Change in Progress
By Ammar Ali Khan
Change in progress, an initiative taken by Green Volunteer’s which epitomizes the agenda, purpose and struggle of this organization to create a better Society, City and Country in collaboration with the foreign interns. As the name would suggest, Change in Progress is completely in accordance to the Green Volunteer’s tagline, ‘We Left Talking a While Back, Now We Just Do’. This Initiative kick started from 1st February 2013 with four foreign Interns of ours from China. Feilin liu, Doris Han Ting, Chris Sun and Virginia, all of them joined hands to come to Karachi and become a part of Change in Progress.
This Project covered different social aspects, from educating under-privileged school’s to fund-raising activities and also different social events for the interns to integrate them among us and depict them the true side of Karachi and Pakistan. The Interns started off with going to a Garage School every Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm where they helped the school management in administration and improvement of their education system as a whole. On Saturdays and Sundays from 3:00- 5:00 pm they made their way to an NGO known as Kaizen Pakistan, an official partner of Green Volunteer’s that aims at educating poor children and prepares them to get enrolled in different schools. The Interns went there to teach the children and spend time with them.
The next phase was of collaboration with ‘Blue Sky’, a project of Nixor College. In this project they went to the Sea View every Tuesday from 1:30 to 3:30 pm where they helped underprivileged girls by buying their merchandise and also going to Defence Market on Mondays to enroll underprivileged children in schools. Every Wednesday and Thursday they set off to a remedial school in Gizri, DHA. Over 30 students were enrolled in the class but there was no teacher to teach them. The Interns, along with the students of Nixor College taught the students basic English, Maths and Ethics. The rest of the days, the Interns went to teach the janitorial staff of Nixor College about Basic Ethics, Maths and English.
The next phase of Change in Progress was ‘Paint for a cause’. This was a two days Painting event at a school for low-income employees of Defence Housing Authority. This school, located in DHA, phase 8, was in a complete wreck with broken doors, unpainted walls, un-organized classrooms and dirty toilets, creating a highly undesirable place for the students to study, until Green Volunteers joined hands with a bunch of amazingly dedicated students from Nixor College. The young volunteer’s revamped the school so passionately by painting the classrooms, cleaning up the school, planting trees, installing new doors and locks, and decorating the classrooms with fancy charts, making learning more fun and interesting for children. By the end of the event, the sweat, hard work and dedication of all the volunteers paid off as the school had a completely new look. The children studying at the school were delighted to see their school all revamped, it was a treat to see so many smiles.
Green Volunteers in collaboration with AIESEC in Karachi, held a training session for an international Calgary-based community development project called ‘My World, My Choice! Karachi’. Young and enthusiastic students from Nixor College with a vision to create a positive impact in the society were engaged and taught about sustainability. Professional training was given to these students to be able to inculcate a sense of responsibility among others and impart their knowledge of sustainability to the young students of Taleem Sab Key Liye (NGO), to help them make more responsible and sustainable decisions for a safer and better tomorrow.
The last phase of our Project was Fund-Raising and Research. For the collection of funds, the Interns went to Arena Karsaz and IBA Charity Carnival where they arranged a stall and sold Green Volunteer’s merchandise. The response was great and the people showed their willingness to spend their money on a good cause. For research, they worked on two recycling projects, sand cleaning and recycling machine, they submitted a report and a sponsorship proposal for it.
For socials and recreation, the interns were taken for crabbing and a city tour of Karachi. They witnessed the cultural and the contemporary side of Karachi and also were treated to some of our finest foods and cuisines this city has to offer. Green Volunteers along with AIESEC in Karachi celebrated Chinese New Year with the Interns by taking them to a Chinese restaurant and greeting them with gift cards. They also went to see the cultural Hub of Pakistan, Lahore. From Badshahi Mosque to Wagah Border to our top-notch Malls and shopping centers, they witnessed the Absolute Best of our country!
At the end they were asked to submit a video called ‘Projecting Pakistan’ where they shared their experiences and showed the true picture of Pakistan. They also submitted an Internship Report where they wrote the about their time spent and ideas and suggestions regarding their work.
In this quarter, Change in Progress lived up to its hype and vision to create a social, national and global impact. This initiative not only ensured sustainability but also created a domino effect for the world to understand and see the true side and change the perception about our beloved country. Overall Change in Progress is up and running and is picking up steam day by day to create a better Pakistan!