Mojza Blog
Volunteering and Community Engagement
Making a Difference This Summer
By Kanza Ahsan | 23 july 2023
Academics demand focused studies and hectic routines which may result in a student feeling burnt out by the end of their exams. Summer breaks offer a peaceful retreat and the art is in utilising it to uplift your stressed body and mind. Volunteering is one way to engage for the benefit of your society, as it has diverse advantages, the knowledge of being resourceful gives peace, while instilling a sense of satisfaction, and boosting self esteem and empathy. The bonds made through selflessness counter isolation like nothing else; and laborious activities impact your physical health positively. Some interesting ways can also be discovered in Hussain Moghal’s blog featuring “25 Free Extra Curricular Opportunities” on Mojza.
Volunteerism Is Beneficial
There are numerous benefits of selfless community engagement. It provides a medium for self-discovery, skills enhancement, hands-on experience and boosts self esteem!
The illustration above shows a handful of ways that can serve as volunteer opportunities, along with their respective benefits. Instead of contributing/adding to the problems, here are a few activities you can be a part of to fulfill your role as a good citizen.
Share Responsibilities At Home
Change begins with you. While trying to make a difference, find ways to share responsibilities in your home. It could be an attempt at lending a hand in the kitchen or by helping your elderly relatives with their day-to-day routine. Reading out excerpts from your grandmothers’ favorite book or gardening with grand-dad are some examples of simple sweet gestures.
partake in mass drives for social causes
Drives are arranged to achieve social causes. You can be an active part of them, or donate money and resources to trusted organisers. Such events might include:
1. plantation drives
Planting in a densely populated urban area, alongside a road, or even in multiple-storeyed buildings, could be effective to fight climate change. It’s also a celebrated good deed; Islam regards this act as an ongoing charity. (Sahih Al-Bukhari, 2320)
2. cleaning drives
Beaches, streets, shallow water bodies, etc, are cleaned together to rid them of human-induced pollution. Mass cleaning drives can do what a single human would have difficulty doing alone.
3. fundraising drives
Fundraising drives could be initiated for numerous welfare purposes. But beware of scammers and never donate without being certain of their authenticity. Remember to choose organisations that are registered and have social media pages or links which can be checked for legitimacy and reviews.
4. food drives
Many people have taken the roles of food providers in the big bustling cities of Pakistan such as in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, etc. You can play a part by either donating for the cause, running a social media campaign for crowdfunding, or actively engaging in the onsite work by registering with the organisations. To name a few, JDC, Edhi, Chippa make prominent figures as food providers to local people in need.
5. clothing drives
People provide philanthropic services by sharing their clothes with the homeless, those in shelters, or even to the people providing services in their surroundings like maids, watchmen, drivers, etc.
6. winter drives
People also contribute towards arranging mass Winter Drives in which they donate winter clothes, layers and blankets to their homeless brethren. It is a remarkable and compassionate deed to look after those who neither resort to begging on the streets nor pose themselves as a nuisance or threat to others.
donate blood, save lives
Pakistan has ~5K Thalassemia patients diagnosed yearly. These persons require blood transfusion every few weeks because their body lacks the ability to renew its blood supply; hence, they rely largely on donations as there is no strategic department working for it, and NGOs are the only hope for them. Donate Blood to Alkhidmat, JDC, etc as an ongoing charity unlike anything else.
Be a Caretaker at Welfare Homes
Abandoned ones find salvation in Welfare Homes. These places can offer support and shelter to old people disowned by families; unloved and unwanted infants, and newborns; orphan children; refugees, or even abandoned or mistreated animals, including pets.
1. shelter homes for humans
Meeting people with scarred lives invokes empathy, sparking gratitude. A beautiful way to meet and cherish marginalised and uncared-for groups is by caretaking at welfare homes, like orphanages or old-homes. Researches prove that it can have benefits for the residents, for instance, by improving food intake, bonding, or having their family’s satisfaction. Pakistan has numerous places where neglected people take shelter, and which can be a means of doing good for students. Among such facilities, the following are popular:
- Edhi Foundation (Throughout Pakistan)
- Women Shelter Homes (Punjab)
- Baitussalam Welfare Organisation (Throughout Pakistan)
- Chippa (Throughout Pakistan)
2. animal shelters
With a growing emphasis on animal rights, Pakistan has also opened up such spaces where abandoned animals could receive the love they deserve. Rescues can vary from universal pets like cats and dogs, to suffering large mammals like goats, monkeys, cows and even donkeys. There are organisations who are even working for the often feared but harmless reptiles. These places can also offer volunteering opportunities for those seeking a healthy escape during summers. It could be a welcoming respite for students who are not allowed to keep pets at home. Besides visiting, one can take part in their rescue missions or study trips too!
I have found the following places worth being helped across Pakistan:
Fellowships and Social Action Projects (SAPs)
An interesting new way to engage in community welfare work is through empowering training programs that take you through guided sessions and practices to challenge and bring out your true potential, while also enlightening a sense of responsibility within. I have found such conferences and workshops truly transforming and below are some credible organizations just for the youth that host such events:
- The Youth Impact (YI)
- Shaoor Foundation For Education and Awareness (SFEA)
- School of Leadership (SOL)
- Cholistan Center of Excellence (CCE)
- Edlab Pakistan (Edlab)
- Teach for Pakistan (TFP)
- Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FnF)
- Akhuwat Organisation (Akhuwat)
- The Citizens Foundation (TCF)
A Social Action Project (SAP) addresses the issues of a place, region, audience, and devises a workable solution for them, meanwhile listing out all possible challenges and formulating additional plans to overcome them in case they do arise. The completion or success of a SAP is when your desired outcome is generated and the target audience is benefitted. It is advisable to participate in several workshops to not only have a better command on such skills, but also ideas on how to best deliver an impactful assignment. TFP and TCF work to bring quality education to the underprivileged masses and could be the best platforms for young teachers.
My favourite thing about Fellowships is their mode of learning i.e. experiential; you don’t ratify morals, but rather work them out. You get to practise the learnings of your lifetime in real and stimulating environments, and you get to enhance your neural connections by acquiring newer experiences and knowledge.
fundraising via Non-profitable sales
Apart from helping strangers, humans must invest in kinship ties, too. It’s an Islamic teaching to help your nearest of kin first, before moving ahead with the rest. To raise funds for a needy relative or for any other cause, you may partake in events, book a stall, sell your product and donate profits thus obtained.
Student-led Organisations
There are some brilliant opportunities for the youth to become a part of, and hence improve their skills, learn newer ones (especially digital skills) and to develop their resume. Mojza, for instance, is a similar platform. It offers O and A Level notes and resources, guides, tips and even counselling via Mojza’s Discord Server. What interests me, though, is that it offers you the opportunity to become a volunteer yourself! From maintaining the website to preparing content, you can apply for any role and build up your portfolio and connections!
Other examples include that of The Uraan Initiative, and Znotes. Find the one that suits you best and get going!
Volunteering and community engagement is one way in which the country may harness youth energy and potential because it’s not uncommon news that our younger generation is much agitated these days and has too much to comment and say on social media. However, these sayings aren’t what will drive the change, but rather it’s the acts that would! So watch out for your own errors and correct others in a polite thought-provoking manner, and take necessary corrective measures where need arises! Good luck!
Acknowledgements
Author: Kanza Ahsan
Proofreaders: Saif ur Rahman, Syed Muhammad Shaheer Ali, Muhammad Muneeb Javed
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Published: 23 July 2023
Last Updated: 23 July 2023
Written by Kanza Ahsan