Cloth Donation Drive’20: Of Warm Sheaths

by Zunaira Saadat

It was the first week of December. With each elapsing day, the wind turned icy cold, accompanied by long nights and the stillness they brought in. The only words in my mind were: Winter is here. Therefore, being the shopaholic that I am, I availed the free time on hand and set out to gather all the warm sheath I needed against this ice-cold weather for the next few months. I’m sure just like me, most of us did the same. Stepping out of the warmth of our abode, we usually don’t spare a second to think what this harsh winter is like for those who can’t afford the basic necessities of life.

NUST Community Services Club (NCSC) took it on themselves to look out for these individuals of this society. Thus began the week long clothes collection for the Cloth Donation Drive (CDD) 2020. The students, faculty and the in dwellers of the residential area of NUST were encouraged to play a part in this collection. Working tirelessly from Monday to Friday, the members of NCSC collected, sorted, ironed and neatly packed the collected items which mainly comprised of warm clothes of all sizes, sweaters, jackets, shoes and bed sheets. All the packed items were loaded in boxes, ready for distribution the following Sunday.

On Sunday, 9^th February, the NCSC volunteers set off to serve. The receptive community chosen was a Christian colony in H-8. With their timely arrival, the NCSC family unloaded all the boxes and neatly set the items for distribution. Clear sections, separate for men, women and children were made for ease of the conferrers. As soon as the members of the community finished their Sunday prayer, they were warmly welcomed to the venue. In order to avoid over-crowding, neat lines were made. With tokens in their hands and excitement on their faces, the folks eagerly waited for their turns. The volunteers made sure each and every individual got the chance to pick items of their size and their desired choice. In no time, the sounds of masses selecting their favorites filled the area, enhanced by the laughter of children with new clothes in hand, their eyes full of impatience to go home and try the new attire.

The sun shone brighter than ever with the passing minutes as the crowds started to disperse and exit. It was then that I remembered to check the time, and to my surprise, 3 straight hours had passed by in the blink of an eye! The catch here was, seeing the smiles on the faces of those people, and the way the elders of the community showed their gratitude in prayers of well-being for the volunteers put my heart at ease to no extent. This very response is the driving force behind the work that NCSC does, and attaining that ensures the success of each event.

As I write these final sentences, I can feel the heat of the sun intensifying. Now all I can think is..winter is gone.

NCSC & Chadar Fight Off the Winter Cold

It was a cold Sunday morning, but she had to wake up early. This was the day, as she was told, that a group of students from some university in Islamabad was coming to their town to distribute clothes. She readied her daughter, Ayesha, who was as much looking forward to this visit as she was. They were expected to gather in the house of a senior lady of their town, who would then lead them to the store.

The wait turned out to be long, making her anxious. Someone near her was talking about leaving, because it didn’t seem that these children were actually coming. Still, she suppressed any such impulse, and sat patiently with Ayesha by her side.

When she finally did get round to the store, there was a sense of urgency in the air. Other women were going about picking clothes, taking them away, helped by the children who were carrying shopping bags full of sweaters, suits, and shawls. She did not waste much time, and started searching and separating the clothes she’d take along with her. Before long, a noticeable pile had accumulated and she decided it was time to leave, urged on by the children managing the store. On her way back, she saw a volunteer carrying a small, black hijab to the table with the kids’ clothes. An idea struck her mind, and she hurried to the table, excavating the piece of cloth that she had seen.

Ayesha will really like this little scarf.

She did. The little girl wore the scarf on the spot, with a big smile plastered on her face. This had made her day.

***

As was his daily routine, he got onto his bicycle early in the morning, and set out for work. Of late, it had begun to get particularly cold, and his old, feeble body was only protected by a sweater, which was beginning to get dirty. He prayed to Allah to send help, for he did not have the money to buy another piece of clothing to keep the cold at bay. Anyhow, he carried on with his day.

A little after 3pm however, a booming voice coming from the masjid filled his ears.

“A group of students has set up a store to give away winter clothes. Whoever needs them should come to the plot next to Nagina Masjid to take the clothes.”

He could not believe his ears. He got on his bicycle and wasted no time in getting himself to the designated area, where the store was set up. Inside, there was an entire collection of clothes: jackets, coats and sweaters. Exactly what he had needed.

He did not need to fear the cold again, for his prayer had been answered. It was nothing short of a miracle for him. He left the store with a heart full of gratitude and tears in his eyes.

***

NUST Community Services Club (NCSC) organized a Clothes Donation Drive in collaboration with Chadar this winter. The clothes were processed, packed, and taken to Morgah, a katchi abadi near DHA 1, Islamabad, to be distributed in a Street Store. More than 1000 items of clothing were distributed to over 80 deserving families in the area.

Every family had a story much like the ones covered above. It is inspirational how a simple act of donating clothes can change and improve lives in such impactful ways. This is what drives NCSC: the goal of serving humanity, and of making the world a better place to live in.

The Simple Yet Profound Act Of ‘Giving’

By Arooj Kazmi

Your closet is overflowing with clothes; the ones you’ve just bought wait patiently in line. To make room for them, you carefully pluck out a pile of clothes and place them on your bed.

Unfold each piece of attire from the pile, and it will tell you a story. You run your fingers through the silken, pink dress that you wore at your uncle’s wedding. It’s delicate lacework, which was previously a gleaming, milky white, is now a little faded. Your favorite red shirt that you wore on your first day of college, still firmly holds on to a deep brown stain near the sleeve where your now-best-friend dropped coffee. A wooly sweater your grandma knit the previous winter comes up next – you didn’t much fancy it for its dull brown color scheme. But now as you examine it closely, you begin to notice the intricate patterns that snake across its form in neat synchrony, and that image of your grandma’s ancient, delicate fingers knitting intently in the calm tinkling of knitting needles, pops up in your mind. An uneasiness settles upon you.

You swiftly move on to a deep-blue sweatshirt. It still smells of the Givenchy perfume that you had fallen in love with during your high school years. On the front is written, in a bold, gold font: ‘It is when you give of yourself that you truly give’. In retrospect, the caption strikes you as a little odd for a sweatshirt, and you’re not really sure why you bought it in the first place… but inside your mind, tiny, invisible cogs have been set in motion, and somehow, your heart feels heavily nostalgic and slightly miserable.

You take out a large duffle bag and start piling in clothes. From your cluttered study table, you pick out a handful of color pencils and place them with the clothes. While doing so, you feel elated, only if very slightly- perhaps you have taken on the most cliched form of charity, but isn’t it better than doing nothing at all?

If only you could see that smiling child, staring at herself in the mirror with a sweet mix of awe and admiration, donned in your pink dress; if only you could see that tiny ripple you have made in the vast ocean of a child’s mind when he discovers a whole new world through your mere color pencils, and if only you ceased to underestimate the true power of giving… you would give more freely, and by doing so, understand the importance of those small acts of kindness that are so often overlooked.