Sponsor a village
in Pakistan
Due to the economic crisis
that Pakistan is facing, villages are some of the areas that are hardest hit
by the deprivation. Immunization of major diseases is minimal, if not non-existent.
They lack basic facilities like clean water that pose serious dangers to the
health and welfare of all. And literacy is at its worst in the villages, where
often times, children are needed to help with work to support their families
instead of getting an education.
In Pakistan, villages come
in different sizes, from the one made up of several different clans, for instance
to the smaller units of less than 100 people. Sponsoring a village does not
mean that you would have to provide for the livelihood of each person in each
village. Rather, \\it actually means is providing for some of a village's basic
needs like immunization from diseases, clean water and a basic education.
You can help provide for
these needs with a very minimal financial commitment. One American dollar a
month can provide immunization and clean water for a child in a village, along
with an education. That's the power of a dollar. That's the power of 25 cents
a week. You could sponsor the needs of a village of 200 children with just $200
a month. On a larger level, you could sponsor these needs for a year.
If supporting this project
for a year is too large a commitment for you to make as an individual, get together
with a couple of family members or friends and pool your money. This way, you
can support more people as a group. Perhaps you can even sponsor more than one
village.
This could lead to a core
of donors that can lead to you establishing your own organization to conduct
this necessary work. This, however requires a great deal of work. You would
have to find the right personnel to join your organization from health professionals
to the board of directors; register your organization; get non-profit status
for it; go to Pakistan and set up the programs to provide immunization, clean
water and education; publicize your organization in the US; solicit funds, etc.
Given all of this work,
it would be easier to work with organizations that are already doing this in
Pakistan. Some examples include APPNA SEHAT (http://www.appna.org/SEHAT.htm)
and HDF (www.yespakistan.com), both US-based organizations. They have sponsor
a village programs that focus on providing immunization, clean water and other
facilities in different villages in Pakistan.
You can also involve family
and friends to support the work of these organizations by encouraging them to
publicize their work, volunteer for it if they have the skills needed for it,
as well as donate to its programs. You can provide useful feedback about their
programs if you have visited a sponsored village in Pakistan. Discuss how service
could be improved or what new programs you feel could be added in the area.
Maybe you can even contact
a Muslim American school and ask the teachers or one class to sponsor 25 or
30 children in a village if a class of students can bring one dollar a month
for this cause.
Sponsoring a village is
something you can involve many Pakistani-Americans of all economic backgrounds
in. It is a small but substantial way to give back.
Date/Time Last Modified: 5/22/2003 12:54:57 PM
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