Following through

As announced last week, FASTRising and YPL collaborated to procure and then distribute flour in an under-privileged locality.

The group of about a dozen volunteers first bought the flour from a wholesale store near Thokar Niaz Baig on the outskirts of the city and then headed over to the brick kiln where they distributed flour back in March. They sought the assistance of the manager there to identify another kiln, the search parameters being:

1. workers in financial distress
2. community size small enough to allow distribution of one 20 kg bag of flour to each family in distress

With his help, we were able to locate a suitable group of brick kiln workers and carry out the distribution.

We distributed 50 bags of flour, the entire activity costing Rs. 22, 000, i.e. Rs. 21, 500 for 50 bags at Rs. 430 each plus Rs. 500 to hire a suitable transport.

Please get in touch with us if you wish to contribute in some capacity to the next round of flour distribution, or if you want to replicate this initiative in your area and need pointers on where to get flour and on how to avoid causing a food riot.

Why this sudden publicity of volunteer activities? Essentially to get the word out to the affluent classes that people are in dire straits, hard-working, honourable, invisible people who can no longer make ends meet. The idea is that their lack of visibility should not translate to extinction. As mentioned earlier, YPL and some FASTRising members have been doing similar activities for several months already. Back then, we resisted all attempts to brand or to market (in any sense) this work. However, it is now clear that the crisis is here to stay for another season, perhaps even a whole year (depending on the will of the government, the will of the people and also the international trade situation) and it is critically important that young, aware, conscientious citizens step up to meet this challenge to their society. The earthquake in 2005 proved that there was still a spark of humanity and even heroism left in us. We hope that this crisis will bring out the best in us, incite us to find ways of sustaining the same spirit of sacrifice over the long term, to build a sense of community through concrete actions.

In this regard, we welcome all criticism and comment on this effort and intend to use your feedback to guide our discussions and future direction.