Pandemic Diaries
By: Zeeshan Afgun
Tags: Coronavirus, Helping Others, Bravery, Pakistan, Pandemic

There was thundering and a storm of rain, roads were empty as the heart of a lover who has just lost his loved one. Fear in the air and in the hearts of people penetrated by the virus unknown to the world. Days were passing like the wind and nights were silent like the mouth of a slave. The world was hit by the most devastating pandemic in the history of mankind. About five million deaths and millions more on the line of inevitable deaths created chaos across the world. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan did not remain isolated from the pandemic and on Feb 26 the seed of this deadly virus planted. And in the aftermath virus spread like a wildfire across the nation resulting in nation vise lockdown and quarantine- self imposes isolation.

Pakistan is a developing country and more than 25% of its population living below the poverty line. This populous was severely hit by this pandemic and was on the blink of starvation. Small house but big families, more hand but few to be breadwinners; situation soon become somewhat like the famous poem of “dove, eagle, and hunter “, if went outside to work you die, you stay at home you die of starvation.

In such turmoil, a girl with a daunting attitude and visionary mind endowed with helpful nature took the responsibility to help the fellow citizen no matter what the cost. Using her influence soon started the mission of providing basics necessities of life to those in desperate need. Without any help from authorities and government as she thought they would be much busy in their own matters; also without any further procrastination started her mission. Her influence and call for help heard and processed thoroughly. The bank account was also filled with a handsome amount, enough to get things started.



Volunteers across the city came to help her. A crew of 55 people recruited, all of them gave different duties. Some of them were doing the work of online socialization in order to reach maximum spectator, also to attract most gracious hearts as “Mao” the great leader of china once said, “work with one hand and beat the drum with another”. A team of six volunteers would go door to door and make a list of families in need to provide them food items on weekly basis. Furthermore, 30 of them were given the duty to reach out to every house and provide them with food and other items. As a leader must do; leading from the frontline she does not hesitate to come in contact with people that might be infected of-course using safety kit and other precautions.

Her restless and persistent work soon caught the eyes of the public and her name reverberated in the entire province. And people symbolize her as a hope. Hope in dark times, when people were in the fear that if they were able to feed the next meal to their families or not, hope in times when people lost their mind and inclined toward atrocities. Her mission was to reach the pinnacle of success. More and more affluent people were becoming her voice in her just cause. In such times of great turmoil and the deadliest hour, people were content that no matter what happens one person will definitely come if they were starving.

In nutshell, there is nothing more satisfying than helping people in adversity. Muhammad Ali, the famous boxer once said, “ Service to the other human beings is the price we pay for the room here on earth”. Her altruistic nature and enthusiastic approach toward people won her the respect of the entire nation.