How a Charity Initiated with $100 in 2001 is Tackling Poverty Alleviation and Floods in the 5th Most Populous Country of the World
Torrential monsoon rains have triggered the most severe flooding in Pakistan’s history, washing away thousands of villages. With 1/3rd of Pakistan flooded, more than 1,500 people dead, about 15,700 people injured, 40 million people and over 3 million livestock affected, over 800,000 refugees living in calamity-declared districts, and around 3.4 million children at an increased risk of waterborne diseases, the world is witnessing the most catastrophic impact of climate change. In addition, more than a million homes, 2 million acres of crops, and some 3,000 miles of roads have been damaged. Flood-related damage may run as much as $30 billion, with experts warning of food instability and disease outbreaks in the months ahead.
Pakistan’s crippling public health infrastructure is grappling with the huge challenge of rescue, relief, and rehabilitation. Due to the depleted confidence in the state, most of the flood affectees look up to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for immediate support. Meanwhile, numerous volunteers from various charities have joined the massive government-led operation and support program from the country’s powerful military to save as many lives as possible amid the surging waters.
Thousands of Akhuwat volunteers are seen working in Punjab, Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh in their green vests. Akhuwat, a charitable organization founded in 2001 with a $100 donation, has grown into the biggest interest-free microfinance entity in the world, having disbursed around 1 billion dollars to over 5.5 million individuals, providing them with basic necessities. Interestingly, Akhuwat is not a disaster relief organization. It sprang to action due to the huge ‘trust capital’ and is at the forefront of flood relief and rehabilitation because around 850 offices and over 10,000 staff members volunteered to help.
Dr. Muhammad Amjad Saqib, Akhuwat’s founder, chairman, and Pakistan’s most trusted and celebrated name in the development sector, is worried about the impending winter. In a video message for overseas Pakistanis, outlining his plans, Saqib elaborates, “There are millions out of their homes, who in 8-10 weeks will be exposed to the harsh weather that will further fuel illness and death. At Akhuwat, we are more concerned about their livelihood. They are hard-working people with self-respect. Thus, we must not consider them beggars just because they need support to get back on their feet. That is why, after rescue and relief, we are more concerned about their rehabilitation. With our expertise in affordable housing, Akhuwat plans to spearhead the rehabilitation drive in Pakistan by repairing and building over one hundred thousand flooded homes.”
Akhuwat endeavors to stimulate the compassion muscle of over ten million overseas Pakistanis living in Europe, the United States, the Middle East, and across 150 other countries. With its presence in the United Kingdom, USA, Sweden, and now in Australia, Akhuwat is already forging its global network of educated Pakistani supporters who want to alleviate miseries in Pakistan.
“We urge Pakistanis living abroad, who have always shown admirable humanitarian spirit, to once again step forward and generously donate in cash, kindness, expertise or any other form of support to sustain relief and rehabilitation activities in the flood-hit areas.” Dr. Saqib appealed.
In 2001, Dr. Saqib, along with his friends, dreamt of a world without the colossal gulf between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have-nots: “I read that the top 1 percent of individuals own 50 percent of global wealth. I deemed this not a problem but a solution to destitution if the rich were willing to share their resources with the less fortunate. Nevertheless, I did not want the rich to provide nor the poor to receive for the rest of their lives. Instead of providing them with fish every day, teaching the poor how to fish appealed more to me as it was more dignified”. This rationale worked for Akhuwat. Initially, many people donated funds, and thousands of poor people sought interest-free loans to start their small businesses. Once these start-ups made money, they paid back to Akhuwat in small installments. Akhuwat made headlines when its recovery rate went beyond 99.8%, as it was completely unprecedented in microfinance to have so few defaults. Michael Harper, Emeritus Professor, Cranfield School of Management, UK, recognized Akhuwat for its philanthropy and stated, ‘Akhuwat is breaking the rules in microfinance, and sometimes it is important to break the rules’.
Akhuwat was founded under the principle of Mawakhat, meaning brotherhood. The earliest example of Mawakhat is evident in the solidarity formed between the citizens of Medina, Saudi Arabia, and the Muhajireen-the first converts to Islam, who had fled to Medina to escape persecution. The very idea attracted the support of globally-accomplished Pakistani and Muslim professionals, experts, and researchers, who helped Akhuwat become a sustainable model.
Akhuwat’s interest-free model was labeled unsustainable by many theorists and practitioners in the first decade of its operation. Many economists expressed their doubts about recovering the loans without any collateral. However, Akhuwat consistently proved them wrong, achieving the ‘impossible’ as the ‘poorest of the poor’ paid back with full commitment. This success evoked excitement in Pakistan, a country where the rich and powerful frequently secured large loans without paying them back. Akhuwat’s success story became big news. Harvard University’s Kennedy School conducted a case study on Akhuwat in 2016, after which the ‘Akhuwat Model’ started generating global interest. In 2018, Queen Elizabeth II presented The Commonwealth’s 31st Point of Light Award in recognition of Saqib’s services for poverty alleviation and restoring human dignity in Pakistan.
In the past 21 years, Akhuwat has managed to walk the tightrope of trust while working with different civilian and military governments. Surprisingly, Pakistan’s renowned political leader Imran Khan is also a big fan of Akhuwat and called himself an ‘Akhuwat’s follower’ while launching an affordable housing scheme with Akhuwat in 2020, back when he was the prime minister. Interestingly, Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s current Prime Minister, has also been backing up Akhuwat ever since he was the chief minister of Punjab.
Akhuwat’s achievements have brought pride to many Pakistanis who appreciate its transformational work amidst mammoth challenges. Many consider Akhuwat’s operations to be the realization of the dream of the Founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, which depicts a just and equitable society. Dr. Saqib’s Magsaysay Award in 2021, known as Asia’s Noble Prize, has excited many Pakistanis who believe Akhuwat can help Pakistan usher in a new era of tolerance, equality, and prosperity. The news of Dr. Amjad Saqib’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize 2022 made headlines in Pakistan and regional newspapers. Nonetheless, Dr. Saqib and his team at Akhuwat continued their work relentlessly without pausing for applause. As Dr. Saqib aptly writes in his book, ‘Akhuwat – A Journey’: “Poverty is pain and poison. We should all consider ourselves poor, even if a single person in this world lives in poverty. We will continue our struggle to make this world a happy place to live for all, irrespective of age, race, ethnicity, and religion. Above all, we must remember that poverty can never be eliminated through charity or doing business with the poor. The only solution is establishing a bond of love and solidarity with the have-nots”.
