We Only Fail When We Give up
Amal Academy has provided us the platform to collect donations for the Edhi Foundation. As we all know about the demise of our beloved Edhi sb, his son Faisal is now managing the Edhi Foundation and has requested people to help donate as there is a fear of drop in the funds after Edhi Sb.’s death. Edhi sb used to stand on the street begging for money. He would collect the smallest amount of money he would get for the foundation.
We collected donations for the Edhi Foundation for two weeks. The aim of the activity was to teach us that we only fail when we give up. The purpose was to fail, face rejection, accept failure, and learn from that failure.
As a circle our strategy to collect funds for Edhi Foundation was to delegate a bank account for the collection. Everyone reached out to their friends, family and strangers for the donations. The collected amount was then transferred to the main account.
Collectively we were able to raise Rs. 47,150/- for Edhi Foundation.
It was all possible through the relentless efforts of all the circle members: Muhammad Shoaib Khan, Syed Hussain Abbas, Nimra Noor, Subial Aslam Khan, and Shah Faisal. Indeed Ak or Ak Gyara.
Experience of Circle Members
Subial Aslam Khan
It was a great experience, although I have used social media for fundraising before but this time I tried to go in person and collect from local businesses as well. Fortunately,all those people I came across were courteous and kind. I raised funds individually, however, I will be working with another group member this week to generate more funds. On social media, I reached out to my friends and asked them to share the message as well. For the In-person collection, I visited mostly restaurants and local stores, I talked to the managers and told them about our drive. Currently, I am trying to connect with businesses through social media and I hope that I get good results out of it. There were two major challenges that I faced.
Firstly, most of the restaurants and local businesses I visited were being run by staff and the owners were absent so it was difficult to get donations without them being there. Secondly, people were hesitant in transferring money to an unofficial bank account. To overcome the second problem I started sharing official ways to transfer money to Edhi Foundation. Most of the people rejected the request for a donation and this constant rejection made me a bit comfortable with the failure.
Syed Hussain Abbas
I had a great experience collecting funds. It felt good to be able to help out the people who are less privileged in such a manner. When the task was assigned I was under quarantine due to being COVID-19 positive so I collected funds individually. Overall it was a great experience but it would have been better if I was able to perform it as a group activity. The main challenge was to interact with people due to quarantine but thankfully it was easily overcome due to use of social media mainly whatsapp. I would not consider this as a failure on my part because my job was to ask for funds and my expectations in this regard were at the lowest. Thankfully I was able to contact people who were kind enough to donate and help out the cause. There were also many who were not willing to donate, in such case I thanked them, kept my head high and moved on.
Nimra Noor
The funds generated were to be sent to Edhi Foundation; the home for the poor, needy and helpless people. It was therefore a social cause, working for the betterment of society. It was a great experience and helped me to learn a lot about empathy towards people and positively responding to failure.
It was both ways; individually and in group. I shared my bank details with my team members and they transferred the funds to my account. They also collected funds individually and directly sent to Edhi Foundation.
I faced some challenges like being ignored when asked for help, not getting enough funds, recalling the ones that promised funding again and again etc. I overcome these challenges by keeping my ego aside and not giving up.
I got rejected for funding by a lot of people. Some didn’t even bother responding. Yet, there were people who responded and appreciated the cause I was working on. The appreciation fueled me to keep going and not give up.
Shah Faisal
It was a great experience of collecting charity and funds for the needy and poor. For that you can ask your friends, your family but that would not be enough so you have to go to strangers by getting out of your comfort zone and that is where we learn the most. We have collected funds both individually and as a group.
A lot of challenges faced me when I started the collection. I went to different small shops. It was difficult to convince them. Most of the people ignored me. Some say that it is a scam,many people said a big NO. One man said Edhi sahab is dead now and I would not donate to Edhi anymore. Some were saying Allah bhala kare. They kept ignoring me like I was invisible. First one is Leadership. We studied the concept of leading with and without authority and this was the time to implement leadership skills. But I will never give up. Most of the contributions I collected were a good amount in a short time. And there is one more thing that I felt by this activity that is trust, respect and love.
