SabSaath is a platform that’s helping fight the coronavirus in Pakistan
Since Coronavirus was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 2020, the first truly global pandemic since the 1918 or Spanish flu, and Pakistan’s government has enforced a lockdown where people are asked to stay in their homes, several are unemployed because they are day wagers or due to the closure or sizing down of businesses.
With Imran Khan’s statement regarding the challenge of a lockdown, many organizations and individuals have stepped up to help those in need
Prime Minister Imran Khan has said Pakistan has a difficult decision at hand: lock down in order to slow the spread of the Coronavirus – essentially, ‘flattening’ the exponential growth curve other countries have already seen and buying time for our public health care system to ready itself – or lift the lockdown in order to prevent millions of deaths from hunger.
We have locked down educational institutions, Malls, marriage halls, restaurants & other places where public congregates. But, to stop the devastation of the lockdown we have kept our agri sector open & now we are opening up our construction sector.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) April 4, 2020
The PM’s words have only reinforced the resolve of those who have been tirelessly working as soon as the WHO declaration. Those like the Edhi Foundation who have been at the forefront of relief efforts for decades – pandemic or no pandemic – have been joined by mom and pop nonprofit organizations as well as individual relief efforts that are mushrooming.
SabSaath, a relief portal cofounded by Babar Rashid Khan, Abdullah Khan and Omar Badi uz Zaman this Pakistan Day, the day our lockdown was announced, has been a leader of the pack
They’ve been rallying leading businesses such as Sefam and nonprofits such as Akhuwat, and uniting mom and pop and individual efforts with a database of families in need from Lahore to Swat to Jacobabad that is worth its weight in gold.
SabSaath has three focuses: to be able to donate food to those in need, donate personal protective equipment (PPE) to doctors at hospitals, and to be able to use their brand, spanking new digital payment platform, built, tested, and deployed in 10 days, and allowing cash transfers across Pakistan directly into someone’s National ID number to donate funds to newly unemployed folks.
This is how many individuals SabSaath has helped thus far during the coronavirus lockdown:
They’ve donated 150 protective suits to the Edhi Foundation:
And sent funds to this man and his family in Swat:
The funds by SabSaath helped make this a possibility during the coronavirus lockdown:
And Pakistan’s biggest stars are standing by SabSaath through the coronavirus pandemic:
So with the biggest crisis of our lifetimes before us, when all of us are looking to survive as well as help those who do not face the fear of illness alone but also hunger, those at the frontlines at our hospitals, and those who have nothing in savings for food let alone medical relief, we have organizations like SabSaath working day in and day out to help us direct our donations, our Zakat in the month of Ramzan, and our Sadqa in the most efficient, rapid, and far-reaching manner.
We’re in this together. Prime Minister Imran Khan has said we should expect a lot of pressure on our hospitals after mid-May. We are full of anxiety and fear but we must hold on to hope and our Pakistani spirit of giving to those maybe suffering that much more.
If you would like to donate to SabSaath, head over to its user friendly website and feel assured that your money will be delivered through the most trust worthy hands to the most deserving. You can also check out its Facebook and Instagram.
Editor’s note: a previous version of this article did not mention the third cofounder of SabSaath, Abdullah Khan.
Cover image via: sabsaath.org