Chinese volunteers lending helping hand to Pakistani families
Ma Bin (L) distributes supplies to a resident affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, April 15, 2020.
"When your brother is in trouble, lending a help hand is the most natural thing to do." Ma Bin from northwestern China and his volunteer team have provided supplies to hundreds of poor families in Pakistan amid the outbreak of COVID-19.
As a part of the measures taken by the Pakistani government to curb COVID-19, all educational institutions in the country have been closed, and stillness becomes the norm in schools.
On April 15, it was a little bit "abnormal" in the courtyard of a kindergarten in the capital Islamabad, where Ma Bin and several other volunteers were busy in lining up over 10 local Pakistani people and asking them to keep social distance, to distribute supplies to them.
Ma, from northwestern China's Gansu province, came to Pakistan to study in 2011 and has been working and living in Pakistan since graduating in 2018.
"We borrowed this kindergarten to distribute supplies to 150 poor local families. In order to avoid gathering of too many people, we divided these families into different groups. They will come at different time," he told us.
Ma and his volunteer team prepared 20 kg of flour, 10 kg of rice and other necessities of life for each family. "The worth of the supplies for one family is only around 3,700 rupees, but they can meet the basic needs of a family for about two months," Ma said.
To prevent and control the pandemic, a lockdown has been gradually implemented across Pakistan including in Islamabad, restricting the movement of the people and shutting down shopping malls and markets. The spreading COVID-19 and the lockdown hit the life of the poor especially the daily wagers.
Muhammad Iqbal, 62 years old, is a resident in the capital and a bread earner, who needs to support his family of eight members. "I used to be able to earn 600 to 700 rupees a day and spent all my earnings on livelihood. Although the lockdown is necessary for controlling the disease, it has also made it hard for me to find work now. We are short of food at home. I am thankful from the bottom of my heart to the Chinese volunteers," he said after receiving the supplies.
Picture 2: Ma Bin (L2) and a volunteer (L1) distribute supplies to a resident affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, April 15, 2020.
At the end of March, Ma decided to help some poor families in Pakistan after learning that they were facing extreme hardship with the danger of running out of food due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The fundraising initiative of Ma and his volunteer team has been well received by the caring people in China and Chinese enterprises in Pakistan. They had provided supplies to a total of 715 poor families before the distribution on April 15.
The spread of the disease in Pakistan has accelerated recently. According to the data released by the health ministry on Wednesday, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has reached 9,749 in Pakistan, with 194 in Islamabad. "Going outside might mean a higher risk of getting infected, but we still want to do something meaningful on the premise of taking enough precautionary measures," Ma said.
The COVID-19 spreading and the lockdown made it difficult for Ma and his team to purchase and transport the supplies, but they have got help from local volunteers. Because of the closure of shops and the suspension of public transport, it was not easy to prepare the supplies, Muhammad Nauman, from Islamabad, said.
"We are locals and we can help in terms of the purchase of goods and contact with local poor families. Most of the people we are providing relief to are daily wagers who basically have no savings, and their life have been severely affected by the outbreak of the pandemic. I am really grateful to our Chinese brothers for providing much-needed help to these poor families," Nauman told us.
To mitigate the influence of the disease and the lockdown, a 144-billion-rupee emergency cash program launched by the Pakistani government commenced on April 9, aiming to provide 12 million deserving families with 12,000 rupees. In addition, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced to gradually open "low risk" industries including construction, chemicals, e-commerce, software development on the premise of following standard operating procedures, to create more job opportunities for the people.
"I have lived in Pakistan for many years and have a deep understanding of the friendship between China and Pakistan. The two countries are 'iron brothers,' like a family. When your brother is in trouble, lending a help hand is the most natural thing to do. As long as the conditions permit, we hope to continue this kind of activities," Ma said. (1 U.S. dollar = 161.00 rupees)
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