Congratulations to Tahira Saleem the winner of our Women’s History Month Contest!

In celebration of Women’s History Month in March, the Public Affairs Team in Islamabad held a Facebook contest encouraging fans to send in entries about an inspiring woman for a chance to win a handycam. Out of the over 60 notes we received, Tahira Saleem won first place for her entry about Parveen Saeed, a woman who feeds the poor in Karachi.

Our second place winner Shariq Ejaz received an Ipod nano. And we also sent Abbas Hassan, our third place winner, a special Embassy prize.

Again the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad congratulates all of our winners. Stay tuned for more contests in the weeks ahead, and don’t forget to share our page with your friends and family.

You can read Tahira’s grand prize winning essay below:

Khanaghar: food house for the poor

Mothers, all over the world, commence their day by planning about the food their families are to take that day but for the diminutive, motherly and passionate Perveen Saeed, beginning of her each day is all about the management of her soup kitchen in Karachi for her family of more than 3000 people. Saeed is the proud owner of the one-of-its-kind project “Khanaghar”, a small eatery that provides broth and Chapatti to the poor residents of  Surjani town, a slum in Karachi, on a minuscule price of Rs.3/- only.

This brainchild flashed across the journalist-turned- social worker’s mind when she heard about her neighbor’s killing of her two kids for her inability to feed them properly. Perveen was really moved and she laid the foundation of her first Khanaghar in year 2002 on self-help basis and since then her efforts to help the down-trodden people of her community continue unabated  and she has expanded her project by opening further two branches of Khanaghar. According to Perveen, the main reason behind selling food on such a minimum price is to discourage the poor from becoming beggars and to maintain their dignity.

In a country, where soaring food prices has made it impossible for the poor to get two square meals a day, with her unflinching passion and whole-hearted commitment, Perveen is truly an inspiration for many youngsters like me. Perveen’s example clearly reflects that making a difference is all about taking a first step instead of cursing the darkness.

[original source: US Embassy Pakistan Facebook Page]