It started out really well.....

So my trip to Pakistan started out really well with seeing family and friends, general relaxation and the main event- my trip to Islamabad. I was in Pakistan on a dual purpose visit, a) to see my family and friends and attend my cousin’s wedding and b) to visit some development projects, hopefully seeing some of the regeneration work done after the recent mass floods that covered over a third of Pakistan.

When I arrived, most of my cousin’s wedding preparations had already been taken care of so on that front I was relatively unhelpful, however, there was the small matter of my own clothes for her wedding that were still non-existent. In fact the only clothes I had brought, which in my eyes were suitable for Pakistan were 8 year old Shalwar Kameezes that I had been given last time I was in Pakistan and alhumdulillah they still fit. I could not see myself wearing western clothing in Pakistan despite the fact that it is common now and I saw many young girls and older ladies walking around in jeans and tops. In fact, I also saw the hateful fashion of leggings and a simple top being modelled by many young girls around Malls in Karachi- not something I was a fan of in the UK and definitely not the modest clothing one would hope to find in Pakistan. I mean men here stare anyway, which is shameful, but why add to it? And anyway, the fashion is just so silly, a couple of years ago who would have thought we would have seen girls walking around in something which is basically equivalent to tights and a top? We would question whether her skirt had been stolen surely!

Moving on, my wedding shopping had to be delayed anyway due to visits to family and also my wonderful trip to Islamabad. So my trip started in Clifton, Karachi at my cousin’s family place from where I shifted after a few days to my Grandma’s sister’s place in Gulshan where my Khala (Aunt) from the UK was also staying.

But before this, my birthday was celebrated in true PK style with too much food at a local restaurant on Zamzama.... yum! It was different, not having my sister and dad around as they usually are, and I did miss my friends. My best friend and I usually celebrate together as her bday is a day after mine and it was a real shame she wasn't there too. But, these are the hazards of travelling away from home. It was still enjoyable and I got cake so that always makes me happy!

In Gulshan, we went round visiting more family which included my Grandma’s brothers, one of whom still resides in the flat that my father spent some of his childhood in and I had the pleasure of hearing about some of his naughty antics: Hanging off balconies to try and get his way and all sorts! It was nice trip down memory lane for everyone.

It was lovely seeing family again. There is just a different pleasure you get with having family around to see and hang out with. We don’t have as much family in the UK and so miss that atmosphere that Asian families tend to have- well actually I suppose that is true of Somali, North African and Arab families I can think of too. Regardless, we miss this sometimes, particularly when all the family is not in one place.

In and about all this chilling out with family we managed to make a plan to visit Islamabad. I had some contacts there, both from Islamic Relief and an organisation called the Khubaib Foundation which IHH had put me in touch with, and I wanted to try and fit in some project visits. It was planned to be a very short, not even 3 day, visit as my Khala had to be back in time to do a few more things and catch her flight. We left on Monday and were due to return on Wednesday.

We arrived in Islamabad on Monday afternoon at about 1pm. It was great to see family I hadn’t seen since I was about 6 or 7 and I even recognised them. Honestly, it was so strange and so lovely. I don’t know if any of you have had that kind of reunion. People you remember from your childhood, generally good memories of them looking after you and then you see them after so many years and there they are, just the same.... but older of course. At first it is just the same, but almost immediately the differences kick in, because you are older now of course and so view things differently, pick up on different things and so, the childhood flashback is shattered. You are after all, a different person now.

The plan was to spend that day with family and see projects the next day and then spend the last day with some family too. Things did not quite work out this way to say the least. On reaching Islamabad I called a Brother from Islamic Relief who immediately put me in touch with someone else who could help me locally as he was not currently available. This same person informed me that there was a WASH training session that very afternoon at about 3pm which would be great for me to see as it was funded by Charity Week for Orphans, a project that I have been involved with in the UK. However, we had just arrived. Seeking permission from our wonderful family and organising a pick-up we rushed off to the session in a little IR Jeep. Bless my family for being so nice to us!

I was rather excited to see the project. I mean this is one of the projects that our fundraising in the UK had directly contributed too and I could see the results in person. I felt very privileged.

The session took place in a local house where the women had gathered on the roof. It was community group consisting of widows (the mothers but also sisters etc of the Orphans funded by Charity Week). They were learning about sanitation: how to ensure you wash your vegetables before eating/cooking, washing hands, disposing of waste, changing towels etc. It was quite informal but I think the women were quite shy in our presence, hesitant to answer questions asked. These were things they generally knew though but often didn’t stick to, due to habit or upbringing- the norms in the society in which they lived. They also discussed cured for upset stomachs and what they should do in cases of sickness or diarrhoea etc. A lot of it involved traditional cures using local produce and knowing how to create their own rehydration drinks for example.

It was quite in depth and very interesting. The facilitators were local and spoke in the local language/dialect which I am sure helped break down barriers and judgements. Afterwards, they were all taken to a distribution point where they received a pack containing soap, toothpaste, towels, washing up liquid, paper etc. These were used as source of encouragement to ensure that they kept to what was learnt and also to encourage the continuance of good habits.

It was brilliant. A great start to my journey in Pakistan. I felt so blessed. Truly! We were all blessed together. I continue to wonder why Allah blesses me so and insha’Allah I pray that I can live up to the task and make a difference with the blessings he gives me.