Eradication of Poverty? …. SIMPLE!

November 27, 2020

               … remove MONEY (in letter & spirit) as the operating policy of life as we know it!

(Photo credit- https://images.app.goo.gl/FsakSmJTzKLm3AZw9)

From the beginning of time, when barter used to be the means of exchange, humankind understood the a physical item or service had a certain value attached to it.  Barter exchange evolved into money exchange and the importance of commerce and economy developed.

However, what if money is not the defining aspect of life?  Why can’t ALL goods & services be available freely to anyone?  The value of special interest groups, big business, wars for “oil”, smuggling & exploitation, etc will become inconsequential & redundant!  The concept of exploitation of the world’s natural resources would be over.  Beggary would stop.  There would be no such thing as Poverty – because every ‘social class’ will have access to the same services & facilities as everyone else.

(photo credit- https://images.app.goo.gl/6RvBqpCHpaM6NmcU9)

The idea of a community, in my book, should not be defined by what economic or monetary benefit each can give the other.  No siree bob!  Under this [fairy tale’d] ‘poverty-free society’ concept, a community would provide each other goods & services with no monetary benefit because each and every one benefits from the exchange.  There would be a 1 to 1 exchange – there would be no value attached to an item or service anymore. 

The person providing a good or service is doing so for the community at large; she would be using her trade & knowledge to provide for her own family and others; and in turn would receive goods & services required by her family completely gratis.  If I become sick, I go to the hospital and get the same medical care, treatment and medication our prime ministers & presidents would get with no concept of compensation.

If money is not needed to survive, there is no “poor” person or “rich” person.  The thirst for life should move from monetary gain to a knowledge-based motive (https://dinshawavari.com/2019/06/14/what-does-a-government-do-for-us-%f0%9f%a4%94/), a quest for adventure & intellect and a thirst to live life in the true sense of LIVING & enjoying what God has given us, and to us.

Too idealistic … a pipe dream, you say? 

Yes, here & now, in our lifetime …

but hopefully not for future generations.

For Some…LIFE STILL GOES ON

November 20, 2020

               Let see … Women on Wheels

                                                            SaafBath

                                                                           What next ????

While the world is mired in Covid, Conflicts, Disease, Poverty, Economic Crunch … for some people, life goes on in helping other HUMAN BEINGS – regardless of class or status.

Last March I learnt of Salman Sufi (https://www.vitalvoices.org/people/salman-sufi/) & the Salman Sufi Foundation’s (https://salmansufifoundation.org/) initiative of “Women on Wheels” – empowering women to become mobile on bikes.  What a fabulous venture.  While most of us “talk” about women empowerment, people like Salman Sufi actually “implement” it … he’s making Pakistani women MOBILE.

As the World Bank’s Pakistan Country Director, Ilango Patchamuthu, puts it “60% of women in #Pakistan cite transportation cost as a major issue which hinders their #mobility. To bring real change, we have to step out of policymaking & address the basics.”  Well, Salman Sufi Foundation is doing just that … addressing the basics!

Then you come to another public facilitation project … the SaafBath project (SaafBath@salmansufifoundation.org), ‘a public toilets initiative’.  Dawn & Pakistan Today’s articles spell it out – https://www.dawn.com/news/1591201 & https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/11/19/saaf-bath-aims-to-boost-privy-parity-in-karachi/.

Cyril Almeida comments “According to the international charity WaterAid, about 40 percent of Pakistan’s population of roughly 210 million lacks decent toilets.“

I first came across this concept of a “public toilet” in Mumbai – that too, smack adjacent to Mumbai’s iconic “Gateway of India”.  What struck me was the concept of a public toilet – and I thought it was fantastic.  We even went in – it was relatively clean (quite smelly) but the fact that such a facility was available to the passerbys near Colaba was awesome.

This public toilets project is long overdue … and should not have been initiated by a private citizen or NGO – but like the rest of the [lack of] public & services infrastructure in Pakistan, it’s the private citizen who comes forward to implement what should be government-led projects.

I don’t see any government in Pakistan ever looking after the social needs of the people on a micro level – it will always be private NGOs and citizens who not only take the initiative but implement public health, education, philanthropic & other social services projects – whether the Edhis, the Salman Sufis, Agha Khans, TCFs, UNICEFs, ABSAs or the I Am Karachis of Pakistan (to name just a few of the myriad of NGOs doing so much good in Pakistan). 

A humble thanks to Salman Sufi for helping to ease life for the citizens of Karachi!