to donate are now helpless and ask for help. People who have someone earning abroad, for them paying extra bank charges is making it difficult to have some extra money [leftover for donations],” Qadri explains. If the majority of the people in Pakistan are suffering, he says, then how can you expect to provide for all. “Nevertheless, international donors have been generous and the situation is still better than what we expected, also people who live abroad send charity for their brothers in Pakistan which eventually helps organisation such as ours to make ends meet,” he adds.

While charity plays a significant role in building a safety net for Pakistan’s society, more needs to be done to fully realise the benefits of long-term philanthropic development initiatives. Many institutions are working tirelessly in their capacity to provide education, health, food, and protection for those in need. “Saylani has provided supplies such as food, education, drinking water, and health facilities to the needy costing 10 billion rupees and we are expecting the same this year if not more,” Qadri informs. Other than that the organization also provides cooked and uncooked food supplies to 400,000 people every day in Ramzan and at least 200,000 people eat from their Dastarkhwan every day. The organisation provides clean drinking water to 25 million people across the country every day.

The situation of donation and charity has not just impacted the food distribution but also the health sector where philanthropists help millions of people who are suffering from life-threatening situations. For instance, the JDC provides free dialysis treatment at several centres established across the city, in Samanabad, Gulshan, Lyari, Liaquatabad, Malir and Five Star. The running expense of each centre is four million rupees a month; the soaring dollar rates have doubled the running cost because all the medical kits are imported from Germany. “The monthly expense has now risen to eight million rupees while donations that used to increase in the holy month have gone down,” the philanthropist explains.

Selfless city

Danish Khan goes door-to-door to give his charity, cutting out the middleman for this act of generosity. “We [as a family] do charity during almost the whole year but the idea of donating in Ramzan is different,” he says “as according to the religion the reward for doing good deeds in Ramzan is more than on normal days so most charity is done in this month.” Despite other donations, the main source is Zakat which 2.5% of a person’s wealth taken out to give it to the poor. Khan doesn’t believe in NGOs and charitable organizations and thinks that it is his responsibility to do this service himself as much as he can.

“It is not difficult to find poor people. In every locality there is a slum area and one can help people living there but the demand has increased on a larger scale. We used to get 100 packets of food, now there are 500 people asking for it,” he shares, adding that what charitable organizations are doing is also commendable because there is no system that can help this city survive otherwise.

Many organizations on a smaller scale help people, such as the Omair Sana Foundation that has set up a tandoor where they sell roti for five rupees which costs them 28 rupees.

Approximately 98% of the nation donates to charitable organization in some way or another, whether it's money, goods, or time. Above all, the city of Karachi never fails to amaze the masses when it comes to charity. “There is no doubt that the situation is not as good as it used to be but the people of this city have always stepped up when there is a difficult time. Similarly, this year, as the number of people approaching us for monetary help has increased the people who can, have helped tremendously as compared to last year,” shares Qazi Sadaruddin, spokesperson for Al-Khidmat Foundation, one of the oldest philanthropy organization operating in Karachi.

The whole idea behind the increase of giving in the month is to show empathy, generosity and compassion towards fellow members of the Muslim community. You can donate in the form of Zakat, Sadaqa, and Fitrana as well as other moral and social consideration. “The problem that we see today is not for the upper class and lower class. The division now is among the middle class which has been further divided into several classes because someone who has an average 30,000-40,000 rupees salary can no longer fulfill the needs of his family,” he says.

“The situation on the ground is not good but, yes, some generous donors have helped us cope with the decrease in donations and, yes, we have seen around a 15 percent increase in people who come to us for food, medical treatment or even basic grocery for their house,” Sadaruddin says. Every year, Al-Khidmat takes orphans on Eid shopping by providing them each 5,000 rupees voucher from which they can use for clothes, shoes, and anything they require. “Last year, we took 1,200 boys and girls while this year the number is around 1,700, so the charity in the city might be seen as low but people are still doing good as much as they can,” he says.