Role of the privileged
Only those nations prosper and flourish where citizens have values and the privileged class realise their significance
How many times have we sat in cafés, drawing rooms or during our office breaks and discussed the current situation in the country? But the question remains: How many of us have actually reacted by taking any sort of action?
Only those nations prosper and flourish where citizens have values, where the privileged classes realise the significance of their fortunate status and where they recognise the needs of the impoverished classes. We are all part of a single society and if anyone believes that he or she can live and be shielded from societal problems, they are living in a dangerous dream. Pakistan is a nation in dire straits, as recent trends have made abundantly clear. For the first time in our history, we have seen 38 consecutive months of double-digit inflation, devastating floods, the worst law and order situation since our independence and a crippling energy crisis. We have seen the lowest investment in four decades and a significant slowdown in overall economic activities. This has resulted in increased unemployment and rising poverty. People cannot afford basic foodstuff and other necessities of life as these have become unaffordable. Many have been forced to take their children out of schools as they cannot afford tuition and books with their shrunken budgets.
Imagine if every family that earns more than Rs100,000 a month makes a solemn resolution to teach a minimum of 10 needy kids a year. No huge investment is required for this and for as little as Rs400-800 per month, you can teach a child at an NGO school. If we conservatively assume that there are 100,000 households making this level of income, tomorrow we can help a million impoverished children to read and write. There are two kinds of people; those who live in a dream world and others who love to face reality. We should be the latter. Teaching one million children will impact seven million citizens as the average Pakistani household size is seven members per family.
For those who have not yet touched other lives in a big way, one of the most courageous acts you can do is to move out of your comfort zone. Make an immediate resolution to help out the flood victims who have lost everything. Just imagine for a second, if one day your home is taken from you, every valuable you ever owned is washed away, you have no savings, no acquaintances or friends who could help, have no shelter for you or your family, no food, no water and no access to medical aid. Yes it is a scary and terrifying thought but the least we can do to help anyone suffering from such a fate is to help in any way we can. Join any of the hundreds of NGOs working day and night to help flood victims.
Have a mission in life and set a vision. As the world famous educator and writer Hellen Keller, who was born deaf and blind, very aptly stated: “The greatest tragedy in life is people who have sight but no vision”. Don’t lose this ideal opportunity to help your fellow citizens at a very critical juncture in history. Having a vision will have no impact if your heart, passion and attitude are not positive and not in sync with your goals in life. We are all here for a brief moment, so let us all try to make a difference.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2011.
Only those nations prosper and flourish where citizens have values, where the privileged classes realise the significance of their fortunate status and where they recognise the needs of the impoverished classes. We are all part of a single society and if anyone believes that he or she can live and be shielded from societal problems, they are living in a dangerous dream. Pakistan is a nation in dire straits, as recent trends have made abundantly clear. For the first time in our history, we have seen 38 consecutive months of double-digit inflation, devastating floods, the worst law and order situation since our independence and a crippling energy crisis. We have seen the lowest investment in four decades and a significant slowdown in overall economic activities. This has resulted in increased unemployment and rising poverty. People cannot afford basic foodstuff and other necessities of life as these have become unaffordable. Many have been forced to take their children out of schools as they cannot afford tuition and books with their shrunken budgets.
Imagine if every family that earns more than Rs100,000 a month makes a solemn resolution to teach a minimum of 10 needy kids a year. No huge investment is required for this and for as little as Rs400-800 per month, you can teach a child at an NGO school. If we conservatively assume that there are 100,000 households making this level of income, tomorrow we can help a million impoverished children to read and write. There are two kinds of people; those who live in a dream world and others who love to face reality. We should be the latter. Teaching one million children will impact seven million citizens as the average Pakistani household size is seven members per family.
For those who have not yet touched other lives in a big way, one of the most courageous acts you can do is to move out of your comfort zone. Make an immediate resolution to help out the flood victims who have lost everything. Just imagine for a second, if one day your home is taken from you, every valuable you ever owned is washed away, you have no savings, no acquaintances or friends who could help, have no shelter for you or your family, no food, no water and no access to medical aid. Yes it is a scary and terrifying thought but the least we can do to help anyone suffering from such a fate is to help in any way we can. Join any of the hundreds of NGOs working day and night to help flood victims.
Have a mission in life and set a vision. As the world famous educator and writer Hellen Keller, who was born deaf and blind, very aptly stated: “The greatest tragedy in life is people who have sight but no vision”. Don’t lose this ideal opportunity to help your fellow citizens at a very critical juncture in history. Having a vision will have no impact if your heart, passion and attitude are not positive and not in sync with your goals in life. We are all here for a brief moment, so let us all try to make a difference.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2011.