Pakistan is known as the country which comes first when it comes to donations, charity and helping the victims. A lot of Pakistani citizens, NGOs, political leaders, and the government is doing their best to help the victims within their capacity but are we doing it the right way? Unintentionally we might be making a lot of mistakes and making their life more miserable.
So, here are a few tips to help the victims:
Let Them Have Their Respect and Dignity: They lost their homes, children, savings, and everything they had. The only thing left is their respect and self-dignity but why are we trying to take this away from them too? If we want to help them, we can help them quietly and not make them feel like a prop, while handling food to eat, which is being used just for publicity purposes and to be a hero on social media.
If You Can’t Help Them, Just Stay Quite: My sentence might bother a lot of men in our society but yes, there are women and young girls too at flood relief camps and they need menstrual products. We can’t just ignore their needs and think of it like a luxury of some sort. It is a necessity and no, it can’t be compared with your shaving sets.
NO PICTURES: I’ve said it before and will say it again, you can’t take pictures of them or with them without their consent. Ohh consent, what am I talking about? It’s a very difficult word and I know some of you have never heard of it. But it’s our request, please try to be sensitive.
NGOs need pictures as proof for tax exemption from FBR, yes you can take pictures but try to keep consent in mind as a few pictures will do as a proof.
Ask for Donations: Don’t assume that people know about you and the good work you’re doing and will start donating automatically. You can post your efforts on social media to create awareness and ask them to donate as much as they can, even Rs 100 will make a big change in providing relief to the victims.
Take Help from Others: 'I am doing everything, I am collecting donations, I don’t need any help, why do I take help from someone else?' It is a very bad attitude and it’s not safe to go to the flood-affected areas alone and by road keeping in mind that flood water has destroyed roads and bridges cutting them from the rest of Pakistan. You need to make a strategy and get in touch with larger NGOs and local administration with more resources like helicopters to get there and keep you and the rations you have collected safe.
Step Out and Distribute Rations Yourself: Why do you want to waste all your effort by throwing the rations out of helicopters which will eventually explode, wasting all the eatables? You need to step out of your comfort zone (helicopter) and distribute them with your hands.
Donate, Donate, and Donate: 'I can’t leave my family and go to the flood-affected area. I am a girl and can’t leave my home like that, what do I do?' If you can’t go to the flood-affected areas, you can still help them with the click of your phone while sitting at your home. You can donate within your capacity through many online banking apps and transfer money to the accounts of reliable and trustworthy organisations.
Empathise and Don’t Make Fun: No dude, they’re not enjoying their 'vacations in Venice', they’re at flood relief camps and the water around them is flood water which has destroyed everything they had, and it carries a lot of diseases too. If you can’t sympathise, at least empathise with them as we are on a verge of facing the devastating impacts of climate change and in near future, we can be a victim of a natural calamity too.