Heart, Minds and Closet

The ambiance of art, culture, music and theatre at Kuch Khass takes on a new colour as donation drive kicks off.

ISLAMABAD: The customary ambiance of art, culture, music and theatre at Kuch Khass took on a new colour on Saturday as Anya Raza kicked-off her donation drive. The charity campaign “Heart, Minds and Closets” aimed to get people to donate warm clothes for the flood-affected people.

And they responded. The spirit of giving suffused the quaint little common room, as the boxes lined up were rapidly filled with the generous donations from Islamabadis.

Raza, a Dutch Pakistani currently working with an Irish NGO, took it upon herself to set up this donation drive.

The campaign, according to Raza, is not only about collecting charity but also aims to spread awareness amongst Islamabadis.

“The idea,” she said, “is that everything little thing helps.”

“[Even] Rs50 can make a difference. Limited resources are not something to be ashamed of. What is important is to realize that there is always something we can do within our means,” Raza said, explaining her vision for the project.

The five-hour activity, according to Raza, managed to collect enough warm clothes, including underwear, socks and dresses, for about 250 people.

People also donated blankets, toys and school supplies for children in the flood-affected areas. Preceding this event, Anya Raza had run similar campaigns with Headstart and Frobels International School.

With their help she managed to collect warm clothes and other provisions for about 900 individuals.

She currently works in Nowshera, Charsadda and Peshawar district due to limited resources and logistical constraints. However she plans to expand her purview to other areas like Chitral and Kohistan, providing livelihood support in the form of seeds, sowing kits, fertilisers and tools.

She is also helping raise funds to start reconstruction activities in the villages destroyed by floods, by not only arranging for new raw material but also by hiring villagers to salvage materials from the debris.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2010.