TCF

I volunteered for The Citizens Foundation (TCF) in the summer of 2008 and it was an awakening experience to be able to teach underprivileged children and their want to learn. We think that parents of poor families do not wish to send their children to schools because they would rather send them to work but that isn’t true most of the time. If there is an institute that provides uniforms, books, shelter from 8am-2pm for its students and well-versed teachers, education in the English Language, and unbiased ways of teaching, at a cost of 10rps minimum per month, which parent could refuse?

TCF is a non-profit organization that was set up in 1995. The vision of TCF is to “remove barriers of class and privilege and to make the citizens of Pakistan Agents of Positive Change.” The group of people who began this organization were obviously looking at a bigger picture. We may feed the poor, we may clothe the poor, but do we provide any security for their future? TCF does.

By providing education at a minimum cost and free for some TCF helps these children get better paid jobs and hence increase their standard of living which breaks the cycle that they would have been pulled into if they weren't given this kind of opportunity.

When a country goes 'bhaow! bhaow!'

Playing cricket has become a crime now I believe. For innocent teenagers are being killed for the sake of settling a score. For innocent teenagers are accused wrongfully. For our police and ironically even the rescue team's presence does not really help. For they are too busy well, laying eggs. Because that can be the only excuse they can give, for it is quite a rigurous process-you know laying eggs, to have neglected a situation to the extent at which a 15 and 17 year old, still minors, were beaten before and sadistically after their death on August 15, 2010.


What will happen now? The media got some new juicy gossip, a few videos here and there, talk show hosts can drill the government. And like any other and every other murder this one might and probably will be forgotten. Cynical much? What choice does one have after watching such videos on tv? What choice does one have when the citizens of a country and mind you absolutely ignorant ones take on the law and order and punish without due reason?

I do not care if those two boys got into a tiff in a game of cricket! I do not care if those two boys were murderers! I do not care if those two boys were rapists! I do not care if those two boys were robbers! I do care if they were beaten, I do care if they were hanged, I do care if they were wronged.

Problems are easily identified. Its time for solutions. We need to take action against these conspirators, the people who are behind this chaos. The authorities can rant on about doing their best 'to dig out the ground realities in the double murder.' Regardless of what these two boys did, what happened to them is sick, and will not be tolerated! And it is our job as the educated lot to make sure the government of this country understands that action must be taken against these people, the people who did this to two boys who by law were not only minors but had the right to an attorney and had the right to prove themselves innocent.

August 15, a day that should be recalled as the day when our country went 'bhaow! bhaow!’