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Poverty, Education and Floods in Pakistan

We hear the problem of poverty in the country but many of us have not seen it by themselves as I did. It is a different experience to see how poor our fellows are. One feels sorry for them and also tries to help them because of their need.

I want to tell my recent experience of the poverty situation in the country. I was part of a government survey team to make a report on the damages done by the rain & floods. I live in the city area as many of us living in; it was my first experience to visit any backward area. I have seen houses made of mud but never went in them.
We were asked to see how many houses are damaged.T he damage was categorized as partial and complete. If any room of the house was damaged completely it is in the partial category and if all rooms or most of them are destroyed it is in the complete category (destroyed means roof of the living should fall to the ground). I don’t know what damages the government will give to the partial or complete category.

During the survey, we saw many houses which were going to fell at any time but they were standing at the time of the survey. We were unable to register them as they were standing at that time. The government wanted to register those only which were fallen and the people try to give support to them so that they have not to leave them.
Once when we came out of a house which seems to be a dangerous one, we heard a bump and dust rose from the same house. Local people ran quickly in and we heard cries of a woman whom we met a short while ago she was telling that there was a child of seven years.T he child came out of that rubble alive in a few minutes. I felt sorry for them there one wall fell down she asked for help but we could not do anything for her. We were ordered not to count walls.

Now I want to tell you about the title Poverty, Education and Floods in Pakistan. First of all, I will tell you about the poverty situation. There will be no stats in this article because it is based on personal experience, not on statistics.

Poverty: - We know that our country is a poor country many Pakistanis are living below the poverty line. But we don’t know what poverty is actually, we see beggar begging on the road and thinks that they are poor. Yes, they are poor but this is not only the scene. If you see their houses, their livings, their good and bad times, then you will realize what is poverty? Why someone commits the crime?

What will a person do? When knowing the fact that he is living in a dangerous house, he continues living in it only because he has no money to reconstruct it, repair it or to have a house on rent. He has to live in only one room with his wife and three or more children. In other rooms of the house, his brothers live in the same condition. I think you can not imagine that the rooms are only 10 x 10 feet and their height is only eight feet. When at first I entered a room like this I thought its roof is falling on my head. I hesitated in entering and then I realized that it is ok.

We went to a person whose boundary wall was destroyed he wanted direct help from us.I asked about the cost, just for information, to my surprise he said that he only needs two thousand rupees. I looked at general councillor who was part of the survey team he nodded his head in conformation. I asked him that why the person himself or the other people around does not collect the sum and repair the houses, he said that they don’t have any money to help themselves or other.

Education: - Pakistan has la ow literacy rate I have mentioned this in my previous article “Problems of Education in Pakistan”. As an educationalist, I thought I am well aware of this problem but during the survey, I came across many people who can not read their CNIC number and even some people were not aware of their real names written on CNIC. They even did not knew who is the owner of their house i.e.; their house is on their name or on their fathers name. They try to confirm it from Patwari.

Due to lack of education I found some people who do not have any CNIC. When I asked them why they have no CNIC they said that they don’t need it .they said that they are not going to apply for any job and their children are also illiterate they are also not going to do any job. Thus they don’t need any CNIC in near future. And believe me they all seem to be noble and literate they were not beggars

In many houses when we went there in day time there were only old women present .when I asked about other family members they told me that every one is on job (women were working in houses for 16 hours daily as were some children and men works for 12 to 14 hours daily as laborers and then they get something to eat.).it I think is all because they don’t have education

Floods: - I met with some people who were not mentally stable because they lost their homes of worth fifty lakhs and the government is going to give them twenty thousands only. I met with a man who was sitting on the ground looking at the water he told me that he was sleeping in his house when he heard noises out side he came out to see, what the problem is in the mean time a part of their building fell like it was made of sand. Other member of his family some how managed to escape out and their building went in the flood waters like straws. They don’t have any time to take their mobile phones laptops or documents.