“Chasing after desires create inner turmoil. When the devil becomes a guide, dacoits and gangsters are manufactured. He makes men fight against their souls to survive expensive items and most lose everything in the face of his strength. The internal enemy can only be overcome by a personal revolution.” Abdul Sattar Edhi
If you want to do something you just need one thing and that is determination. Failure will not stop you from getting what you truly want if you are determined. Edhi Sahb was the living example of this, his tireless efforts to serve humanity and contributions in this world are phenomenal!
When we tried to contribute to his cause of serving the humanity and tried to make a small contribution I came to realise that how difficult it must have been for him to collect all the donations and people are not that much cooperative when it comes to putting a hand in their pockets! Collection of funds for a social cause was not easy and required determination which Alhumdulilah I had but was not able to collect a huge amount of funds but I’m happy that at least I was able to contribute.
It always seems impossible until it’s done.
I collected Rs. 2000 Individually and Rs. 18,277 as a team in two weeks. People have trust issues these days especially when it comes to monetary affairs and its pretty much justifiable because of our society's "good deeds"! People asked us why we are asking them to send us the funds instead of sending directly to Edhi Foundation’s account but eventually, I was able to find some people who were ready to trust on me, although I wasn’t able to collect many funds still I’m happy that I was able to contribute a little for this cause.
As a team we were able to collect almost We have used Facebook and WhatsApp for this campaign and shared posts in the said regard.
Following are the experiences shared by my team members in this regard.
Fatima Saeed
We often come across many social causes that we may think are having a cakewalk in the lime-light, well, this fundraising experience made me realize that this is not the case. Asking people for money for a cause that you believe will bring social welfare, is not always as smooth a ride. I faced a lot of difficulty in asking for funds, and even after that, no one really donated anything. This was my first time collecting funds for a social purpose and it was a real eye-opener. As I mentioned earlier that I had no success in raising funds on an individual level, which was a bit sad but on the other hand, my morale was boosted when my team members told they were able to collect a reasonable amount. Although I posted everywhere on social media and talked to friends and family, many people sounded interested but they weren’t interested enough.
Some were even sceptical of the whole thing. The experience has helped me a lot in accepting failure. It is not always that things happen the way we want them to, we should accept it, and move forward. Instead of dwelling on the failure, we can learn what we did wrong. I learned that I can get better at communicating with others, effectively.
Muhammad Irfan
It was a really excellent experience. Just verbally I asked my colleagues to donate as they can do. I don’t limit them for the amount. Indeed it was an inspirational activity and I felt internal happiness.
Tashifa Zainab
I was super excited about this project and started working on it right after Sunday’s session. Collecting donations always gives me satisfaction and soulful feelings. I asked my family members and friends for donations. Few of them responded rest didn’t. I collected 150 Rs in 3 days. Then, I discussed with my group members, prepared a poster and started contacting strangers via social media. I drafted a text explaining the cause and authenticity of the fundraising campaign. I contacted almost 900 people in one week and managed to collect 2977 Rs. In 2nd week, I used my communication skills the most and tried to convince people to donate, sent them reminders.
At the end of the 2nd week, I collected a total of Rs. 3077 and transferred the amount to Edhi foundation Easypaisa account. It was a bit challenging task. As universities are closed and I had to ask people for donations online so it was difficult. I don’t use social media and communicate with people mostly. I had to come out of my comfort zone and ask for donations.
Talha Naeem
I was very excited about the activity I started making posters for the fundraising campaign right after the session I was at someone else’s place at that time so I was not able to go to my family and collect the money from my family and friends for the campaign but I did share the poster on all my social media accounts to collect money from different contacts but I got no response so I was unable to collect any donations in the first week. when I came back in the second week I tried to go out to some people and ask them for the contribution but couldn’t convince these people’s so I was not able to get any money on the second day of the second week I was informed that I have my final examination next week.
So, I started preparing for the examination Meanwhile I got sick and unable to go out to collect money. I tried my best through social media sites to engage with people and collect the money but got no response but it was a great experience to challenge myself, get out of my comfort zone and ask people for the money I got rejected but the I never let back I tried my best but unfortunately couldn’t get any money for the campaign.
I was very excited about the activity I started making posters for the fundraising campaign right after the session I was at someone else’s place at that time so I was not able to go to my family and collect the money from my family and friends for the campaign but I did share the poster on all my social media accounts to collect money from different contacts but I got no response so I was unable to collect any donations in the first week. when I came back in the second week.
I tried to go out to some people and ask them for the contribution but couldn’t convince these people’s so I was not able to get any money on the second day of the second week I was informed that I have my final examination next week so I started preparing for the examination Meanwhile I got sick and unable go out to collect money. I tried my best through social media sites to engage with people and collect the money but got no response but it was a great experience to challenge myself, get out of my comfort zone and ask people for the money I got rejected but the I never let back I tried my best but unfortunately couldn’t get any money for the campaign.
Umar Farooq
I was super excited about this special task as it was something so closer to my heart and soul. From the very first day of the assigned time period, I started my efforts to collect as maximum as possible funds for people whose eyes keep waiting for help. So I planned how I have to reach out to maximum people and to put my hundred per cent into this noble cause.
I have always been idealizing Edhi Sahb as he was my inspiration for being a symbol of kindness, selflessness, compassion. I dreamt to contribute humanity like him. He played a vital role in setting the best example for his nation as well as promoted a positive national image of Pakistan globally. He served people without any discrimination and showed us the most compassionate image of a Muslim and believer of ALLAH and His prophet PBUH. I never forget his words:
“My religion is humanitarianism, which is the core foundation of our religion Islam and every divine religion in the world”
Experience of collecting funds for a social cause
So keeping all these inspiring things in my mind I started a charity campaign to collect funds for Edhi foundation. I started contacting my family, friends, colleagues and everyone who could help me in making this dream project a success. The experience was quite challenging as well as exciting for me. It made me shatter off my introvert nature and contact people because I was so passionate to contribute the needy people to my maximum ability. I had to go out of my comfort zone to make it a successful campaign. I used all my social contacts and tried to motivate people with all my skills.
Collection of funds at an individual as well as group level
I collected these funds at both individual as well as at group level by contacting my social contacts. I made a broadcast group at WhatsApp and added people in it and also sent personal messages to people. I designed posters for it with my contact details and account numbers. I personally called, sent text messages and reminders to my contacts. People who knew me personally asked me if I was doing it personally or just serving as a source for someone else. This campaign gave me a feeling that you need extraordinary skills to motivate people for such social causes and it increased level of respect for efforts of Edhi Sahb and his family.
Challenges
I had to contact people frequently and it required immense patience as I do not like to ask people for anything repetitively. I had to convince many people that AMAL is collecting funds purely for Edhi foundation as people were uncertain about it because they were not accessed by officials of the Edhi foundation. I also had to assure that it was not a commercial activity. Another significant effort was required to make people believe that their funds are included in sadaqah and Zakat by quoting them references from Quranic verses and Ahadith because several people believed that they cannot give Zakat to such foundations where they do not directly meet needy people.
Realizations
This campaign made me realize that I could do it even better if I had more social contacts. we all are so indulged in our mechanic lifestyle that we rarely get any time to serve needy so we must derive some time out in our busy routines to serve those who really need our time and contributions. I accepted that I have to work more on my communication and socialization skills to get an even better response from people. I need more patience also to deal with insensitive attitudes of people. I hope AMAL fellowship has positively contributed my personality in many aspects to serve as a better human and Pakistani and it will strengthen me more in the time to come IN SHAA ALLAH.
