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~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ YesPakistan Newsletter *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A service of the Human Development Foundation: Helping people help themselves
Tuesday, October 1, 2002
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ http://www.YesPakistan.com *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

*~*~*~ HDF Financial Reports
*~*~*~ Frequently Asked Questions
*~*~*~ Project Pakistan Reports
*~*~*~ Strategic Planning Retreat: October 24-27, 2002

Assalamu Alaikum!

With the early morning Azan coming from all sides, you simply cannot sleep thorugh it, although you may feel like enjoying the Karachi morning breeze. I got up for Fajr and headed for a nearby Masjid. Searching for a Masjid was not difficult, since many others were heading in that direction. For some reason, everyone was dressed in white - white shirt, white Shalwar Kameez, and white Topi. It gave a sort of surreal look to the morning streets. While returning, I lost my way to the home I was staying in, but it gave me an opportunity to watch and observe what was around me. Here is what I saw.

I observed that people returning to their home after Fajr turned off the street lights. I learned that street lights in most areas are turned off and on through a switch which is placed by the city at about six or seven feet high on the poles, while the main roads are switched centrally by the city (whenever they remember to do it). It was another example of how responsible citizens are trying to compensate for government failure.

I noticed that early morning traffic on all small streets was exclusively of buses picking up children for school. Twenty years ago in Karachi, school buses were virtually non-existent. But with the privatization of education, and concerns for security, the school bus has become a common fixture in Karachi. Most people in Karachi do not start work until 10 a.m. or 11 a.m., but children and teachers are up by 5:30 a.m., getting ready or heading out for the schools. Pressed uniforms, neatly done hairs sleepy, but clean faces with a heavy burden of books, these students were heading out. I wish the streets outside their homes and schools were as clean as they were.

And schools are everywhere. In the four or five block walk I took, I counted five schools. It seems that the hottest business in Karachi is of education. Most posters in the neighborhood were about school, classes, tuition, and training of some sort. Because of this spirit, Pakistan has experienced a twelve percent increase in literacy in the last decade, despite the tightening of the literacy criteria and a lower government budget for education.

More of Karachi later ...

*~*~*~ Revived Women
Read the stories of Noor Jehan, Shaheen, and Fatima, and how an HDF-assisted adult literacy program is helping them.
http://YesPakistan.com/hdf/fem-rev-alc.asp

*~*~*~ HDF Strategic Planning Retreat: October 24-27, 2002
Talking, thinking, agreeing, and agreeing to disagree is a part of HDF's culture. We practise a lively democracy here. Our Strategic Planning Retreat is a crucial step in getting serious about our own ideas and priorities. Here are details of our open decision- making process.
Agenda: http://YesPakistan.com/hdf/agenda-10-26-02.pdf
Registration Form: http://YesPakistan.com/hdf/Registration-10-26-02.pdf

*~*~*~ Improving Pakistan's Internal Security
Some preliminary ideas to improve the law and order situation of Pakistan
http://YesPakistan.com/pakistanday/enhance_security.asp

*~*~*~ Origin of Indus River
The Indus River begins in Tibet from a spring known as "The Mouth of the Lion", and flows down through the Karakoram Mountains to enter the northern wastes of Pakistan. It continues its 2,880-kilometer journey southwards and westwards through the heart of the country, until it enter the Arabian Sea, near Karachi.

*~*~*~ HDF's Monthly Progress Report
http://YesPakistan.com/hdf/whatwedo/report-0802.asp

*~*~*~ Project Pakistan Reports
Here are fresh reports from Karachi and all four provinces about the progress of HDF's Project Pakistan. Please read and ask questions if something is not clear.
Karachi: http://YesPakistan.com/hdf/whatwedo/karachi.asp
Mardan: http://YesPakistan.com/hdf/whatwedo/Mardan.asp
Rahim Yar Khan: http://YesPakistan.com/hdf/whatwedo/ryk.asp
Shamsabad: http://YesPakistan.com/hdf/whatwedo/shamsabad.asp
Zhob: http://YesPakistan.com/hdf/whatwedo/zhob.asp

*~*~*~ HDF Financial Reports
http://YesPakistan.com/hdf/hdfweboffice/financialreports.asp

*~*~*~ HDF booths
ISNA: http://YesPakistan.com/hdf/isna02.asp
APPNA: http://YesPakistan.com/hdf/appna02.asp

*~*~*~ Frequently Asked Questions
http://YesPakistan.com/hdf/faq.asp

*~*~*~ The great Badshahi Mosque
The great Badshahi Mosque, built by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, has the largest courtyard in the world, measuring 161.13 meters by 161.03 meters. Up to 100,000 people pray in it during open-air congregational meetings.

*~*~*~ Donate for Pakistan
https://www.YesPakistan.com/hdf/whatyoucando/donation.asp

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HDF is an organization of Pakistani-Americans. Our aim is to inspire all Pakistanis abroad to network and help people help themselves.

Date/Time Last Modified: 6/28/2002 5:32:02 PM

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