Volunteered with TCF (The Citizens Foundations) this semester. The Campus assigned to me was in Mulla Essa Goth 1.
- Obviously, the best part was the students that I got to interact with // Absolutely talented minds and v v loving kids. (will be sharing some pictures and videos of them too)
- The next thing that I loved was the area, the campus was built beside this graveyard. I've always had a weird perception that places which are built near graveyards are scary and spooky things happen there. But this experience changed that perception wholly. To be honest it was the graveyard that added beauty to the area and made it look so green; it was also because of the graveyard that the place was extremely clean. It wasn't scary at all.
- The third and very interesting part was Travelling to such distant area. Though it was very tiring but worth it. I am pleased that I got to travel there because what I used to witness daily in one trip was amazing. It was the transition that I used to see only in one trip. The transition that used to remind me every day of my privilege-ness and the strong class system that exists here. Starting from fine roads but a little grimy footpaths and properly structured buildings of Shahr-e-Faisal to the very pleasant area of airport with all perfectly aligned trees and proper sign boards and signals but then suddenly you turn into a small street and here it is, it all changed, you see all bumpy roads, narrowest streets, smallest towns, kids half naked, and people traveling on "Suzuki rickshaw" which only rides in areas which are called less privileged. I remember from my childhood when I once traveled on them they used to charge 3 rupees. I believe they must charge 10Rs now. Slowly and "bumply" passing those streets, I used to see so many Pakora walas at the corners making Pakoras at 9 AM in the morning and a crowd of 15 people waiting to buy those pakoras as soon as they will come out of the huge Karahi (the desi deep fryer), and wondered are they actually going to eat Pakoras in the breakfast?
Those narrow streets and towns then used to lead to an area which had an odor painful for us to pass but I saw people around living very comfortably. It had homes, shops and an official kind of "tabela" (herd) where dairy mammals and chickens were kept, which of course gave that odour to the place. However, after two days of a little bit cringing at that smell, I got used to of passing that area and the smell did not bother me at all and I realized and told myself, of course, that is why these people live here without smelling the smell 'so stop overacting it's not that bad'.... Anyways after passing the herd area which was actually very cool since I thought that can only be in a village, we used to enter into very calm and beautiful place where there were ACTUAL KHAITS (fields) YES IN KARACHI (I saw them for the very first time that is why I sound so excited here.....). People reaping dhaniya, podina and other crops and I really loved that part of the drive. Moreover, there was also this place where a stage was made with bricks and it looked as if jirga takes place there (I just imagined it ok?). Finally, towards the end of the ride, after passing some 'housing societies and dream residencies' whose advertisements are all over our TV cables, we used to reach our school with all the beautiful kids cheering "miss agae, sir agae" (Teacher is here, Sir is here).
