This is part of a limited series, “14 Days, 14 Stories”, about ordinary Pakistanis who are doing extraordinary things in order to give back to Pakistan.

Pakistan has been plagued by feudalism and an acute hunger for power since its inception. Those in power leave no stone unturned in order to retain their position even if it is done at the expense of the underprivileged. However, there are people who, despite of all the opposition, take it on themselves to counter the self-proclaimed power holders of the society.

The folks behind ‘Kaam Fael Amal‘ are such a group of students from Lahore that has been working relentlessly to privilege the underprivileged, for the past 6 months.

This group of friends, during one of their usual hangouts, was casually discussing how rising poverty, lack of education and proper water facilities were rapidly becoming a source of discomfort for millions of Pakistanis and they, being the privileged class, haven’t really done anything solid to combat it. This is when they came up with the idea of Kaam Fael Amal. Interestingly, Kaam Fael Amal does not target any one particular problem, their ideology encompasses as well as motivates them to carry out anything and everything that plays even a remote role in reducing the gap between haves and have nots in Pakistan.

Recently, Kaam Fael Amal began working on their plan of installing hand pumps in the remote areas of Pakistan where the access to water is immensely limited.

However, the local tribal leaders of the said areas jumped in and ordered the team to stop working immediately as, apparently, it was going to put a question mark on their power status.

“The realization that people will go to any lengths to oppose efforts that improve the well-being of their fellow citizens, just because it undermines their own power in some little way was somewhat of an emotional setback for us”, told one of the founders, Hamza. Kaam Fael Amal, however, continues working towards making Pakistan a better place to live.

As has been the norm, the organization struggled with attaining credibility at the outset. Nobody believed that a privileged group of university-going students could even think of stepping out of their comfort zone. However, this particular group of friends was lucky enough to have their families’ support. While talking to Mangobaaz, Hamza revealed that “it was only after the success of our first project of Ramazan ration packages that we started getting donations from people outside our circle. We still need a lot of support and donations to be able to go ahead with our planned upcoming projects.”

June 20, 2016 was a milestone for Kaam Fael Amal.

“We completed our first project by providing ration packages to more than 115 families in Pandoki Village as well as some other areas. Starving children with a bare minimum of clothes were seen running barefoot, around the village with each one of them entrapped in their dismal circumstances.

On Jummat-ul-Wida, we undertook our second project by visiting Mayo Hospital to distribute iftaar boxes. We were able to distribute more than 700 boxes outside their Emergency Ward. It turned out to be a thought provoking experience for all of us. Seeing smiles on those sad faces after they received their box was priceless,” continued Hamza.

The organization has also assisted the student body of NCA in their mission to raise the education funds for one of their well deserving classmates. Presently, Kaam Fael Amal is rapidly transitioning from being a short-term community relief provider to an organization focusing on the long-term goals.

If you wish to donate for this noble cause, contact the team here.

For more stories from our series about extraordinary Pakistanis check out ‘14 Days, 14 Stories‘.

Cover Image Via: Hamza Majeed