By Kumail, English Access Program Alumnus from Karachi
Today I am going to let you know why I am known as a social worker in my locality. In fact, most people from outside my area are surprised to hear that a student is a volunteer and the people of my slum area call me “Kumail the Community Leader.” I owe this to none other than the Access Program.
Some people look at me as a fool who is just roaming around. They think, “How can an English language program teach volunteerism?” My simple reply to them is, “If you want to, you can visit an Access center and see for yourself.” Without the motivation that I received from the Access Program, I wouldn’t even know that I could be a social worker, and working for my community is like a dream come true for me. The small community projects we did during the Access Program, like beach cleaning, park cleaning, tree planting, and others motivated me.
Before this motivation from my Access teachers through our community projects, I didn’t even know that I had this desire to be a volunteer and to serve my community, but slowly this desire was being built up inside me. I also remember the one-hour lecture of Sir Sarfaraz about how Access students can serve and help the community. In addition, during the Access Program, I was very motivated by celebrating many global days, such as Earth Day.
Just because of these activities during the Access Program, I developed a desire to volunteer, so my Access teacher suggested that I do some research about the lives of known social workers, like Abdul Sattar Edhi, Madam Theresa, and others. I kept thinking, “How we can serve my community?” And this became a goal in my mind. So, I started volunteering on a small scale, doing things like watering local plants and cleaning the local streets, but I didn’t have any proper training. Thankfully, our school administration arranged an 18-hour training program on volunteering for us, during which we were trained by “Family Education Service Foundation.” Because I was so eager to do something for the betterment of my community, I was selected as a secretary of my group named Social Developmental Volunteers. I have also been getting help from my Access teacher who has suggested a project for us.
By the Grace of Allah and motivation given by my seniors, I am conducting some valuable projects. We are providing clean drinking water for those who do not have any possibility to get clean drinking water. Furthermore, through our fundraising program, we are lending small amounts for small businesses to those who are unemployed and want to have their own cottage businesses. In addition, we have contacted some NGOs, i.e., Bagh-e-Zehra Trust and received Rs.5000/- as a donation for our Fundraising Project, and United Bank Limited (UBL) called us for a meeting and invited us to plant 1,000 trees at UBL’s Sports Complex. We have also been invited to meet with the commissioner of Karachi to work on the physical appearance of Karachi. These are victories, and soon there will be more victories. I am also making people aware by blogging, which I also learned to do during the Access Program.
A guy who wasn’t even able to open his mouth to speak to anyone is now getting a chance to meet with the Commissioner of Karachi. The guy who started volunteering alone now has 20 more volunteers working with him, and all this became possible because of the Access Program and the confidence that it gave me. Personally, I am really thankful to the management of Access for providing a platform to the young generation of Pakistan to work for the betterment of Pakistan, and InshAllah Access will succeed at bringing positive change in Pakistan.
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U.S. Embassy Islamabad’s English Access Micro-scholarship Program provides English language skills to 14-18 year old students through afterschool classes and summer learning activities. Students gain an appreciation for American culture and democratic values, and increase their ability to participate in Pakistan’s socio-economic development–and future U.S. exchange and study programs. Pakistan has the largest Access program in the world with more than 5,000 students in 18 locations across the country! To learn more, visit http://islamabad.usembassy.gov/english_lang_programs.html.
