This year, like the last, we have 3 scholarships available. The value of each award will be determined according to need. The financial crisis in Pakistan and the scourge of inflation worldwide has placed many in a dire situation. Hence, venturing for the first time outside education, we have managed to establish a poverty relief subsidy for two families and intend to do more.
Several new situations have emerged in the world since 2019. The repercussions from these events are likely to last many years. The economic circumstances – resulting from the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the runaway inflation – have made most people feel like they are poorer today than they were a few years ago. Irrespective of our political views, we need to find a way to deal with this triple-crisis and, if possible, to help each other along the way.
The man who inspired the modest effort this website represents, Mian Fazle Raheem, may have some clues for us in the way he lived his life. One of the principles that allowed him to help others was the ability to get by with very little for himself. This is in sharp contrast to how governments and individuals around the world have dealt with the triple-crisis. It seems we have all thrown money at the situation as if it were the panacea. This over-spending by borrowing, along with the supply chains disrupted by the pandemic as well as the food and energy shortages sparked by the war, has led to inflation. We have deeply indebted the future generations to provide temporary relief for ourselves today. A most temporary relief indeed because the more money we throw at it the more the prices keep rising and the less we feel we can buy. Austerity and belt-tightening are terms our governments fear and we loathe. We’re encouraged to want and spend more so that the holy spirit of growth may find solace and we can feel richer and vote for the incumbents. No modern government expects to be re-elected if it speaks of fiscal responsibility.
And yet that is exactly how Mian Sahib dealt with the many crises he and his loved ones faced: Streamline expenses, meet needs not wants. The desire to increase one’s income is natural but it makes us walk a tight-rope across the raging river of greed. The desire for more is complicating our survival on this planet in more ways than just pandemics and wars. First we dug up the earth to get oil and gas, now we’re digging it up to make batteries. In the process, we’re getting fatter and our eco-system is running thin. Most of us are healthy and can easily meet most of our daily transportation needs on a bicycle, but that’s no good for the growth economy. A bicycle doesn’t use gasoline or electricity or a billion parts imported on a thousand ships. Yet, it does keep us fit and eliminates all those emissions. These are some of the thoughts that derive from contemplating a life as simple and robust as Mian Sahib’s. Not that he was a cyclist, but that he got by on little, simple things when he could afford a lot more.