HOPE Team's visit Muzaffargarh - Day 1

Educational measures still haven’t been fully implemented by the government in the deprived areas. At this rate, the idea of practically educating the whole nation seems to be far-fetched because the progress hasn’t been made on a fast pace. Be it rural or urban, education has to be basic right for every children which will eventually pave the way for the solution of every problem our country has ever come across. Unfortunately, we’re still a mere fragment of what Jinnah wanted us to be.

HOPE – a health NGO in Pakistan, however plans to eradicate the deep roots of illiteracy plunged into our society under the leadership of Dr Mubina Agboatwalla – a child specialist in Karachi. This idea does at some extent seem to be kind of involuntary approach utterly infiltrated by idealism but it is the ideals that move a country forward.  HOPE’s effort to promote education deep into rural areas has not overlooked the city of Muzaffargarh located in southwestern Punjab, Pakistan. HOPE started a small school in 2011, sponsored by HOPE USA and HSBC bank. Like tiny bricks which lead to the foundation of a giant building in a passage of time, HOPE will make efforts to create a better environment for children.

Every year, HOPE – a NGO in Pakistan plans to visit these remote areas and inspect the educational development they strive for. The children eagerly wait for us to set foot in their villages, and then literally jump on us from all corners to express their gratitude with their lit-up faces. Its tiny gestures like these which alone make up for every pains taking effort we’ve put in.

HOPE Team went to Muzzaffargarh on a two day visit and received many welcoming gestures. The two day visit had a festive aura with cheers and laughter in the air. On the first day, the school had a sport festival, where a large number of students participated and performed brilliantly in all the sport activities. The fact that we could we see a unique strength and their determining participation overly justified the organizing of this event at the first place. The girls had their sights on the silverware too and they eagerly participated side by side with boys developing a keen sense of what a sports competition is really about. The aftermath of this enjoyable yet energy draining competition was of course the prize distribution ceremony with an amazing response from the audience. In addition, pencil boxes and lunchboxes were also distributed among the students as a reward for their participation. 

We often lose track of all the misery surrounding this world, given how fast-paced our lives have turned to be. However, it is these little amazing moments that help us caste off our armor of our own self-centered bubble and lets us embrace the gut-wrenching difficulties most of us have been through!

Inauguration of HOPE Clinic

Healthcare has somewhat been perceived as a far-off luxury to a sizeable chunk of Pakistani population, given the fact that the middle-class sector has been invincible and the rich live in their own confined bubble with all the basic necessities or perhaps slightly more than ‘basic’. Further added to the misery is the fact that Pakistan has recently had the third highest rate of infant mortality in the world. Let that sink in for a moment!

While some of the health services have been evident in the populated areas for instance Karachi and Lahore because the health department has been active in these big cities. However, slum areas like Bilal Colony seemed to have been completely cut-off from the tide of heath measures being swept across the country after the UN warnings.  Bilal Colony has estimate population of around 3 lac with some private clinics installed by the government but due to the shortage of funds and corruption in the government departments, the clinics have not been somewhat established. There has been a network of a handful of privately organized clinics though, established within a 3 km radius of every village with free checkup and treatment. But merely 3 or 4 clinics cannot cater all the population and cover the basic treatments of a population as huge as 3 lacs. However, HOPE – a health NGO in Pakistan, under the leadership of Dr Mubina Agboatwalla- a child specialist in Karachi, plans to reduce the gap in a fairly recent future by establishing a network of clinics in the area.

HOPE-a health NGO in Pakistan continues its work to improve the living standards of the children and poor communities by fulfilling their basic rights of healthcare and education. The acknowledgement and appreciation of our work energizes the team with motivation to put in even greater effort in doing so.

Inspection of the hand pumps

Water, unlike most of the things that we are blessed with, is a common and essential element everybody should have rather than confining it as a luxury available to only those living in the metropolitan cities. Contrary to that belief however, most of the people in rural areas barely have access to clean drinking water, not only because it is mostly polluted or contaminated but also due to its scarcity. Moreover, summer is the season which strikes them like a lightning, because they have to travel around 4-5km, in the scorching heat of the sun, just to fill a bucket of clean drinking water and return with the same conditions which seems unreasonable. In addition, no country on the face of the planet has marched forward while a great number of its population is still striving for a basic necessity like water.

Hence, HOPE- an Health NGO in Pakistan has been helping the needy to obtain safe drinking water by installing hand pumps in areas where people don’t have easy access to it. In this regard HOPE’s youth wing in the US also held meet ups with various youth groups and students and enlightened them about the unavailability of water in these remote areas and the terrible consequences of ignoring the demand of safe drinking water in these areas. These meet ups winded up paving the way for the formation of a “support group” eager to provide financial support for installation of hand pumps in selected areas that are in dire need of clean water.

Previously, HOPE- an Health NGO in Pakistan has installed hand pumps in numerous villages, this time 3 villages namely Umar Jamoth Goth, Gul-hasan Goth and Usman Goth were selected for the setup of the hand pumps entrusted by HOPE which benefitted around 40-50 houses in the first village followed by around 50-60 houses in the second village and about 300-450 houses in the third village.

Under the leadership of Dr Mubina Agboatwalla- a child specialist in Karachi, a team comprising 4 members went to the above mentioned villages to monitor if the hand pumps were installed properly and if there is any complaint regarding it. The team, however, was delighted to see the outstandingly lit-up expressions and happy faces of the residents. Their gestures suggested that they have become accustomed to the usage of the hand pumps and their lives have become much easier. In addition, members of HOPE’s Youth Wing based in the US will visit these areas in a fairly distant future to view and inspect these hand pumps.

Toyota Arranges an Interactive Session for HOPE School's Children

 Educators have long known that the arts can contribute to student academic success and emotional well being. Hence, HOPE - an educational NGO in Pakistan, has always given importance to arts related activities for the underprivileged students studying at HOPE Schools, so that they never feel that they are being left behind in any sphere of life.

Recently, HOPE Formal School's (Zia Colony) students were taken to Toyota Company for an interactive session in which 41 students of the school participated. These students were accompanied by 3 teachers. The session included drawing competition, dancing and different exercises. Certificates were awarded to the drawing competition contestants. Different games were also held for the students. 

Story telling session was also an important part of this interactive activity. The ancient art of storytelling is especially well-suited for student exploration. As a learning tool, storytelling can encourage students to explore their unique expressiveness and can heighten a student's ability to communicate thoughts and feelings in an articulate, lucid manner. These benefits transcend the art experience to support daily life skills. In our fast-paced, media-driven world, storytelling can be a nurturing way to remind children that their spoken words are powerful, that listening is important, and that clear communication between people is an art.

The students were given a refreshment box which was followed by lunch at the end of the session. All in all, the students really enjoyed the activities and must have learned a great deal out of each activity.

HOPE- an NGO in Pakistan, regularly taken their students for  field trips and exhibitions etc in order to expose them to different cultural aspects of the world around them as these trips and visits are recognized as important moments in learning.

HOPE, under the guidance of Chairperson Dr. Mubina Agboatwalla - Child Specialist in Karachi, makes sure to bring the best out of its students and to allow them to get involved in diverse interests as it is important for them to be very diverse in their interests.