ayesha chundrigar and her love for those who can’t speak for themselves
We had an exclusive conversation with an activist and an influencer Ayesha Chundrigar. Get to know her journey and her love for the those who can't speak for themselves. Read the full interview ...
What makes Ayesha Chundrigar tick?
A relentless need to minimise suffering and create a dent in the universe.
What made you come alive to your cause initially? How did it start?
I realised you have to be your own hero in life. You can’t wait for anyone to come to rescue you or change things. You need to be that change. That created a fire in me, that came after years of silently suffering in a very dark depression that stemmed from my helplessness at what I saw around me and my inability to help.
ACF started as an ode to my younger self who always yearned for a safe space where weirdos were cool, and misfits were celebrated. Even today, I call the sanctuary a house of misfits.
We have animals in all kinds of shapes and sizes, with all kinds of injuries and wounds and traumatic histories because the public doesn’t like the way they look or they aren’t fancy enough or they’ve been met with a sense of dread and fear because they’re so misunderstood, but the moment they enter our bright red gate, they find a place to belong
Do you think you are an influencer behind the activist?
I think ACF is an influencer and has been long before ‘influencer’ became a thing. ACF has been an inspiring change in society and has made such monumental achievements that sometimes I just sit with my head cupped in my hand wondering how on earth we managed so far. It’s been an intense and rough nine years and people have been rooting for it and have seen it grow from a seed of an idea into an orchard of goodness. I’m not an activist nor an influencer. I’m just a regular person trying to achieve the extraordinary by attempting all kinds of things that will inevitably be for the betterment of my vision for ACF.
Do you feel burdened by how our society acts towards animals?
I don’t feel burdened by anything that isn’t in my control. That’s a very silly way to live a life that takes up energy and wastes time. I’m too driven and focused on what is in my control and how to better myself to further widen my orbit of capabilities.
I’m very well aware of people’s fears of the unknown. When you don’t know something and refuse to understand it or look at it differently, you feel threatened. Hence, the general attitude towards animals in our society.
It’s also human nature not to like change. And ACF is in the business of changing mindsets towards animals as much as it is about saving their lives. Both go hand in hand. And although I’ve seen so much progress in almost a decade of this work, I know how to manage my expectations, I have a good understanding of human nature and the history of revolutions in this world, and I know I have a long road ahead of me to really see what I desire. I also know I might not see it in my lifetime but that’s okay.
I’m just so grateful to sow the seeds even if I don’t get to see the flowers blossom.
Tell us about your new business TRIO and its journey into launching.
I am so excited about entering the business world! TRIO is a sister enterprise to ACF that came into existence to help make ACF activities at least partially self-sustainable. ACF is a massive operation in Karachi. Rescuing animals in this rough terrain with no animal rights and new challenges daily, with the demand for our work skyrocketing costs are insane and I had to find a way to manage those without stress eating, stress pacing and losing sleep and hair! I was very scared to try something new when I still consider ACF itself a start-up of sorts, but I’ve plunged into the deep end. I prefer trying and failing to be scared and regretting.
I also wanted our business model to be meaningful just like the ACF is, with a ripple effect impact, hence enter…TRIO! TRIO creates eco-friendly dog leashes and dog toys made from plastic net that is inundating our oceans and killing marine animals. We incentivise fishermen to extract and clean the nets. We then train and empower women in the craft of creating handmade products. These women are struggling breadwinners of their families and we want to help them become financially independent. And 50% of the profits from our sales go back to ACF! It’s a four-way win! We are selling our products in Pakistan and internationally as well.
Your Instagram told us you travelled to a major show in the US recently and were awarded. How did that feel?
It was beyond thrilling, to say the least. I took TRIO products to the largest pet product trade show in America, and not only did we sell out, but we also won 1st place for the best new innovative product. Hence TRIO is now an internationally award-winning product. I love that people recognised the long-term benefits of TRIO. Pakistan really needs to find a way to promote exports and uplift cottage industries which is exactly what TRIO is doing. I was so proud to represent my country so positively through such an innovative, original product that is just a feel-good win all around.
What message do you want to give out to your fans?
I get a lot of young people asking me what steps they should take to follow their dreams. And I honestly don’t have a step-by-step answer. There’s no blueprint. All I did was that I didn’t stop. No matter what hurdle, no matter what trauma, no matter what personal problem, no matter what challenge, I just kept going. Persistence, consistency, passion, constant thirst for knowledge, constant self-improvement, and acute self-awareness, that’s how I built self-belief. Because I had evidence of, ‘oh wow, even if things get tough, I know I’ll figure out something’. I saw every obstacle as an opportunity to grow and learn.
I drown out all the negativity and just kept my focus and I can also only do that because I have the best allies who are always positive and function on the same ultra-performer wavelength as I do. My tribe is phenomenal, nothing I have done is a one-man show, it’s a team effort. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some of the loveliest, kindness and most wonderful people through my work and I would be nothing without them.
That’s the best thing I can share with any fan I may have (though I doubt I have fans), more so, like-minded people that have a dream and an empty pocket, feeling lost, and wondering how to get started.