Assalam-o-Alaikum, Everyone!

This post is dedicated to each of you, who read my blog posts, and follow me on Instagram and Facebook. Most of you are young and bubbling or ever green – like myself! 😉

Well, since I have friends and associates of all age groups, here is a typical remark I come across among the ‘older’ ones…

‘The youth of today are so rude, insolent and badtameez (insolent). ‘God knows what will happen to our country when they take over!’ I hear quite a lot of times.

‘But, I’ve always found them wonderful!’ I defend you all.

‘They are so disrespectful! How can you even like them? In our times, we used to respect all teachers, like they were our parents!” they are disgusted with the  lot of them.

‘Yes,’ I reconcile, ‘we respected all. They don’t respect all, for that you have to earn it! They only respect those who have earned their respect.’

I continue, warming up, ‘once you have earned their respect, there is no one to beat them. They can respect like none of us ever could!’ Then they agree with me.

Similarly, I’ve had chats with lecturers in Islamabad on Instagram, who feel that youth of today, are very rude and useless.

I continue to beg to differ!

Frankly, I am so proud of you. I love you and believe you shall take our country far beyond all imagination. Kudos to you!

Hope for our youth:

As far as I’m concerned, I’m full of hope for my country being in the hands of this youth. Insha Allah you will make things better and more streamlined; Filling the gaps in our systems and improve them. The thing is, whatever the situation; it isn’t ‘them’ and ‘we’.

It is ‘us together’.

Sharing objectives:

When our objective is the same, which is to help improve our country in every way. We can help achieve them here too.  Social media, can help us achieve our mutual goals. So, we are helping the poor, and to ease their burdens as best as we can. I believe that, ‘there is no stopping of an idea, whose time has come!’

Basically, with my over twenty-five years’ experiences with students at all levels in the field of education, I know our youth are brilliant and hardworking too. They are my pride and joy.

As Iqbal said:

Yes, the moisture of tears of empathy and perspiration from hard work! 🙂

My Instagram experience:

Frankly, I landed on Instagram as a fad. (When I see my children busy in something, I’ve got to try it too.) Also, anything to do with media and the arts, always grabs my attention. So, just like the long-forgotten Orkut, and now Facebook. I jumped into Instagram and settled in, like a duck to water.

Mostly jumping around with my extravagant mistakes and typo errors, I’ve got a little niche for myself.  Yes, I’m even considered an ‘influencer’. (Love it!)

Of course, I have to thank my daughter Nadiya who made my profile for me. Then she takes responsibility and starts educating me too. (Yes, she has the luxury of shouting at me and getting angry too!) Fair enough, we both know she got more of her share of shouts from me, when she was young. So, it is okay. (Its called Karma!:)

Suddenly, I was surprised to find followers too. I have an inkling, its because of what my Waliya keeps sharing about me! – Yes, that other side of me – with her followers on Snapchat. So, wherever I go, I find pretty young girls walking up to me excitedly and asking me if I’m Waliya’s mother. Yes, I’m proud to say, I am.

Nataliya, was the first blogger of our family, and all of us together can be quite a presence.

All my daughters have supported my projects too, and so the word spread, and here we are! This week, Tamania of Urdumom has started collecting clothes for my bridal project too, and now a girl in Houston has also started it. Yesterday, a girl from Toronto was wanting to join in too. Love it.

My Dream:

Like Martin Luther King, I too, have a dream. A dream for a Pakistan, where there will be a largest group of middle class as is the case with most developed countries, (as the poor people will have been helped in getting raised to middle class.) We can help them with solving their problems of health, education and personal burdens of joblessness and facing  challenges. Let us do what they can’t do alone.

Functional arts:

My father, Brig. M M Sarfaraz Khan always said to me, ‘we in the developing countries cannot afford the luxury of ‘art for art’s sake’. We have to have a purposeful life. So our art and writing must also have an objective. It can’t be selfish.’ Whatever activity I spend my time on, I also feel it better be purposeful. So, within a very short time, I found lots of healthy activities here too. All with your help, support and enthusiasm.

Supportive youth:

I cannot tell you how much the youth of our country is supporting me in all my activities. In fact, none of these would have taken place, without their enthusiastic help. Of course, my own close friends and immediate family always chip in too.

Great Followers everywhere:

I’ve found that empathy is common to all, and Pakistanis are no exception; they are so caring, loving and hardworking. They can do wonders.  After all, look at the success of Edhi; could he have done it all alone?

Now I can see with my personal experience, as such a small scale, how Edhi came to this point in his lifetime, when he got written about in Reader’s Digest as the angel who works in Pakistan. It is because of the sincere efforts and wholehearted generosity of Pakistanis, and my lovely friends as well.

Last night I put a little message in my stories, and by this morning I had so many donations that I am finding it hard to compile all the data. Even when I told them that now there is enough for a certain cause, they still insist on sending more. Offering it for any cause that I am currently working on.

