While we go around parading in our new designer lawn outfits, sipping lemonade in our air conditioned rooms and planning what next restaurant to eat at or where the next exhibition is in a country diseased with poverty, there is a child out there who died of a common childhood ailment because his parents couldn’t afford the hospital bills, a father sweeping the streets in the blistering heat to make sure there is a meal on his table tonight and countless others working day-in, day-out to keep their families afloat with some little dignity. The thought of going home empty-handed haunts their conscious all day. The ghost of the “Poverty Bomb” of the 1990s still lingers on. About 60 million out of a population of approximately 180 million Pakistanis are living below the poverty line as announced by the PML-N government. When their continuous diligence doesn’t pay off, when they still can’t manage to put enough bread on the table, these poverty stricken, under-clothed and ill-fed beings then find solace in the violence against the fragile, the drugs to alienate them from their plight and the guns that speak for themselves just by being. They fall into an abyss of misery and despair. So desperate for the basic needs of a human life that they lose all sense of right or wrong. Hence, the chaos, the desolation and wretchedness that screams in the silence of the night, among the streets lined with crumbling houses and the roundabout laden with vagrant men. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” And we see these words becoming a ground reality all around us. This horrifying state of our folks leaves us with a nagging question in the back of our minds, ‘what shall become of the unwashed, the homeless, the ‘Les Miserables’ of Pakistan?’

Though this may be a slow walk to the finish line, there are many non-profit organizations finding an answer to this question, working relentlessly day and night to eradicate poverty from Pakistan. One very admirable and reputed organization that catches the eye is Seed Out, a crowd funded platform fighting poverty through micro entrepreneurship. It has touched the lives of many unfortunate by helping them establish a stable source of income, mainly in the city of Gujranwala. On 29th May 2016, Seed Out, held an advisory board meeting at Cosa Nostra, Lahore, to find an answer to the persisting question of the plight of the poor. Many key figures from all walks of life, from philanthropists to businessmen to academics participated in this meeting to take action against this growing disease infecting everyone in its way. During the process, Mr. Zain Ashraf Mughal, Founder and President Seed Out narrated the importance of right and transparent use of zakat as well as highlighted the process of Seed Out. “Not someone can help everyone, but everyone can help someone”, says the president about his crowd funding platform. Dr. Salman Shah, Economist and Ex-/Ministry of Finance said that the concept of Seed Out is really appreciable while member American business forum applauded on the achievements of Seed Out and recognized the philosophy of quality micro entrepreneurs. New ideas and plans were discussed in relation to poverty and what measures can be taken to reduce it. It was a fruitful dialogue resulting in new horizons to be reached.

Like Seed Out, there are numerous other non-profit organizations working exceedingly hard around the clock to wipe out the destitution and the hardships in the lives of the poor. We, the privileged people, need to step up and play our part in helping these organizations attain their goal; donate, volunteer or simply spread awareness. The deeds of these organizations help a little child somewhere get an education and secure his future, a mother being saved from a grave illness to care for her children or a father experience the joy of putting enough food on the table for everyone. With time and continuous hard work of such people, if God may, we shall see a new Pakistan, where young children will be found in schools rather than on streets, the men will return home content with the atmosphere of gratification in their homes and the hearts of the mothers will swell with pride seeing their children thrive.