The writer is editorial consultant at The Express Tribune, news junkie, bibliophile, cat lover and occasional cyclist
The staff of Chicken Central were mostly deaf. There was a man, probably the manager, who used sign language and had speech as well, but the counter staff were all profoundly deaf and there was a sign to the left of the counter telling you in English and Urdu that this was company policy.
Quickly realising that something special was called for, I dredged my memory for my own remembrance of British Sign Language (our eldest daughter is profoundly deaf) and managed to sign my ‘pleases’ and ‘thank-yous’ to the obvious delight of the young man and woman behind the counter. Chicken products purchased — they were delicious by the way — I wandered back to the guest house, suffused with the rosy glow of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Fast forward to November 25 and a long-promised visit to a small school in a part of town that is plagued by sectarian and gang feuds and where somebody had been killed the night before.
Two brave and resourceful women, Fatima Jabeen and Shazia Khan, friends from their college days, founded a small NGO seven years ago. In many ways, theirs was a story I have heard often across Pakistan: people who are motivated by a desire to help their fellow men and women who are less fortunate or privileged than themselves, who turn their thoughts into, usually unsung, reality. There are thousands of projects like this, mostly unnoticed and a large number of them delivering a quality product. No fuss, no fanfare. And no money.
The Minerva School in Gulshan-e-Iqbal is one of those places that makes starting the week a positive pleasure. The school has about 200 students, around 70 per cent of whom pay little or nothing by way of fees. Many are the children of Seraiki migrant workers. There are Hindu and Christian children being taught. The classes are smaller than the average and the school clearly struggles for resources. But no matter — the day of my visit it was ‘activity day’ and the children were all busy painting, cutting, building and shaping. They were under the instruction of teachers who had been trained by the NGO they worked for and were obviously happy both to be where they were and to do what they were doing.
Fatima Jabeen and Shazia Khan know all about CSR. They are both graduates and both work as faculty in higher education when they are not beavering away at the Minerva School. Fatima takes care of the fundraising, Shazia looks after the academic side of things. They spoke ruefully of the eternal battle to make ends meet (they rarely do) and of their attempts to hook financial support. They supported their words with hard numbers and a well-written annual report.
The prevailing mindset is that NGOs are corrupt and fritter away whatever monies they attract. Some do and I have seen the evidence for myself, but a lot do not and find themselves tarred with the same brush as those who would rob their benefactors.
The deaf people who served me on Saturday are the smiling end of an effective and well-funded and managed programme of CSR by the local franchise of an international brand. The children I saw at the Minerva School were there by virtue of the grit and determination of two quietly remarkable women, who have bettered hundreds of lives using nothing but their own resources.
So, the next time you casually dismiss those who run NGOs as little more than licensed bandits, just spare a thought for Shazia and Fatima. Tootle-pip!
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2013.
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