Keeping Edhi’s Mission Alive-Fundraising activity
Abdul Sattar Edhi, a man who grew light of hope in barren hearts. The richest poor man. The man who single-handedly changed the welfare culture of Pakistan. After his demise, Edhi Foundation went through lots of crises but still managed to help the people of Pakistan in the most crucial times.
Yes, time may have been tough but can’t outstand our steel determination for helping humanity. As Amal fellows, we challenged our problem-solving competency and initiated the fundraising activity for the Edhi foundation. At first, things seemed to be impossible until we took the first step.
We struggled, we stressed out, we were worried, There were times when we got hurt on a personal level when we faced provoking responses. We felt like giving up, in spite of all that we managed to push each other up and carry on for this noble cause. Famous practices of Edhi Sb like “simplicity, punctuality, hard work and prudence” kept us going.
Found People who appreciated our efforts too and the way we carried out this work while managing it in parallel with our daily commitments.
Approach with Goal In Sight:
Firstly, we made a strategy of fundraising for this noble cause. We divided the tasks among circle members from providing information to people to convincing them and collecting funds for the Edhi Foundation. We reached people through social media platforms including WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, and through our personal channels including family and friends.
We made a motivational video and a post for this cause and tried to spread it as much as possible for greater reach. We reached out to almost all of our family members, friends, and neighbors.
Our circle also reached out to strangers. We aimed to reach out to as many people as we could for this cause.
Most of them asked for details and said that they will provide the findings to us so we provided them with account details, but we also faced rejections from some people. They said that if they want to donate, they do not have to provide us with the funds. They stated that they would donate the money by themselves. It was a disappointment for us, but this is the reality of life.
What it taught us?
The experience of collecting funds for a social cause made us see the bittersweet reality of our society. It prepared us for the failures and rejections that we will face in different parts of our lives. It also introduced us to the fact that there are so many people rejecting, but there are a lot of them who will admire and stand tall with you. You must focus on the positive aspects of life and ignore the negative ones for your inner peace and calmness.
We collected funds individually as well as in groups in the form of “Donation Drive” that our group members conducted in 2 different areas of Karachi. Many people did not show welcoming behavior and refused to give a single rupee. While some of them appreciated us for being a part of such a noble cause.
The biggest challenge we faced in this project was convincing people to donate. So, we overcame this challenge by telling them motivational stories from the life of Edhi Sb and how he sacrificed his youth and whole life for the betterment of the people of Pakistan.
Albert Einstein once said, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”
We faced challenges. We made mistakes but these mistakes made us believe that we have found hundreds of ways that do not work in this cause. This experience made us realize that Edhi Sb was a man of determination and he had a strong belief in himself. The element of rejection made us believe that whenever you start something, whether it is a business or a social cause, you face a lot of rejections and disappointments but in the end, when we look back at our journey, all we can say is:
“This experience was worth it.”
From this project, we learned a valuable lesson that “You do not become enormously successful without encountering and overcoming a number of extremely challenging problems”.In the end, we know that despite the challenges we faced, we still made a difference.
Today, we are proud. Proud of ourselves. Proud of our accomplishments. Proud of our team. And most importantly, proud of Abdul Sattar Edhi Sb!
