Amal x Edhi: A fundraising effort as a batch
Oscar Wilde said: “The smallest effort is worth more than the grandest intention.”
This was a quote that resonated with all of us and kept us motivated to do good and play our part for good. As part of Amal fellowship, I along with my group members, were assigned a task which enabled us to use our network and skill sets to raise funds for Edhi foundation.
Edhi foundation has established itself as one of the biggest charitable organizations over the years and is known worldwide. Established by Abdul Sattar Edhi sb., as a non-profit organization, Edhi foundation has served many till date. Established as an emergency assistance service across the country, it has a very expanded network which targets almost all areas from ambulatory services, to free ,medical assistance to provision of food and shelter for the homeless and destitute. After the sudden passing away of Edhi sb, the was a reduction in the number of funds generated and this also led to the functioning of an organization which ran entirely on charity.
When we were first told about the project of collecting funds for Edhi foundation within two weeks, there was a sense of urgency with which we all had to act. Since Covid-19 has affected the dynamics of normal life, we had to make sure we came up with effective strategies to collect funds mostly through online mediums.
For the purpose we made day-wise strategy to keep the cause alive and remind people to help us out. Since it’s charity, it’s much harder to ask people again because one doesn’t want to put another people in a sense of shame if they can’t donate, so we were very active yet subtle in our cause. Also, Covid-19 hit everyone differently, people who were active in charity and donations earlier on excused this time owing to the circumstances.
Our strategy as a group and actions as individuals
We formulated broadcast lists and circulated messages in them. To make the communication more effective and engaging, graphics were added in the messages. We brainstormed this idea as a group, however, we all did this activity individually contacting our personal networks over WhatsApp and other social media apps. Since all our group members were based in different locations, this was the most effective strategy we came up with. Using our personal network, we were able to contact approximately 600 people, most of whom were close contacts and family members. A handful of people from this number actually donated to us. Our reach was a lot but it was less effective as people read the message and ignored it but then there were few who couldn’t donate themselves but they spread the word and shared it within their groups too.
Experience of collecting funds for a social cause
It was very encouraging to see people willing to help for a social cause just based on the trust they had established with us. We exceeded our anticipated figures of donations and it was quite a relief to achieve more than our target. Moreover, we all had in mind that once Covid-19 was over and the situation would be better, we would then go for door-to-door donations, if possible.
Challenges faced and how we overcome them
Along the way we did face several challenges. One of my fellows was asked from his network the credibility of this process and how should they be assured that the donations reached the right place? This was a very genuine concern and we addressed it by showing an official letter issued by Amal itself to ensure people the donation would be submitted at Edhi center.
Another challenge was the urban flooding in Sindh and few cities of Punjab, and heavy rains nationwide which affected the way we had planned our activity. Although online, the people couldn’t be reached out or if contact was finally made, we were requested to wait for a few days until a donation could be made. We were really determined to reach our goal but we also realized how people were helpless and they needed support, that is when we restricted ourselves to areas otherwise.
How has this experience helped us in accepting failure?
I remember our last circle meeting with our mentor where we requested an extension for this activity as we weren’t sure if we would be able to achieve our targets or not. He explained to us that the entire purpose of the activity was to accept failure or any shortcomings that came along and act accordingly to eradicate them.
Each one of us tried to contact all the close contacts and friends with scheduled posts for different days to have enough reminders. This was an activity to remind ourselves that it was important to not give up and keep on trying. Reaching a quantifiable goal was definitely an achievement but we focused on building a network for the future as well to keep this activity sustainable for the future as well.
The efforts of Amal Academy for initiating a way out for helping Edhi foundation are commendable. I hope what we started as individuals may lead on to a never ending ripple of goodness and support for everyone and may this activity continue and flourish even more from where we left it.
Group Members: Ahad Ullah, Areej Ashfaq,Gulsha Rauf, Hasnain Baloch, Najam ul Hassan, Shahnoor Shakil, Shahzeb Sultan
