The Journey Begins
My journey began from Switzerland. After countless emails, numerous calls to the relevant people and quite a few efforts to chase up people to even respond to my emails, I finally had my itinerary for 9 days in Pakistan.
I hadn't visited Pakistan in about 11-12 years. I was warned that a lot had changed. Curious and anxious, I made my way to Lahore. An historical and 2nd largest city of Pakistan.
On the first day, I was scheduled to meet with Imran Khan- ex-cricketer, a prominent political figure and a dedicated philanthropist. I had been following the Pukaar initiative and it seemed logical to begin with Imran Khan's foundation. The meeting was organised through his foundation that my team member Omeir Zahid had helped put together.
Fresh off the plane, jet-lagged, I headed in the direction of Imran Khan's residence, along with my team. We were lucky to catch Imran Khan that day as he was extremely busy with the preparation for the protest he was going to lead the next day against the drone attacks.
I was quite genuinely and pleasantly surprised by Mr. Khan's simple living style. Due to his commitments, I was lucky to grab a few moments to chat casually over a very simple but delightful breakfast.
I explained briefly the intentions, aims and objectives of my trip and the Human Resilience Project.
*To bring hope through art in natural disaster hit areas in the poverty stricken countries after a certain time has lapsed, where the main interest from most of the helping bodies and the international media's focus has moved on. The profits from the exhibitions and sales of photos and relevant material will be dedicated to the flood affected communities. My focus, to begin with, would be mainly in Pakistan, Peru and Haiti.
Objectives:
1- Assess and document the rehabilitation process in those areas.
2- Tell the story of human resilience through photo essays.
3- Join hands with reliable and dedicated organisations working in those communities.
4. Organise photo exhibitions around the world. Starting from Middle East and Europe. Online campaign will also be initiated for fund-raising.
5- Dedicate the profit from the exhibitions to the betterment and facilitation of the rehabilitation process as required.
6- Open schools in villages.
Education is the only key to free humanity from mental slavery.
7. Spread hope through art.
He briefly looked at his political party supporters in the room with a twinkle in his eyes and said, " A lot can change in 6 months!"
Indeed, we await a positive change in Pakistan, hopefully soon!
The message on the posters: "Let's sow a seed of hope for a new Pakistan".
Click here to join The Resilience Drive and show your support;
facebook.com/HumanResilienceProject
you can read about the aims & objectives of the project here:
http://www.beakayani.co.uk/#!projects
http://www.highscapeimages.com/
http://www.beakayani.co.uk
http://www.beakayaniart.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/BeaKayaniimages?ref=ts
http://twitter.com/#!/BeaKayani
Please "Follow" the blog and "subscribe" to stay updated. Join hands to make a difference!
Please feel free to write to me to express your interest and share what you can do to participate in the project and help.
My journey began from Switzerland. After countless emails, numerous calls to the relevant people and quite a few efforts to chase up people to even respond to my emails, I finally had my itinerary for 9 days in Pakistan.
I hadn't visited Pakistan in about 11-12 years. I was warned that a lot had changed. Curious and anxious, I made my way to Lahore. An historical and 2nd largest city of Pakistan.
On the first day, I was scheduled to meet with Imran Khan- ex-cricketer, a prominent political figure and a dedicated philanthropist. I had been following the Pukaar initiative and it seemed logical to begin with Imran Khan's foundation. The meeting was organised through his foundation that my team member Omeir Zahid had helped put together.
I was quite genuinely and pleasantly surprised by Mr. Khan's simple living style. Due to his commitments, I was lucky to grab a few moments to chat casually over a very simple but delightful breakfast.
I explained briefly the intentions, aims and objectives of my trip and the Human Resilience Project.
*To bring hope through art in natural disaster hit areas in the poverty stricken countries after a certain time has lapsed, where the main interest from most of the helping bodies and the international media's focus has moved on. The profits from the exhibitions and sales of photos and relevant material will be dedicated to the flood affected communities. My focus, to begin with, would be mainly in Pakistan, Peru and Haiti.Objectives:
1- Assess and document the rehabilitation process in those areas.2- Tell the story of human resilience through photo essays.
3- Join hands with reliable and dedicated organisations working in those communities.
4. Organise photo exhibitions around the world. Starting from Middle East and Europe. Online campaign will also be initiated for fund-raising.
5- Dedicate the profit from the exhibitions to the betterment and facilitation of the rehabilitation process as required.
6- Open schools in villages.
Education is the only key to free humanity from mental slavery.
7. Spread hope through art.
He listened carefully, asked a few questions about how am I going to achieve this, made a few suggestions and gave me his vote of support. Delighted by my motivation, he then suggested I meet with his sister Aleema Khan- who is a board member of Imran Khan's Foundation and has overseen the flood-relief efforts. It was agreed that we would meet again for a formal interview and photos on my next trip as time was short for me, this time around. He asked me when I would be back. I mentioned, perhaps in the next six months.
He briefly looked at his political party supporters in the room with a twinkle in his eyes and said, " A lot can change in 6 months!"
Indeed, we await a positive change in Pakistan, hopefully soon!
The message on the posters: "Let's sow a seed of hope for a new Pakistan".
Click here to join The Resilience Drive and show your support;
facebook.com/HumanResilienceProject
you can read about the aims & objectives of the project here:
http://www.beakayani.co.uk/#!projects
http://www.highscapeimages.com/
http://www.beakayani.co.uk
http://www.beakayaniart.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/BeaKayaniimages?ref=ts
http://twitter.com/#!/BeaKayani
Please "Follow" the blog and "subscribe" to stay updated. Join hands to make a difference!
Please feel free to write to me to express your interest and share what you can do to participate in the project and help.