Projects we have done together:

Yes, at any given time, I’m busy with something. Through my stories on Instagram, I share with you, then you also join in. It is all so exciting – the way we coordinate!

Two current projects of Faisal and Emaan:

We are today busy trying to save the life of a little girl named Emaan living in remote Northern area, who needs a heart operation at AFIC, in Rawalpindi. The amount required was Rs.350,000 which is a huge amount for the unemployed driver father of seven children. Yet, I’ve seen him running pillar to post trying to save the life of his daughter.

Yesterday, I met her. Seeing this lovely girl was enough. I shared it in my stories.

You must have read the story of Faisal Naveed here. It happened due to Hiba Chaudhry’s efforts. One night in January, she shared his story with me. So, it will be a long term project but it is genuine and they do need our help.

CSS School for underprivileged children:

So, when I received a message from Usman (of CSS school) one day, he wanted me to check out his school. Since it was nearby, so I happily went. In spite of my usual busy schedule, I loved it. So, more about it, is written in this blog post, here.

Bridal projects:

These emerged through an accidental call for help, and have developed into a full-fledged monthly project. Young girls who wear these gorgeous clothes, donate their clothes to me. Many of them give me their new suits or clothes, which were never worn, some un-stitched ones too.  So, we just get them together into a presentable shape. Sometimes when I’m lucky as with this one, I have a proper wedding dress to gift also.

So, if I have enough cash, then I can give money for food for the wedding. I do give a dinner set and some kitchen ware made up of cooking pots, cutlery, tea set, water set etc. Receiving bed-covers, decoration pieces, accessories like handbags, artificial jewelry and make-up also. It is the luck of the person what they get for their upcoming event! 😊

Look at the kind of clothes I receive! I’m telling you, it is amazing.

At least a young couple has a few belongings to start up their home. 😊 Most important is the fact that parents of a daughter have a few things to give to their daughter to help her start her new life with her husband.

Some couples’ families have shared their wedding pictures with me which I’ve really loved.

Old people’s home:

By the same token, I accidentally responded to a plea for help from them. Then realized, even a small delay meant that I got left behind. One had to work fast, or some other angel would do what I wanted! Curiosity got me to drive to Bint-e-Fatima which is on Google map too. Located a little out of Islamabad, it makes up a beautiful drive.

Now, I happily drive over, sometimes, even at 11.00 pm. I’ve found them so cooperative, and we have an excellent coordination.  Usually, we have helped provide them with provisions, fruits and rations. Recently, they needed mattresses and these were provided by a donor from Qatar through her friend in Rawalpindi. She also gave blankets.

Paying School fees:

This is another ongoing project which is being done for girls admitted in two schools, in Mashal and in CSS school. Regularly, I receive fee payment from Sana Ahmad from Australia for a girl in Mashal. It feels great to know that we are making a difference in at least one life there!

Large-hearted donors:

Honestly, for me every donor is precious and unique. Yet when total strangers have sent me donations it really touches one’s heart deeply. Aliya Janjua from California has been one such one. She not only sent large donations for my bridal projects (helping in 4 marriages!) but also sent me Eid gifts! Love and hugs!

Among my friends, it has been my childhood friend Shib and her husband Don who sent me the largest donations to pay for marriages of brides, food for CSS school, Ramzan rations, and what not! I can’t even count it all! Their total faith in my projects and giving help here has been unbelievable and unmatched.

The funny one was when two sisters had donated from Norway, and both found out when I announced their names in my stories! 😊

I’ve even had an air force officer helping me! University students from Muzafarabad, young girls giving from their pocket money, students collecting clothes in their universities for my CSS children. 😊My friend Shagufta going to factories in Lahore to get clothes for Eid for CSS children.

Literally, one sentence on Facebook or Instagram sets you all in motion! I find parcels arriving at my doorstep. Yesterday, I believe we helped in our twentieth marriage! Subhan Allah, this is amazing.

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Currently involved in this ongoing project of helping provide for brides from underprivileged homes. Usually some things for their home, specially kitchen and clothes. When if lucky, we provide for the food for the barat also.

A post shared by Shireen Gheba (@shireengheba) on Jan 26, 2020 at 12:33am PST

All because of you. I love meeting you. Seeing your beautiful young faces glowing with empathy and love, as you bring along your maid and her daughter to collect the things…. It is the most beautiful meeting on earth! Seeing old men coming in their worn out clothes, happily walking out with gifts to give to their daughters for their marriages. Invariably they share, how the daughter was waiting for five years, or two years, as they didn’t have any means for the marriage itself.

I’m looking back at two to four beautiful years of accidental projects – all blooming because of you!

Here is a big hug for each of you! With all my love. Stay blessed. 😊