He entered Pakistan with trepidation as the worst natural disaster in history was unfolding and violence gripped Karachi. A week later, Chris Underhill, MBE, left the country with optimism, admiration and plans to return.
“This is a country with a huge future,” said the Founder Director of BasicNeeds, an international mental health charity. “The people are dynamic and positive in the face of great difficulty.”
Chris was in Pakistan to assess opportunities for work with The British Asian Trust to introduce community-based mental health services. Accompanied by Trust Programme Manager Rabia Nusrat, he visited projects, hospitals, charities and officials to see how the innovative BasicNeeds model—already making great strides in 10 countries – could be adapted for Pakistan.
In searching for a charity partner, the Trust identified BasicNeeds, which aims to enable people with mental illness and epilepsy to live and work successfully in their own towns and villages. “We want mentally ill people to be able to walk tall in the morning, go to work and resume their roles in their families,” Chris said.
He described Pakistan as ‘just the sort of country where BasicNeeds would like to work’ and believes that BasicNeeds can make an enormous difference to the lives of mentally ill people there.
“There is a real chance to do something in this sector over the next five years and beyond,” he said. “We are aiming to work with Pakistani colleagues and partners at every level to make a major difference. We will be weaving a tapestry that allows a community-based mental health system to be created.”
Chris admits he was apprehensive about his recent visit to a country struggling with politics, poverty and extreme flooding. But the misconceptions soon vanished. Observing how the entire population rallied to help flood victims, he said that the immensity of in-country contributions and aid should be acknowledged and admired.
“Pakistan has an exuberant and creative culture with a long tradition of art, literature, charity, enterprise and religion. The people have a huge appreciation for family; they are passionate about education. You would never know this by the way they are portrayed by the media at the moment,” he said.
“Pakistan is a very positive country with very positive people.”
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