FINAL REPORT OF MADADGAR PROJECT

Since ages, man has collected, processed and classified data for his own good. This habit of man remains in him even after his forefathers have passed away and he has advanced from using sticks and stones as weapons to Uzi’s and AK-47’s.

After the collection and classification of data, man, if he chooses can act on the data to improve his standard of living or in general, his well being.

It is the case in the world nowadays. Every country is nowadays, scrutinizing data from newspaper and many other resources to keeping record of the things happening around the world.

As a community service project, I am working with Madadgar, an NGO that keeps a database of all the atrocities and nearly other events happening in Pakistan and some other parts of world. It basically has two functioning parts, other from administration and other things that are present in every office.

The first functionary is the database office located on the fourth floor. In this office, more than 20 Newspapers from different parts of Pakistan are scanned for relevant pieces of news and then are classified into more than 20 categories, some being:

Local Government
Economic Issues
Camel Jockey Children
Child Abuse
Female Offenders
Discrimination
Corpse Found
HIV/AIDS
City District Government
Education
Economic Issues
Thematic Issues
Domestic Workers
Karo-Kari and many others.

After the news pieces have been placed in the files of their categories, about two to three experienced people, who know how to operate the Madadgar software enter the relevant data in computer, in this way the data that is present in the newspaper haphazardly, now is classified according to its type. If need be so, then the computer can churn out the data under required category in less time than a person brooding over files can.

Coming to the second part of Madadgar, that is the helpline, where the employees take calls of those people who are in need of help. The procedure of taking calls is as following:

1. The call comes at reception from where it is forwarded to the help line.
2. In help line section, about three to four employees are always present who take the call.
3. The person who is calling is asked to calm down (in distress case) and is asked to repeat his ordeal.
4. A call form is ready and is being filled when the person is narrating his personal details and his ordeal.
5. He is then asked whether he likes to visit the office and whether or not would he like to pursue the case in legal manner.

After the client has arrived at the office, he is then led into a room with some comfortable chairs and the counseling session begins. This is done to relieve the person of the memories of the incident that he might have faced. After listening to the client, several options with their consequences and possible results are laid in front of client and then the matter is pursued according to his wishes.

OUR ROLE IN THE ORGANIZATION:

The organization readily assimilated us as we were working as interns. At first we worked in the database section, cutting, pasting and filing the news clips. This may not sound interesting but it certainly was helpful and informative.

After that, we worked in database section, sorting out file, looking over the map of Karachi for some information about the callers and other work like that.

TARGET AREA:

Mainly the distressed people of Karachi who are delving deeper into their miseries, with no fault of theirs. The organization caters to the need of middle, lower middle and lower class. The clients include people of all ages from children to senior citizens, from both sexes i.e. male and female.

Other than that, a little percentage of clientele also belongs to rural areas of Sindh.

OUTCOME OF PROJECT:

The outcome was not so much pronounced because what we were doing was from the inside, which would help Government to take action on it, with assistance from different NGO’s.

An example of this is the data we collect is called by some legislators in Sindh Assembly Building, which is just opposite to the office’s location. On the basis of that information, laws are drafted and implemented.

LEARNING EXPERIENCES FOR US:

There were some learning experiences for us, mentioned below:

1. We came to know how a NGO works.
2. We saw the agony of distressed people of our society.
3. We somewhat tried to offer solution to their agony by working on their information, which may come in use by senior officials, when interviewing them.

CONCLUSION:

The effort done by this organization is commendable and needs to be lauded. The real lesson that was learnt by us was that we have no time in this fast paced world to appreciate the beautiful gift of God, life itself. In this transient life, everyone is busy in his chores, regardless of his brother’s problems. What we can suggest is that people should open their eyes to reality and give value to their near and dear ones, because they are the most important thing in any man’s life.

We believe by doing so, the world can be a better place to live with much less problems.

GROUP MEMBERS:

Mohammad Muslim Noorani
Syeda Zoha Abbas Abidi