Muhammad Shoaib Khan
It was a wonderful experience to take part in a social cause. Edhi Sahib was a great motivation for all of us. His determination, hard work and love for humanity was always an inspiration.
Well due to Covid-19 situation, it was difficult to collect funds in a group. So, I prefer to collect the funds individually. But we have consulted our group members, how effectively we can collect more and more funds for the social cause.
In the beginning, I had faced multiple challenges. Firstly, I haven’t much time due job commitments and are out of the hometown. Secondly, due to Covid-19 situation the economic situation is worse, and businesses are shrinking. Thirdly, the trust amongst the people which is lacking due to uncertainty and online fraud scams.
The whole exercise gives us a new energy that we must remain positive and calm. It’s a part of life to accept your failure and move on. And the main thing is that we have to deal with tough situations, it will ultimately build our sportsman spirit.
Mahnur Kanwar
For the first time in my life I tried collecting funds for a charity. I utilized social media as the main medium to collect the funds. Some people were very receptive and some were not. The people who did not want to donate had their reasons. For example, one person stated that they do not give funds to organizations rather they prefer to give money or food to needy people in their neighborhood. Another individual stated that there are many scams running in the name of charity and donation so they don’t feel comfortable donating. All these reasons are understandable and I agree with those individuals that it is difficult to trust strangers.
When I approached strangers for donations, the challenges that I faced were more related to trust. To solve the issue I provided them the official link of the Edhi website so they can donate directly to the organization.
For this activity I had to get out of my comfort zone and ask people for donations. My family is very supportive of this activity. My mother is even accompanying me for the donation drive. But I was also made fun of by some friends because they perceived this activity as inferior. I was called “faqeeron waly kam” in a joking way for doing this activity. It was very weird and hurtful for me to hear that as I never expected that my own people will be classist and judgmental. But their perception has not affected me at all. I will continue this activity even after this week and I don’t care what they think about it.
The overall experience was exciting and I have learned a lot from it. We had decided to collect funds individually for the most part. But I have also teamed up with one of the circle members to organize a donation drive which will be happening on 1st May, 2021. There were few challenges but we were able to overcome those as well. For the drive we have arranged a small stall that includes a donation box, a poster and small tokens of appreciation for the people who will donate. I am looking forward to it and hopefully, this donation drive goes according to plan.
This activity has truly given me a new perspective on failure. I feel that we get demotivated and disappointed when we fail. We try to shift blame on to other people because of our own inadequacies and never learn from our own mistakes. If we treat failure as a challenge and a learning experience then it is not possible for these challenges to waver our motivation. It all boils down to how we perceive failure.
Failure will either shatter our motivation or it will teach us a lesson. It’s up to us how we want to perceive it.
Our Weekly Progress
Week 1
Circle members were able to raise Rs. 17,150/- in the first week of funds collection.
Total number of people reached: 179
Family members and friends: 46
Number of Organizations and Businesses: 15
Names of Main Organizations and Businesses: CafeSolpk Islamabad, Intem, and SenaryBits.
Number of people who provided Funds: 12
Number of people who Rejected: 167
Week 2
Circle members were able to raise Rs. 30,000/- in the second week.
Total number of people reached: 148
Family members and friends: 12
Number of people who provided Funds: 9
Number of people who Rejected: 151
Number of businesses: 68
Conclusion
In the end we all learned that if we face failure in life we should never give up. Instead we should learn from the experience and utilize it to improve ourselves.
Here are some amazing tips shared by our fellow Muhammad Shoaib Khan:
Due to COVID-19 businesses are shrinking. So, my main target list was friends and family circle. My strategy was,firstly have a normal gup shup session with them, after you realized that they are in a good mood, then start your donation drive smartly and encourage them. Direct payment to Edhi Foundation gives them boost and confidence that we are actually doing some ground work. Give them facts and figures of previous batches. And take advice, how can we improve our drive more effectively. Being interested in strategy works for sure.
And one more point, don’t get distracted by rejection in this drive. Because it’s a part of life. Stay positive and calm. It will ultimately enhance your mental strength and courage. And, when you get rejected by someone, then give them a good gesture and compliment. For example, Thank you Sir/buddy, for your time and feedback. The person will sure, think about your positive attitude and will reconsider their decision.