In a classroom in Azad Kashmir, a little girl named Hena sits quietly, her empty lunchbox a silent testament to the struggles her family faces. While her classmates chat and share fruits, Hena’s stomach growls, a sound that echoes the larger crisis of poverty in this picturesque region. This is where our story begins, but it’s far from where it ends.
We are the Kashmir Welfare Foundation, a group of British Kashmiris who have made it our mission to transform lives in our ancestral homeland. Our approach? It’s not about handouts. It’s about hand-ups.
The Hidden Face of Poverty
Hena’s story is not unique. Across Kashmir, families struggle daily with poverty that often goes unseen by the outside world. “We saw Hena sitting towards the left of the classroom,” one of our team members recalls. “While the other children looked confident and happy, something about Hena pulled at our heartstrings. The upset look on her face told a story we needed to hear.”
This observation led us to Hena’s home, where we discovered a family in crisis. Hena’s father had passed away, leaving her mother as the sole provider, struggling with intermittent work and childcare responsibilities. It was clear that a food pack alone wouldn’t solve their problems.
Beyond the Food Pack: A New Approach to Aid
Traditional aid often creates a cycle of dependency. We’ve seen it time and again: food packs that alleviate hunger temporarily but do little to address the root causes of poverty. “Our short-term relief projects are capped at 3 months,” we explain. “During this period, we assess if we can provide a long-term sustainable solution.”
This approach led us to Shabbir, a father of two struggling to find work after a devastating injury. A wheat chopper had left him with an infected wound, and with no nearby medical facilities, his situation had spiraled. For Shabbir, we didn’t just provide food and medical treatment. We helped him set up a small sweet stand near a local school.
“The sweet stand was an ideal solution,” our team notes. “It was near a school, stock was available at a short distance from his village, and it allowed him to become active again.” This simple intervention didn’t just provide Shabbir with income; it restored his dignity and hope for the future.
The Ripple Effect: How One Family’s Success Transforms a Community
The impact of our work extends far beyond individual families. When we help one family like Shabbir’s or Hena’s, we see a ripple effect throughout the community. Children return to school with full lunchboxes. Parents invest in their businesses and their children’s education. A sense of hope begins to permeate the village.
“You can see the quality of life change of those that we help, even in the first 3 months where we do temporary projects with them,” we observe. This change is not just about economic improvement. It’s about restoring dignity, fostering independence, and building resilience.
The Power of Cultural Understanding
As British Kashmiris, we bring a unique perspective to our work. “We understand the challenges faced in Kashmir,” we explain. “We have lived and experienced village life in Kashmir, and we have an in-depth understanding of how these communities work.”
This cultural insight allows us to design solutions that are truly tailored to the needs of the community. For example, we always ensure we have female doctors present during our medical projects, understanding that many women in the community prefer to speak with female healthcare providers.
Our understanding of local customs and values also helps us navigate the complex landscape of aid distribution. We carefully balance the religious requirements of Zakat (obligatory charity in Islam) with the practical needs we observe on the ground. “Zakat guidelines are not hard to understand,” we note. “They just require some careful consideration of the cases we approach to ensure those that genuinely need the services have access to them.”
Early Intervention: The Key to Lasting Change
One of the most crucial aspects of our work is early intervention. We work closely with schools and teachers, who are often the first to notice signs of trouble. “Teachers normally notice children getting weaker, not bringing food in, not engaging with teachers or other children, isolation, low performance and much more,” we explain.
By catching these signs early, we can intervene before situations become critical. This not only helps the families in need but also prevents the deepening of poverty cycles that can affect entire communities.
Breaking the Cycle: From Dependence to Independence
At the heart of our approach is a commitment to breaking the cycle of dependency. “We always make this clear from our first engagement with any service user,” we emphasise. “We don’t create a regular expectation. From the first food pack, we will tell them that this is a one-off.”
This philosophy is rooted in our understanding of Zakat and its purpose. “The whole purpose of Zakat is to bring people out of financial deprivation,” we explain. “Charities like Kashmir Welfare Foundation are just a little ‘Help me Up’ or ‘Give me a hand’ type charities where we want to make people independent again and less reliant on any charity, government or other institutes.”
Measuring Success: The Transformation of Lives
How do we know our approach is working? The evidence is in the transformed lives we see every day. It’s in the smile on Hena’s face as she shares lunch with her classmates. It’s in the pride Shabbir feels as he runs his thriving sweet stand. It’s in the newfound hope we see in the eyes of parents who can now provide for their children.
Success for us isn’t measured in the number of food packs distributed or the amount of money raised. It’s measured in the number of families who no longer need our help because they’ve found their footing and are standing strong on their own.
The Road Ahead: Scaling Our Impact
As we look to the future, our vision is clear. We want to expand our reach, bringing our model of sustainable, personalised support to more families across Azad Kashmir. But we know the challenges ahead are significant.
The poverty in Kashmir is deeply rooted, tied to complex economic, social, and political factors. But we believe that by continuing to focus on individual families, by fostering independence rather than dependence, and by leveraging our unique understanding of Kashmiri culture and society, we can make a lasting difference.
Join the Quiet Revolution
The revolution we’re leading in Kashmir isn’t loud or flashy. It doesn’t make headlines or create overnight sensations. Instead, it’s a quiet revolution that starts with a child’s full lunchbox, a father’s small business, a mother’s newfound hope for her family’s future.
This revolution starts with people like you – people who believe that sustainable change is possible, that poverty can be overcome, and that every family deserves the chance to stand on their own feet.
As we continue our work, we invite you to join us. Whether through donations, volunteering, or simply spreading the word about our work, you can be part of this quiet revolution. Together, we can transform Kashmir, one family, one sweet stand, one full lunchbox at a time.
In the end, our goal is simple: we want to work ourselves out of existence. We dream of a day when organisations like ours are no longer needed in Kashmir because every family has the resources and opportunities they need to thrive. Until that day comes, we’ll be here, working hand in hand with the people of Kashmir, helping them write new stories of hope, resilience, and success.
The quiet revolution has begun. Will you join us?
