By Abeer Saqib, Shaleen Khan & Rohma Nasim
Pakistanis are famous for their immense love of food, their delicious, wide-ranged cuisine, 
yet it is ironic that as of 2018, 60% of its 20 million population faced food insecurity and around 33% is malnutrition. As you spend money lavishly on a three course meal from the latest restaurant in town, in the cold streets of Pakistan, an innocent child dies hungry that very moment in an underprivileged area. At least, 1200 children below five years of age die every day in Pakistan and majority of the deaths are caused by malnutrition.
The students of Lahore Grammar School (LGS) recently made a humble attempt by collecting money through a fundraiser in the school. A team of volunteers ‘Ghazaa’ successfully carried out a food drive where the students were able to feed more than a hundred people.
While it was a small part in the whole scenario of food crisis, the project opened our eyes to the reality of poverty, something people of our privileged background can never truly understand, and we saw just a fraction of the lives they lead. No one deserves to live this way. Which is why it being our job to try and help them to the greatest of our capability.
From a father who leaves his home 5 O’clock in the morning to the mother who sacrifices her portion of food to feed her bawling baby, to that child begging on the street, Pakistan’s food situation is deteriorating day by day. You can help solve the food crisis to a great extent in the simplest of ways: Next time you see a beggar out in the cold, try to provide him or her with a small amount of food or ration, rather than wasting your leftover food at home or at a restaurant, pack it and give it to a poor person on the streets, you can gather funds from your neighborhood or school and carry out a little food drive in a slum area nearby.
Find ‘Ghazaa’ on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for more updates and ideas and help us solve the food crisis in Pakistan by playing your part, take a step towards humanity and a leap away from such crises.
