Writing from Karachi, Rosemary Brown, communications manager, and Rabia Nusrat, programme manager meet the Trust’s charity partners there.
‘The British Asian Trust Made it Happen’
My first day ever in Pakistan and already I have met - and been inspired by - many people who are working to change lives in Pakistan’s poorest regions.
The day starts in Lahore with a lovely and much appreciated introduction to Pakistani hospitality by the family of my colleague, Trust Programme Manager Rabia Nusrat. They dressed me in a rich red kameez (tunic) and shalwar (trousers), taught me a few essential words in Urdu and served a traditional breakfast of puri (fried bread), chana (chickpea curry) and halva to send us on our way to Karachi.
Dodging the colourful Karachi traffic of rickshaws, donkey-driven carts, cars, and ultra-decorated busses spilling over with people, we reached the headquarters of The Layton Rahmatulla Benevolent Trust (LRBT). Celebrating its silver jubilee this year, LRBT has provided free eye care to more than 19 million people, many who would otherwise be blind.
“We launched our partnership with The British Asian Trust at just the right time,” says LRBT’s Head Umar Ghafoor. LRBT wanted to reach out to more people by introducing a screening programme to better assess and meet patient’s needs.
“The British Asian Trust made it happen,” says Umar Ghafoor. “Without the kind of funding we get from The Trust, we could not provide the screening and alleviate the rise in blindness. The more efficient you are, the more people you can serve. We have seen a qualitative change.”
With screening, some 55 to 60 percent of eye problems can be treated by the LRBT team, freeing up consultants for more serious cases, Umar Ghafoor explains. LRBT is working so that no man, woman or child becomes blind just because they cannot afford treatment.
Leaving LRBT’s offices, we dart across the city to meet Nermeen Islam, a volunteer for Developments in Literacy, (DIL) another of our charity partners. DIL runs schools in Pakistan’s most difficult deprived areas offering education to children who might otherwise lose out, especially girls. The Trust supports DIL through funding for teacher training and organisational development.
A trained teacher with many years of international and local experience, Nermeen volunteers her time to build the skills and confidence of DIL’s teachers. “I can see a world of difference in the teachers. They are so eager to learn and you can see the results in the classroom,” she says. Along with offering teacher training in English and art, Nermeen monitors the outcomes at DIL schools in Orangi – South Asia’s largest slum–that we will visit tomorrow.
Our final visit is to the main offices of the ZVMG Rangoonwala Trust, a dynamic community centre offering a vocational education programme, library, performance hall, mother and child care centre, physiotherapy centres centre and an art gallery. Here we meet Saeed Mirza, Director. After a slice of chocolate cake prepared by the centre’s cooking class, Saeed Mirza gives us a personal guided tour of the centre and its classrooms, performance hall and art gallery. Asif Rangoonwala, Chairman of the Trust founded by his late father, is a board member of The British Asian Trust.
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