Sharmeen Khan

Resettling the Indus

Most of us read about tragedies or unfortunate incidences and feel overwhelmed. However, soon, we move on with our everyday lives, at best perhaps dedicating a donation to the cause. Still, there are a few people, like Sharmeen Khan, who takes charge to practically help the devastated and the less fortunate.

Then again, Sharmeen Khan is not your run-of-the-mill, usual young lady. On meeting her, the determination and strong-mindedness clearly shine through. “I have been blessed to be from a family which has always supported me. There has never been a demarcation between my brother and I. I was always allowed to be my own person.” Her family was also instrumental in developing the love for social service from a very young age. “I come from a family of doctors. I grew up seeing my mom, Dr Shireen, and the other doctors in my family going out there and providing medical aid to less fortunate regularly through medical camps. Honestly, being a part of one social service project or the other was the norm for me while growing up.”

Therefore, in the wake of the 2010 floods in Pakistan, it was impossible for Sharmeen to sit and watch as over 20 million people were affected to debilitating levels. As a young, Beaconhouse National University student in Lahore, she felt the overwhelming need to contribute towards alleviating the tremendous pain millions suffered. “As idealistic as it may sound, yes, I wanted to go out there and contribute towards change.” Along with some of her family members, associates and friends, she found the organization, Resettling the Indus. “It was paramount for us to register an official entity if we were to be able to collect donations for those affected by the floods.” Therefore in October 2010, Resettling the Indus was born.

Her Role

Sharmeen has a significant role in the organization. She handles the Sindh Chapter and being the only board member located in Karachi, she handles all queries and donors that reach out to her first. She also oversees the Sindh school based in Mirpur Khas and is also involved in its running.

Sharmeen’s other role involves the emergency disaster relief. If a tragedy happens, from a terrorist attack to a natural disaster, she and her team will be the first to head down to the ground to gather information and conduct needs assessments. Her team consists of individuals and board members who volunteer for the cause. Sharmeen emphasizes how teamwork is so critical at this stage. “This information is shared through our network of aid organization to help divide the limited resources effectively.” After the assessments, Sharmeen and her team are involved in putting together relief camps, building community trusts and generally devising a long-term intervention plan. She says, “I hand over the project to our team of architects, accountants and economists, who selflessly volunteer, to take it further.” She adds, “Since I am a professional psychologist, my work also involves managing the mental health of victims and relationship building as a whole.”

The Challenges

As a young Pakistani woman, one would expect towering challenges to face in such a line of work. However, perhaps our pure intentions do pave and smoothen the way. Other than safety issues, everyone around Sharmeen was extremely supportive. She says with a smile that families would invite her home and extend a warm welcome. Many times, she might have been the sole woman chairing a meeting but she would still be given the due respect.

Sharmeen, however, did have many challenges initially getting the various skilled volunteers that were required. “When I moved to Karachi and manned the organization’s office here, I was the only volunteer as our head office runs from Lahore. My father and brother joined me and we would go every weekend to Sindh for the construction of a school and broken houses in Mir Pur Khas. We continued like this for 2 years before finally building a bigger team of doctors, accountants, social mobilisers, trekkers and survey experts.

Also, dealing with the emotional and psychological shocks of seeing victims of the floods was extremely challenging. “One has to manage oneself a lot internally when on the ground. We would witness load shedding, dilapidated houses, post-flood epidemics and the real human distress on a daily basis. Being human, we could not completely remain detached from what we were witnessing. Our work would take a toll on us and we would have to know when to take a break and seek the support we needed from our team. However, I suppose, seeing the victims of the disaster close-up, built our resilience to continue this mission to help. We could not just leave those who needed us.”

Inspiring Others

The experience of working with Resettling the Indus has been quite an eye-opening one. Sharmeen emphasizes how she is amazed by the warmth of her country’s people. Strangers have gone out of their way to welcome her. “People have simply opened their homes and hearts to me. Even now, I am touched that I can call so many people my family,” she says. She does feel that her family has expanded beyond measure.

Other than the warmth she has received, Sharmeen is also happy that through her work, she has been able to touch lives and make a difference. She recalls how a certain girl named Shazia from Muzaffargarh who was 7 then, would quietly observe Sharmeen and her fellow teammates as they went about their volunteer duties.  Soon, Shazia began to shadow Sharmeen, becoming her tour guide. Through Shazia’s interaction with Sharmeen, she strengthened her resolve to educate herself. Girls in that village would often not get a chance to study beyond their puberty but being inspired by the volunteers, they would work hard to learn. “Shazia could only speak Saraiki initially but today, she has learnt Urdu and English. Today, Shazia is a beautiful tall independent young lady determined to help her community in a meaningful way. Many of the other girls are serious about becoming doctors and teachers to contribute towards their society. Certainly, our work has contributed to uplifting society in those areas, bringing basic rights to education for many of the female residents.”

The Change Within

Often, when we seek to help others, we inevitably end up helping ourselves. Sharmeen says, “My work with Resettling the Indus has changed me stupendously as a person. Earlier, I might have been more hot-tempered but today my family tells me that I have grown much more patient. Indeed, I do feel that witnessing the pain of others has changed my perspective towards life”. She also feels that now, when faced with the challenges of life, she does not mope but looks for solutions. “My work with the organisation has changed my mindset, as on a day to day basis, my work is all about solving problems and moving forward. “

Getting the Help That’s Needed

“I am thankful that Resettling the Indus happened to me. The work that this organization does is phenomenal. We have created self-sustaining industries, empowered people to learn new skills like brick-making or house building so they can fend for themselves. We have built schools in remote areas devastated by floods and the journey certainly continues.”

Resettling the Indus still largely depends on donations to keep going, although they are trying to move towards self-sustainability and autonomy. “When there is coverage by the media when a disaster strikes, the donations do pour in but soon enough, people forget. We depend on a lot of donations from family and friends but certainly, we need to do more to keep this mission going.”

Sharmeen is indeed an extraordinary young lady who is an inspiration for us all. She has chosen to sacrifice much, including a full-time position as a psychologist, to dedicate her energies and time towards the greater cause of helping the less fortunate people of her nation. “Resettling the Indus,” she says, “is a step towards a better Pakistan; a step which will hopefully restore its former glory of the Indus.” She adds, “It’s a 60-year plan but we are moving one step at a time. This is a lifetime of investment but one that we derive great fulfilment from, one life at a time.”